count your blessings

i know that phrase is so overused, but this past weekend, it was powerful.

in case you didn't know, eight years ago, my dad passed away. he left behind the most amazing wife and mother, and five opinionated, adventurous, and independent children. despite his loss, the Lord has continued to fill the void in our family in the most incredible ways. had i never known such loss, i may never have known HIS faithfulness.

my sister had an emotional emergency over the weekend, the kind of emotional emergency only another sister can meet. i've been feeling frustrated with the physical distance between my family and me lately, but last weekend was a reminder of the closeness that is still there. while i'm in school, i'm sacrificing special moments - homecoming, birthdays, family dinners, and so on - and i can't wait to be back for those moments if that is where God leads. until then, i am so thankful for text messages and phone calls. 

anyway, back to the point. my little sister has probably grieved the most since the loss of our dad. out of all of us, she is the most sensitive, which also makes her the most compassionate and kind of us - qualities she's teaching me. she called me in sad tears, the result of a day spent alone in thought...and that's sometimes where the Enemy gets us. we get wrapped up in our thoughts, in our sadness and our loneliness, and there seems to be no escaping.

enter, the power of thankfulness. 

as i listened to her missing what she didn't have, i realized that we need to be more intentional in being thankful for what we do have. so we played the thankfulness game, until she fell asleep. and there was peace. 

we are thankful for:

technology

a roof over our head

a supportive family

the sunshine

the stars

laughs and smiles

the ability to dance

music

T

love

apples

coffee

chocolate

strawberries

an education

...and the list goes on. we are abundantly blessed, and the Enemy has no right to steal our joy. 

giving thanks | day two

yesterday, i was simply thankful for time. this morning, T left for an overnight backpacking trip with the Pursuit guys. this trip has been his baby for the last couple of months, and yesterday, the day before the 'manventure' finally arrived, was a day of all days. he had so much to do, and i knew he did, so going into the day, i worked my schedule around so that i could spend the afternoon and evening helping him with whatever he needed. if you know anything about me, or about us, it's that we are both busy people, and unfortunately that means our schedules often clash. but sometimes, everything just works out. i was simply thankful that this week was a little easier for me so that i could give my time to whatever T needed - amongst midterms, manventure, and a day of 'sick in bed,' there was a lot to do. two wheatgrass and coldbuster runs to jamba, a morning run to starbs to fuel the boy with caffeine as he studied, and sharing a car as his brakes got fixed where all highlights of my week - does that sound weird? i love loving on him. actions and words are most definitely my love languages. i'm a martha, not a mary - sometimes it gets out of hand, i'll admit, but i'm grateful for opportunities to serve and to love through time and service.

oh and p.s. because of CSULB's scheduling this next week, i officially have 6 days off of school (SO thankful for that!). i hardly know what to do with myself. time to plan another adventure!

giving thanks | day one

so i stole this idea from a friend and am going to pick something to be thankful for every single day. november shouldn't be the exception - we should always be thankful - but since it is the season, here we go.

this morning, i'm thankful for many many things, but i'll just pick 2: the Word of God & a love that deepens every single day.

mornings quietly spent in the Word are so precious to me. sometimes i forget that, and so i forget to spend that time aside. but when i wake up, grab my journal and Bible, and head to the couch in my comfies, i have a few minutes of refreshment to kick off the day just right. for the last few weeks or so, T and i have been focusing on 1 Peter, memorizing bits of it, reading different sections, and reading it together. this morning, i revisited the entire book, and people, let me tell ya - Peter has some great things to say. this verse, concerning women and their beauty, has always been one of my favorites:

'wives, be submissive to your husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives, when they see the purity and reverence of your lives. your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight. for this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to make themselves beautiful.'

isn't it fantastic that words written thousands of years ago still hold so much relevance to today? God's word is timeless.

today, i'm also thankful for the gift of love i've been given, a love that deepens every day and only becomes stronger and truer. i'm thankful for a man who i can respect, look up to, admire, and be proud of. i'm thankful for a man who is so worthy of respect, and yet never believes he deserves it. his humility makes him even greater, and i am learning so much from him.