Day 11- Church Family (Farmington Edition)

Today I'm thankful for the dear church family of my childhood.  Helen and I have made a lot of trips home for the weekend this semester (since she's headed to Ohio in January... but we don't talk about that), and one of the perks of being home on the weekends is getting to spend a little time with our "home" church family.

Several years ago, maybe even when I was in middle school, my parents started hosting a Thanksgiving dinner for the senior saints some evening in November.  Over time, it morphed into a church-wide thing, and now, every year, we take a Sunday afternoon before Thanksgiving and have dinner together.  My parents {almost} always prepare enough turkey to feed a small army, and everyone in the congregation brings along sides to share.  Oh, and also a large quantity of desserts. :)

Thankfully, today was that day.  We enjoyed a meal around the tables of fellowship, visiting with friends of all ages.  As I looked around the room today, I saw the faces of those that helped me grow into the person I am today: Sunday school teachers, VBS leaders, youth group helpers, ladies that taught me what it looks like to be a servant in the kitchen, men that taught me how I serve better in the kitchen than I do helping with projects (I'm rarely allowed near the tools... let alone allowed use them!), my pastor, and many who taught me what genuine Christianity looks like.

No matter where I go or how far away from home I may end up, First Baptist Church of Farmington will always be my home church, and I'm thankful for the "family" God gave me there!

Day 10- Saturdays

Yes, I admit it.  I love lazy Saturdays.  The kind where absolutely nothing is required of you and you can just sit around the house being lazy as all get out.  Today is one of those kinda Saturdays, and so I'm thankful for the blessing of down time.  I'm also thankful that on the blessed occasions I get to spend the weekend at home, I get the privilege of spending most of the day with my adorable nieces, Bethany & Alexxa.  Oh, and I'm also thankful that I got to play the piano for a few hours today... gotta gear up for Road to Bethlehem in a month!

Day 9- Bethany

It may be short and sweet, but today I'm thankful for my darling niece Bethany.  Helen and I came home today from Des Moines for the weekend, and the first thing I heard when I walked in the door was "Aunt Cece!!!!"  followed quickly by a hug from my biggest fan!  I love this little girl, and I can't imagine life without her.  She's sweet and caring and brings light and laughter to our family.  Love you, Kiddo!

Day 8- Books

I'm thankful for books.  I'm thankful that I can read.  I'm thankful that when I read, for those few minutes or hours, I can step into someone else's life.  Reading is one of the greatest adventures of all time because you can go anywhere, be anything, and do everything all from the comfort of your own home... or the coffee shop... or the bookstore!  I just recently read Karen Kingsbury's new book The Bridge, and it was wonderful!  A special thanks to my dear Lori for lending it to me!

Day 7- Money

I know, this sounds greedy and pathetic at the same time, but today was pay day for me, so I just finished paying my first-half-of-the-month bills.  I'm thankful that I have a job that provides me with enough income to pay my bills (on time even!) and still (sometimes... not always) have a little left over!  God always provides what I need, and usually above and beyond.  I'm thankful that I didn't have to wonder where the money was going to come from to pay my bills this month, and I realize that not everyone has the same luxury.  I also realize that at any moment God could take away this luxury, and I could find myself without a job.  I suppose I should have actually said "Day 7- A Job," but that would put too much emphasis on the job (and probably give the false impression that I LOVE LOVE LOVE my job... which I don't... I just usually ENJOY my job.  Not the same thing).