Thank you, Lord {Day 12}

Lord,
Thank you for giving me the opportunity to coach softball this year. I honestly never thought about coaching softball after graduation because I was so sure that I would have a full-time teaching job and be working on KTIP all year. Thankfully, when that job didn't come, this opportunity did. I know I am coaching THE BEST girls at one of the best schools in the area. Help us to bond as a team and kick butt this season. Help me to make the most of every practice, game and moment we spend together. Help us to grow as softball players but also grow as well-rounded young women.

Thank you, Lord (Day 11)

Lord,
Today as I was doing laundry, I knew I had to thank you for it. It might sound strange, thanking you for laundry, but as I was sorting and folding, I realized that every outfit represented another day lived. I can so easily take those days for granted, but the (once dirty) clothes, now clean, represent days lived and so quickly gone by. Thank you for a husband's clothes to wash. Every day that I get to wash and put away his clothes means another day we were together. So today I thank you for the opportunity to do laundry. :)

Thank you, Lord {Day 10}

Lord,
Thank you for how hard-working Alex is. I cannot (and know I do not) praise him enough for all the hard work he does to provide for our family. We are so blessed with the job that he has. Thank you for giving me someone that on days like today (his day off), he will go to meetings from 8-5 and not complain once about it. Thank you for all that he does for us, and help me to learn from his example. Amen. 

"All hard work brings a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty." Proverbs 14:23

Thank you, Lord {Day 9}

Lord,
You are faithful! Today I am thankful that our friends {who are a lot further along in the adoption process}, got their referral today! Reading their blog from the early days (where we are now) and now seeing you keep your promises to them by bringing a sweet son into their life, is nothing short of YOU being faithful to those who answer your call. Hopefully a year from now, it will be US getting that REFERRAL phone call and celebrating your faithfulness once again. Today we are thankful for what you have done for them and the little one you have brought into their family.

{To read about their adoption process, you can visit their blog by clicking here}

"But you, O Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness." Psalm 86:15

Thank you, Lord {Day 8)

Lord,
Thank you for days of rest. Sometimes those are just the days we need. 

Thus says the LORD: "Stand by the roads, and look, and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is; and walk in it, and find rest for your souls." Jeremiah 6:16

Thank you, Lord {Day 7}

Lord,
Thank you for date nights with my husband. We have so much fun together and it is so crazy how we almost always like the exact same things. There is never a dull moment with him. He makes me laugh, listens to me, and just GETS me. Thank you for nights where we just get to focus on each other, our marriage and why we fell in love in the first place. Help me be a good wife to him... one that fills and protects his heart. Amen. 

Dinner & a movie night! 

We love the James Bond movies! 

Thank you, Lord {Day 6}

Lord Jesus,
Thank you, thank you, thank you for my small group at The Bridge. This church transition process has been SO EASY. Easier than I ever thought it would be. {NO, Avenue friends... you are not easily replaced! :)} Last night was such an awesome night... as is every Tuesday that we meet together. Thank you for letting us eat together and share life with one another. Thank you for letting us laugh, sing songs and dance for you, share stories, pray for one another and serve our community together. THIS is what your church looks like. And thank you for letting us share that with a visitor last night. Your church is attractive to those who don't know it. Thank you for bringing us together for a reason. Help us to attract those who are looking for community, to be known, and ultimately, looking for you. Amen.

Campfire at our small group last night!

^"19 Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers,but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, ²⁰ built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone.²¹ In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. ²² And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit." Ephesians 2:19-22 (NIV)

Thank You, Lord {Day 5}

Lord,
Today I want to thank you for choices. Thank you that I live in a place where I can choose where to live, what job to have, what to eat, where to go to school, where to pray & worship, etc. So many people around the world don't have control over many of these factors that I can gladly call options. Thank you that tomorrow I am allowed to choose who I want to vote for, whether he wins or not. But most of all, thank you for choosing me as your daughter. Amen. 

"For you are a people holy to the Lord your God, and the Lord has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth." Deuteronomy 14:2

Thank You, Lord {Day 4}

Lord,
Today I thank you for my MOM! She was in labor with me on her birthday so that should be reason enough to be thankful, but for the next 23 years of her life, she raised me to the best of her ability, and I would say she has done a pretty good job. :) Thank you for the 49 years you have blessed her with, and thank you for the heart she has for others. Thank you for giving me a mom that loved me and prayed for me every single day. I pray that as I start this journey towards becoming a mother, I am half the mom she was to me! Amen. 

Happy birthday, mom! I love you and wish I could be with you to celebrate today! Get ready for the flamingos next year!

Thank You, Lord {Day 3}

Lord,
Today I want to thank you that your word is timeless. It amazes me how a verse or passage of Scripture can apply to my life and someone else's life in very different ways. Your words are meant for everyone, no matter what situation they may be facing in life. Thank you for using the Bible to teach me, instruct me and mold me into the person you created me to be. Help me to study it carefully and use it as the guideline for living my life. Amen. 

"For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged swort, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart." Hebrews 4:12

Thank you, Lord {Day 2}

Lord,
Thank you for the concept of families. Thank you for adopting us as your sons and daughters and loving us unconditionally. Thank you for MY family: my parents, my sister, my brother, my husband, my sister-in-law, my in-laws, my cousins, my grandparents, my aunts and uncles, etc. Thank you for the memories we have made together and the future memories we will make. Thank you for our future daughter and her parents. Thank you for understanding that we wouldn't thrive or succeed alone in life but need others around us to support us and be there for us. Thank you for placing me in a loving family and help me to provide a loving family for anyone you would have join ours. My family is yours. Amen. 

"For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named..." Ephesians 3:14-15 (ESV)

Thank You, Lord {Day 1}

I'm not really big on blog trends but the 30 Days of Thanks is one that I am going to participate in this month. Now I will admit that I am really bad at doing one thing every single day, so I might miss a couple days here and there but I will do my best. I do want to make it clear that the thanks that I give goes to one person and that is my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

"Whatever is good and perfect comes down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow." James 1:17 (NLT)

Lord,
Today I thank you for your creativity. As I meet different people, I can't help but notice the different personalities, different interests and different passions that you've given them. These differences make each day special and unique. We are all different, yet we are all the same at our very core. Somehow we come together and make up this thing we call the human race. Even though we are not perfect, thank you for your creativity. Thank you for even thinking about making us different from one another. You are the Master Artist. Help me to be creative as you are. When I am tempted to fall into predictable pattern, help me to use the creativity you've generously given me to glorify your name. Amen.