The holiday season has once again entered the year, and I must say is off to a wonderful start. Thanksgiving is one of my absolute favorite holidays of the year. How awesome is it that one whole day is dedicated to giving thanks for all that the Lord has provided for us and our families. Although thanksgiving toward God should be a more-than-one-time-a-day occurrence, I just love the time I get to share with both sides of my family; laughing, eating, and sharing all that has happened since the last time we were together.
I was at church at Southland Christian last night, and the pastor spoke about making a running list of all that I am thankful for…no matter how big/small, important/petty…just whatever came to mind. So I decided what better place to start this list than my blog?!
This semester has proven to be a time of pure reliance on God for every waking moment that I am alive. I truly cannot go even one second without leaning on Him. He has proven even more so how He never fails and never leaves us. I had strayed away from God, whether I wanted to admit that or not… I had. It was when I was watching Fireproof the other night (which is a MUST see if you haven’t already!) and God put on my heart all of these truths that I had been forgetting. Praise God! My heart rejoices in the fact that I have so much to hope in for the coming days. And I don’t have to worry about a single thing, because He’s got it under control!
That all being said, here are some of the first things that came to mind when I sat down to make my “thank you” list to God: Thank you for the rain and its reminder that I am washed clean. Thank you for the mountains and the immediate joy and peace I feel when I see them. Thank you for mirrors and the truths You’ve revealed to me through them. Thank you for guitar sessions with the roommate and how that has brought us closer. Thank You for the ability to work out and the progress I’ve made. Thank you for peanut butter and jelly sandwiches…for overalls and photographs that remind me of my summer. Thank you for new friends that feel like ones I’ve known forever. Thank you for sleeping in and lazy days…for Pandora and silent moments to just think. Thank you for time with family and laughing until it hurts and tears are streaming down our faces. Thank you for parents who don’t have a marriage centered around You, and how I have learned the importance of Christ in a relationship through that. Thank you for the rough times and for the good times that I will never forget because I wouldn’t be who I am without them. Thank you for a sisterhood that I grow to love more and more every day. Thank you for the passion for people and for service that You have placed on my heart. Thank you for opportunities to come. Thank you for free futons. Thank you for letters in the mail, and for those unexpected surprises. Thank you for the times I feel like crying, because it reminds me that I have a heart that can hurt or be overwhelmed with joy. Thank you for being so much bigger than me. Thank you for the cross and for a love I will never be deserving of.
I hope you all have a wonderful and blessed day…and a holiday season full of your favorite things and memories…but most of all a season full of Christ!Song of the Moment: Love is Not a Fight – Warren Barfield
Verse of the Day: “And what does God call of us? To do justice, to love mercy and to walk humbly with God.” - Micah 6:8