On this ‘Thankful Thursday, am thankful for…
…for sun…and rain…and sunflowers in the rain.
…for the way the seed from bird feeders has allowed for these beauties to pop up in some of the most inopportune places…and that even though they looked like weeds, I didn’t pull these sunflowers because I knew what potential for beauty they held. They were worth the wait.
…for looking on the bright side of having old cars: no car payment, low insurance rates, and the humility that comes with driving them. 🙂 Also for the time I have to catch up on my summer reading during the three hour repairzzzz.
…for two more days of “Summer break”. For time well spent with family and friends and for all the things crossed off my “summer” to do list.
…for phone calls from one coast to another from my kids. For connections with them that miles can’t take away. Yep. Very very thankful for that.
…for a new coffee mug that I love and use for way more coffee than any person should ever admit to drinking.
…for three different “chance” meetings with people this week. Love how paths often cross at just the right times.
…for little hands and eyes that remind me of wonder 🙂
…for the reminder that life is precious … and the reminder that we need each other. (A friend from years gone by lost her 24 year old son… have written some things…but tough to find words for things so deep sometimes.) Prayers for Ashley and her family…and for those Jake left behind who adored him and are facing a deep ache and incredible void.) May God comfort in the ways that only He can. 
…for a friend sending me songs ‘out of the blue’ that helped yours truly beat a bad case of the blues. (Thanks Cheryl. Worship gets my eyes and heart back to where they need to be…. and for the so cool fact that the first one she sent was one of two that I keep playing over and over daily.) One of my new favorites is Starlight by Amanda Cook. Bethel Music.
…for my camera and misty mornings walks. For cows that make me laugh and dandelions that so don’t look like weeds to me.
…for visual reminders that help me see and understand deeper truths that I need to take hold of…and the truth that “Love hopes all things, bears all things, believes all things, endures all things. Love never ends.” It was on the bulletin for my wedding. And “if I have not love…I am a clanging symbol…” Below is a photo of a visual of “the two shall become one…” Black sand mixing with white sand as a powerful visual. Tough to separate grains of sand. Marriage is a blending, a meeting in the middle, a union. Yeah, good to have that reminder for me and my oh-so-polar-opposite-of-me-husband (and him and his oh-so-polar-opposite-of-him wife!) Thankful for the differences though…I really am. A balance of extremes can be a good thing. Even a great thing. Just sometimes the blending of the two isn’t as easy as with sand. At all.
…for Greek yogurt with blueberries and granola (tastes like dessert… probably even qualifies as dessert!) and the time to eat breakfast outside on a cool summer morning. (Yep, there’s my new coffee cup ❤ ) For the views, the fresh air, and a new day and the birds flitting around from branch to branch singing their little hearts out.
…for ‘game changers’…truths that reach deep and transform mindsets and encourage and give strength and a new awareness for the day (or the minute as it may be)… (Ephesians 1: 18-20)
…for writing…blogging…and the venting and processing that comes with it. …for time to be able to write over these past few weeks, and for the creative outlet it is. For connections with people I’ve never even met but feel like I know, and for the deeper connection made with people I do know that comes through sharing of thoughts, heart, and experiences and those moments of smiling because we get it and understand where the other person has walked or may be walking.
…for this verse…“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.” (Joshua 1:9) Thankful that the ‘wherever you go’ doesn’t have to be distant lands, or huge undertakings. The ‘wherever’ is wherever…. grocery stores, back yard decks, car service stations, business meetings, schools…yep. It covers “where-ever”. And the courageous doesn’t have to be big and bold and earthshaking. It can be the quiet trust that knows that it’s not alone…and that thought alone is enough to empower and en-COURaGe to take the next steps…where-ever and what-ever they might be.
One thing I know is that there is always a lot to be thankful for. Not just on Thursdays, but every moment of every day. I’ve just gotta take the time to see it. So thankful for extra doses of time these past few weeks to do just that…
Blessings ~
Heather
soletusknow 