Good morning friends! (or afternoon or evening – whenever you are reading this!)
How has your week been? Stressful? Crazy? Overwhelming? If any of those are true, and even if they aren’t … we should be spending time in thankfulness — being grateful for all our blessings. Have you been seeing the sunshine this week? It’s all around. God leaves little love notes for us all the time. It’s just a matter of opening our eyes (and our hearts) to see them.
Here’s what I’m thankful for this Thursday:
1. I am thankful for my possessions. I know – “What? She didn’t say her family or God first?” Yes, it makes me sound materialistic, but I bet you are thankful for your possessions too. Sure, I could live without them. I know they aren’t nearly as important as other things, but I am thankful for them. Last week, four apartments in our apartment complex were damaged by a huge fire. Everyone got out OK, but their possessions did not. Three of those families didn’t have renter’s insurance, meaning they lost everything they own. Every time I walk out of my apartment, I am reminded of how easily you can lose everything you own in just a few hours by looking at the remains of those apartments. Looking around my own home, I am so thankful for what we have — especially those sentimental items like photos, old love letters, and even my coffee table that reminds me of my husband’s far reaching love for me.
2. For storms. And we’ve been having a lot of them because of all the humidity! I love summer thunderstorms — the wind, the rain, the thunder, the lightning. I love sitting out on our balcony watching the storm roll in and then seeing God’s mighty power as the trees sway back and forth and the rain comes down in torrents. It’s beautiful. And I am thankful for the sound of the rain coming down as I read a good book.
3. My discipline. When taking the strengths quest test, I found my number one strength to be discipline. It’s completely true! This week I’m thankful for that because it helped me complete a project before my deadline. I have been writing all the content for a local magazine. This week I finished it! What a relief!
4. For aprons and mixers and taste testing. Since I finished the copy for that big project, I spent the next day baking. I put on a cute apron, worked with my Kitchen Aid mixer and did a lot of taste testing – cookie dough tastes so good when scraped from the bottom of the bowl! I made a bunch of chocolate chip cookies, originally for a bake sale for my husband’s battalion. But it was cancelled right around the time I was scooping the dough onto the baking sheet. At first, I was really annoyed. But then I realized I had been looking forward to a day of baking and I was enjoying myself — plus, now I had tons of cookies to give in hospitality!
5. Food. I just can’t get enough of it. Lately, I’m especially thankful for fresh blueberries, salad varieties, frozen chocolate pie and hash brown casserole. Yum!
What are you thankful for this week?