Thankful Thursday

As I sit here on the afternoon of New Year's Eve, I think of so many ways the Lord has blessed my family. What a year this has been... good things, no so good things, and the simple "everyday life" sort of things. Because of this, I decided I'd list some of them for my post this week. Some of them are very recent blessings and some cover earlier parts of this year.

~ I am thankful my daughter, Abby, made it through her outpatient surgical procedure this morning with no problems. They went in and made an adjustment to the muscles in her eyes that control her vertical eye movement. She's been groggy and a bit cranky today, but otherwise as fit as a fiddle!

~ I am thankful for both my children and my dear husband. Where would I be without each one of them? My husband loves me and supports me just the way I am.... both the good and the bad. My children never fail to bring a smile to my face and are the essence of unconditional love here on earth!

~ I am thankful that God never gives up on me. This year has brought about realizations of several areas that I really need to turn over to God. Areas that I wouldn't let go and the negative stronghold they had on me just keep getting bigger. Thanks to God and his promise to always carry it all when we turn it over to Him, I have begun learning how to stop trying to control so much in my life. I can't tell you how freeing this has been... less stress, less worry, more fun!

~ I am thankful for some difficult experiences I have had at work. They, too, have shown that God is always faithful in His promise never to leave when the "going gets tough". I am learning how to re-focus away from the difficulties and focus on what is truly important in my life. I have also been shown new directions where He is leading by being open to changes in this part of my life.

~ I am thankful for friends. As with family, where would we be without friends to laugh with, friends to share with, friends to pray with, and friends to just "be" with as we walk this journey of life?!

In closing, I wanted to share a brief update on my sister and her family. As I shared here a few weeks ago, they are preparing to leave later this year to serve as missionaries in Prague in the Czech Republic. Over the Christmas holidays, I had the honor (and, oh, it was an honor... I can't tell you how thrilled I was to be able to help them in one of the many steps they have before them as they prepare for this journey) of helping her set up their blog. They plan to use their blog as a means of communicating with family and friends about their mission work and to keep us up to date on the family.

As so many of you offered your prayers and support when I last posted about them, I asked if I could share her blog with you. She quickly responded, "Yes!". I believe she has scheduled their very first post to go up on New Year's Day. You can find them at Just "Czech'n" In. I can't tell you how much it means to them and to our family that you are so willing to support them with your prayers!

For more Thankful Thursday visit Iris at Grace Alone...!