M is for Medicine & Modern Technology

Being sick is the pits.  Ask me.  I know.  I'm pretty sure my body is a magnet for illness. Anyhow, I've spent the last three days in bed fighting an ear infection & sinus infection. And yesterday, my body decided to add "flu" to the mix. Needless to say, it's been a miserable few days.

So in light of that, I'm thankful first for medicine. And here's hoping it kicks this stuff sooner rather than later.

Second, I'm thankful for modern technology.  The one and only silver lining of being sick is that you have an excuse to stay in bed all day long and binge watch tv.  I'm thankful for modern technology that avails me to such things right from the convenience of my own bed, which allows me to keep myself quarantined from others.  What a boring long few days this would have been sans Castle marathon!

L is for Love

L is the easiest letter because I have so many things in my life with the letter "L" for which to be thankful.

I'm SO thankful for my sisters: Lindsey, Laura, & Leah. Life would be SOOOO lonely without them.

I'm forever thankful for my mom, Linda, and my dad BiLL (who has DOUBLE L's at the END of his name). I have no doubt that I have two of the greatest parents ever, and I try to never take them for granted. I have Learned so much from them!

I'm thankful for the Little girLs in my life, Beth & ALexxa. What joy and laughter they bring to this house! My life is fuller and happier because of them.

I'm thankful for the Little boy in my life, baby WiLLiam (also with the Double L's). There is no way to even come close to describing the feeling of holding a newborn baby in your arms, let alone watching him grow and change, bringing smiles and coos and heart-melting!

I guess, if I were to sum it all up all these "thankfuls" in just ONE word, it would be this:

Love.

K is for Kites

Yeah... kites. That's all my brain could come up with tonight.  I'm a little drugged out from being sick (yet again), and I'm struggling.  

Anyway, "kites" is actually a good thing to be thankful for because "kites" always bring back childhood memories, not of flying kites, but of my dad skipping through Wal-Mart with me and my sisters in the shopping cart singing "Let's Go Fly a Kite!" I'm thankful that I had the kind of childhood that made me believe in happy families and loving parents and happily ever afters.  I'm thankful for a childhood that involved singing and laughing and memories. So in a way, I guess I AM thankful for kites because they remind me of the great life I've always had.

J is for Job

In case you've been living under a rock for the last month... I HAVE A NEW JOB!!! And guess what: I love it! I'm so thankful for the way God orchestrated this opportunity, and I'm so thankful to work for a boss who is a true Christian! Six months ago, I couldn't figure out why God kept shutting every door that I tried to pry open, but now I know without a doubt that it was because He had something so much better for me than I could have ever concocted myself.

I still feel like it will take me months and months to be totally competent in my new role, let alone super good at it, but I KNOW that it's right exactly where I'm supposed to be. And I'm so THANKFUL for God's leading and His wonderful plan for my life!

I is for Isaiah

(Click on picture for source of artwork)

Specifically "I" is for Isaiah 55:8-9.  I LOVE these verses and have ever since mom chose them as our "verses of the year" when I was in high school.  God's plan for me is so much bigger and broader and more beautiful than anything I could have ever cooked up in my little bitty human brain.  I'm so THANKFUL that God is in control and that His thoughts and ways are not mine. I'm so THANKFUL that His ways are greater and higher than mine.  I'm so glad that I can always turn to this statement of authority when I'm feeling like nothing in my life is going right (which is not the case presently; presently, my life is going pretty dandy good!).  It's such a blessing to be able to look back on this verse when life IS going great and be reminded that when life WASN'T so great, God clearly had a plan that was leading me to where I am now.  And that His plan was so much better than what I thought I wanted. So thankful for these verses!