Got a Roof?

Day 11

I'm thankful for having a roof over my head.

The first day we saw the house!  

It's a blessing to have a house to live in. God has blessed me and my family so much through providing us the house that we live in now. It didn't come without us having to go through some difficulty and inconvenience but, finally, it came.
I know what it's like to live in a house that isn't yours with the owners still living in it. It isn't easy and some days it's downright challenging. There are good sides to going something like through this too.
It helps to put things in the right perspective.
 I'm very thankful to those who did open up their homes and provided a place for us to stay. It helped me to see the hands and feet of Christ at work and know that me and my family were not abandoned.
I'm also thankful for the lessons I learned while going through the "homeless but not houseless" time period. It taught me so much to go through that. It helps me to be all the more thankful for having a house now that I can call home. (At least for this period of my life.) It helps me to see God as an abundantly loving Father who sees the bigger picture. I saw God as my Great Provider. This was really hammered in at this point in my life. It taught me how to embrace situations and keep moving forward even if it wasn't easy to do so.
I could on and on about what I learned during this time period in my life but I'm going to stop there. Suffice it to say that I am very thankful for this time that me and my family went through but I am also very grateful to have it over and to be living in a house of our own.

Speak Out!

Day 10

I'm thankful for the freedom of speech.

In America we can give our own opinons on things, gather for worship and are able to discuss things about our particular beliefs, and we can discuss these things in public. We can do all of these things without having to fear being brutally persecuted for our beliefs. In other countries this is an unfortunate reality (e.g. the countries with the ISIS terrorists, parts of China, parts of Indonesia, etc.) but not here. Here we are free to speak out and defend our beliefs.
I'm thankful to live in a country where this is still true.

Laughter

Day 9

I'm thankful for laughter.

Laughter is a beautiful thing isn't it? We are blessed to be able to enjoy laughter.

Opportunities and Open Doors

Day 8

I'm thankful for open doors.

God opens doors for us and we have a choice to either walk away and perhaps regret the decision or walk through it and explore the adventure that lies on the other side. I've been accepted as an intern for Christian Encounter Ministries. It looks like I'll leave January 11th and drive up to Grass Valley California to stay for at least 3 months and up to 2 years! Pretty exciting stuff! You can read more about that Here

So thankful for the opportunity to do this!

Fun Friday!

Day 7

It's Friday! I'm thankful for so many things (like getting through the craziness of yesterday, Thursday's are busy days for us). Today I'm thankful for Irish coffees.

They are the taste of Christmas in a cup. I don't have them often but when I do I enjoy them when I do have them.

Here is a recipe that is pretty close to how I make them: Irish coffee drink recipe

I've been told is to use Tullamore Dew as your whiskey because it tastes the best and doesn't bloom like some of them. 

I haven't experimented too much with them but so far I have found this to be a good combo. So thankful for whoever figured out how to put a warm, sit by the fire all cozy and nice kind of Christmas in a cup. 

For the Love of Siblings

Day 6

I'm thankful for siblings.

They can be seriously some of the coolest people you know.
Siblings are a blessing. I don't know about you but I love my siblings. They each have their own unique personality and bring their own flavor to our family.

Yes, there are times when I don't get along very well, and yes, there are times when they are annoying (especially the ones that tend to rub me the wrong way on a regular basis).

But they are helping me to become less self focused and more others focused. More willing to see the mistakes in myself and less having to be right all of the time. These things are far from learned in my own life but without my siblings helping to chip away at these things I doubt that I would be the same person.

I'm the weird one on the right 

Siblings are so much fun! You can play games with them, share inside jokes that nobody else can truly understand, and you get to enjoy laughing together till your belly hurts.

I'm thankful for siblings.

Food, Glorious Food!

Day 5

I'm thankful for food.

Food is something that we need for survival.
I'm thankful for the providence that God gives of food each and every day.
Food is also something that brings us together as people. We gather together for a family meal. We gather together and have a pot luck with friends. Farmers help each other out because they understand what goes into raising the food. Whole communities can be brought together for the purpose of sharing in a meal together.
Food is a useful and powerful tool. It's something to be thankful for.