#17 - Scripture

Today I am thankful for those times when God uses scripture to speak His truth to me. I experienced this last weekend...I heard God telling me to stop worrying about all the many details about moving that were making me feel anxious. I was walking through the campus of Mulnomah University in Portland when I came across this.

Philippians 4:6-7
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

#16 - Friends

I am so thankful that I got to meet one of my blogging friends, Juli, this past weekend. I am also thankful that I got to see my Minnesota friend, Jane. AND...I'm thankful for all the new Compassion friends I met over the weekend!

#15 - Safe Trip

I am so thankful that I am safely home from my trip to Oregon. It was a wonderful, inspiring, refreshing weekend...but it was also wonderful to come home to the ones I love most!

#14 - Opportunities

I am so thankful for the many wonderful opportunities that come my way at different times. Tomorrow is one of those...I have the opportunity to fly to Portland, OR for a leadership training retreat with other Compassion advocates. Not only will it be great to receive more training about spiritual leadership and speaking up for the poor, it will be a blessing to meet like-minded Christians living in Oregon and other areas of the NW.

Because of this opportunity, I also have the chance to meet with a realtor and do some preliminary house searching.

Thanking God for these opportunities!

#13 - First House Showing

Today I am so thankful that we finally have an appointment to show the house! Now I must get back to cleaning...

I will enter His gates with thanksgiving in my heart,
I will enter His courts with praise.
I will say this is the day
that the Lord has made.
I will rejoice for He has made me glad.


This song has been running through my head all day!

#12 - Fathers

Today I am thankful for all the fathers in my life...

My heavenly father, my earthly father, my father-in-law, my step-father, my step-father-in-law and the father of my girls!

I am blessed to have so many!

#11 - Friday

Today I'm thankful it's FRIDAY!!!!

#10 - UP Summer

It's summer here in the UP...after all the snow we endured, I am so thankful to have sunshine and warmer weather. Warmer weather for us means temperatures in the 60s and 70s...perfect in my opinion. I love being outside and feeling just right...not hot and not cold.

Now if only the black flies would go away...then we could actually be outside for more than 5 minutes. I'm NOT thankful for the black flies, but I will be thankful when their season is over (which should be in another week or two).

"A thankful heart is not only the greatest virtue, but the parent of all other virtues." - Cicero

#9 - My Husband

I am so thankful that I made the decision to not only date this guy, but to marry him. He has been the most wonderful life partner for me and we are having fun growing old together!

#8 - Sunshine and Warmth

"This is the day the Lord has made! I will rejoice and be glad in it!" - Psalm 118:24

The sun is shining and it's 70 degrees.

For this I am thankful!

#7 - Church

Whether it's the church where we regularly attend, or visiting church with family or friends, I am thankful for a place where believers can meet to worship and grow. I am thankful that I could attend church today with my family. I am thankful that I could attend church with Kevin's dad and wife last week.

It doesn't really matter what building we are in, it's amazing that we can come together for an hour or two on Sunday mornings and seek God together.

For this I am thankful!

#6 - My Grandma

This is my Grandma...Ella Domnick...and today she turns 94!!!



I had the awesome privilege of growing up in the same town as both sets of my grandparents and was close to all of them. My Grandma Domnick is my only living grandparent and although I don't see her very often, she remains a very important part of my life.

I am so thankful for her and her love throughout the years.

#5 - Beautiful Flowers

I love looking at beautiful flowers...I love how each variety is so unique and beautiful - a true sign of an incredible Creator! I wish these flowers were in my garden, but they are not. I took these pictures in New York...thanks Lin!



Do you take time to "stop and smell the roses"? (or simply look in awe at the beauty around you?)

#4 - A Safe Trip

We had a wonderful, week long trip to western New York where we spent some time with Kevin's family. It was fun and relaxing to catch up with everyone. It had been over 2 years since we were last there, so it was very good to see everyone again. Sydney and Kayleigh had so much fun playing with their cousins (there are 14 total!!). Between the wedding and the family picnics, there were several opportunities for them to play.

And now we are home...safely.

#3 - Silliness

Sometimes I find my girls' silliness annoying...I'm often just NOT in the mood for it. But today, I am thankful for their silliness. When I'm in the mood for it, being silly is so refreshing to the soul!


The girls got the silly idea of "sleeping" on the stairs this morning.

#2 - Randomly Scattered Shoes

I'm reading a book called, "The Bathtub is Overflowing but I Feel Drained...How to Defeat Mommy Stress" by Lysa TerKeurst. Basically I read a chapter a day and do the "refresh my soul" exercise. When I opened today's chapter is started out with this quote by Jim Stephens...

"Be thankful. Cultivate an 'attitude of gratitude'. Thankfulness is much more dependent on attitude than circumstance. When you feel the lack of what you don't have, thank God for what you do have! At any time, there is more going right in the life of a committed Christian than there is going wrong. It's just that the 'wrong' makes a lot more noise than the 'right'."

The title of the chapter is 'I love smelly shoes' and Lysa went on to talk about being thankful for the smelly shoes that litter our floors! I thought about how many times I grumble at being the only person in the house who knows how to set my shoes in the tray, and not throw them into the corner.

But today I am choosing to be thankful for all the shoes that are randomly scattered around our house. I am thankful that we have shoes, but more importantly I am thankful for the little (and big) feet that fill these shoes.