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Giving Thanks

 

Today, I gave thanks. Not because my life is perfect and I have everything I want or need, but because I’m taking the time to recognize some of .my blessings and give thanks to God.

 

I’ll be thankful that my family is in good health and can share a meal together, today.

 

I’ll be thankful for the friends in my life – both far and near – who challenge me to stay true to myself, listen to me talk for hours about absolutely nothing, pray for me daily, forgive me when I stray off course, inspire me to be a better person and make me laugh when it hurts to smile. 

 

I’ll also be thankful for memories of the past that remind me what it feels like to be carefree.

 

 As the sun began to set, l thanked God for giving me the miracle of day and night, and the stars that shine in the sky creating constellations both real and imaginary.

 

As we sat down to eat, I gave thanks for food – thanks for the farmers and ranchers, and the ladies in my family who work hard to provide a tasty thanksgiving treat.

 

As I heard the laughter of the innocence in my niece as she played with her toys, I gave thanks for the blessing of an  irreplaceable family – the people who know you fully and love you anyway.

 

As I sit now with my puppy asleep at my feet and my bible open on my desk, I give thanks for unexpected blessings. The blessings of a perfect companion on a lonely night, an unexpected smile, and the ability to forgive the pains of the past and look forward to the dawning of the future.  

And as I go to sleep tonight, I’ll be thankful for the day and the promise of a God that sees my imperfections and struggles as beautiful and perfect. I’ll be thankful for this life remembering that so long as I have Jesus in my heart (and behind the wheel) anything is possible.  

I give thanks for Today.

 

(Seriously, She’s too darn cute!)

I love my Dog … Thank You, Carrie Underwood :)

“More Boys I Meet”
By: Carrie Underwood

This boy here wants to move too fast
He sees my future as having a past
Well, I don’t think so
I don’t think so

That boy there, well he’s playing a fool
He thinks he’s funny and he thinks he’s cool
We’ll I don’t think so
I don’t think so

Cheap date, bad taste, another night gone to waste
Talking about nothing in so many words
It’s not like I’m not trying
‘Cause I’ll give anyone a shot once

And, I , I close my eyes
And, I kiss that frog
Each time finding
The more boys I meet the more I love my dog

Here’s this guy, thinks he’s bad to the bone
He wants to pick me up and take me home
Well, I don’t think so
I don’t think so

Cage fights, PlayStation, X-Games, Raider Nation
Oversize pants with an ego to match
It’s not like I’m not trying
‘Cause I’ll give anyone a shot once

And, I , I close my eyes
And, I kiss that frog
Each time finding
The more boys I meet the more I love my dog

Why can’t they be like the one’s that mean everything to me
The warm and loyal, open and friendly
It’s not like I’m not trying
‘Cause I’ll give anyone a shot once

I close my eyes
And, I kiss that frog
Each time finding
The more boys I meet the more I love my

I close my eyes
And, I kiss that frog
Each time finding
The more boys I meet the more I love my dog

The more I love my dog

The Road Not Taken

 

The Road Not Taken/The Road Less Traveled

By: Robert Frost

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

Go Irish!

Today marks a wonderful day…. the Start of the 2008 Notre Dame Football Season! I’m heading down to the game but I thought I’d leave you with an ADORABLE picture of my Puppy in her favorite ND gear! (I know…. I’m turning into “that girl”.. but seriously, look how cute she is!)

Promise.

It may not be the path I would’ve chosen;

When you lead me through a world that’s not my home;

But You never said life would be easy;

But you promised that I’d never go alone.

 

About the Photo: This is a picture taken last summer at Mirror Lake, Oregon.  The picture does not do it justice, this place is just absolutely breath-taking. This was taken on my first experience on top of a mountain. It’s beautiful scenery like this that serves as just one reminder that our God is awesome. Anyone that can paint pictures like this…. is incredible! It’s beautiful and majestic places like this that help to remind me that no matter how alone I feel, God is always nearby. Even if I can no longer see it, the memories are forever burned in my heart and that feeling … being on top of a mountain.. will always be right along side.

 On a weekend like this, I need that reminder. No matter where I go in life, how rejected and alone I feel, God promises to always be there. What an awesome promise from an awesome God!

Patience…

I realized today that I am not a very patient person. I’m one of those people that watches the second hand during a meeting or that sits at a stop light agitated that it hasn’t turned green. I typically know what I want and even when that seems impossible…. I want it now. I’m a “go-getter.” I dream big. I dream of being a wife and a mother. I dream of having a family in the foothills somewhere sitting down to a nice family dinner as the family dogs lay beneath our feet. I don’t ask for much, but all too often, I ask for it now.

A few days ago, I was forced to say goodbye to my best friend and quite possibly the most magnificent and beautiful (both inside and out) person I have even known. Although now nearly 2000 miles separate us when just a few days ago I would see him every day, we have promised that moment wouldn’t be goodbye forever. We vowed to work hard to keep our friendship flourishing and to visit each other as much as possible. It was without a doubt, the hardest moment in my life to watch him drive away. Through the whole thing, he only asked one thing of me… He asked me to promise him that I would be patient. That i would be patient as I wait for God’s purpose and God’s plan in my life. Patient as I mend a broken heart. Patient as I try to understand where I’m supposed to be going in life and why things ended up the way they did.

Patience. The truth of the matter is, I struggle being patient. I want my fairytale now. I want everything to be prefect again… and I don’t wait to wait. I find myself often praying for God to hurry up and fix things, to hurry up and show me the right path to take. I truly struggle with patience.

Ironically (or more possibly God tugging a little harder on my heart) my morning bible study today dealt with this exact problem… I’ll call it the “Hurry Up God” problem. It drew my attention to Ecclesiastes 3:11 which reads: “He has made everything beautiful in its time.  He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end.”

I’m going to try it. I’m not going to ask God to “Hurry Up” this time, I understand I have to be patient, because only in God’s most perfect timing can his plan for my life shine through this darkness. God never promised this life would be easy, but he did promise that if you take his hand and trust him he will make it worth it.