Giving Thanks Challenge 2011

I have enjoyed participating again this year in the Giving Thanks Challenge!  Here is my full list from the month. 

Today I am thankful for:
1. lunch dates with my husband   2. looking at thankful lists from previous years and realizing all that has happened since then!   3. pretty colors on the horizon this morning   4. sweet prayers of my boy and God's answers to those prayers   5. our ACU family, brothers and sisters in Christ coming together in a time of tragedy   6. singing songs of praise   7. the wonderful pricipal, teachers, faculty and staff at Caleb's school   8. seeing trees full of colorful leaves   9. getting to keep a baby girl for a couple of days   10. an electric bill with this month's paid plus a $42 credit   11. a day to remember our veterans   12. getting to spend a little bit of time with my "forever friend"   13. hearing my boy singing beside me this morning   14. my husband winning a pretty bag for me!   15. money to buy groceries   16. being able to volunteer at my son's school   17. blessing of being together, whatever we are doing   18. sound of laughter   19. getting to see Mrs. Pat tonight and her being awake and trying to talk. God is so good!   20. a nice Thanksgiving meal today with my husband's side of the family, safe travel, nice visit.   21. good report at my dentist appointment today for my check-up   22. the way my boy makes me laugh and smile every day   23. seeing the movie "Courageous" with my husband   24. having a home...This time last year we had our stuff in the moving truck.   25. time with my family I haven't seen lately.   26. enjoying the trip to the deer lease with my boys. Fun memories with my husband, son, father-in-law and two brothers-in-law!   27. seeing our neighbor Laura today, such a blessing to see all the progress she has made and the answers to prayers   28. feeling rested and ready for the week  29. song lyrics that inspire and encourage   30. excitement of the upcoming month and being able to decorate here for the first time. 

Have a day of blessings!

Happy Thanksgiving from Laced with Grace!

Please visit over at Laced With Grace today for a special Thanksgiving message from the Laced with Grace team! 

Have a day of blessings!

Thanksgiving Thankful Thursday

As another Thanksgiving comes, there is so much in my life for which I give thanks.  Looking back over the past year, I realize that this time last year we didn't even have a home.  All our belongings were sitting in front of my Mom's house in a moving truck which we moved into a rental on Friday.  So this year I feel especially blessed with what has happened in the past year and how God's plan and timing has been perfect through it all.  We could not figure out or have known how things would end up, and now looking back I am thankful over and over again for all the details that HE figured out for us....getting the wonderful house we have now, our son's teacher last year when we moved as well as this year's teacher, new friendships that we've made, our new church family and the ways we have been able to serve with this new church, my husband's job and the people he is influencing. 

Today I am thankful for...
~ having a wonderful day with my husband on Wednesday, just the two of us.  We had breakfast at Cracker Barrel and then went to see the movie "Courageous."  That is a wonderful movie and I highly recommend it!

~ my son and all the ways he makes me laugh and smile every day.  He is so much fun.  Also, he had a little injury Sunday.  Part of his face was was scratched and bruised.  I'm thankful it was not worse.

~ having Thanksgiving with my husband's side of the family.  We got to go on Sunday, and I was thankful how it worked out for us to get together with his parents, brothers and family. 

~ the miracle we got to witness last weekend.  You can read about it in my previous post!  God is amazing!

~ getting to enjoy days off with my boys!  I'm glad for changes in our routine!
Have a day of blessings!

Thank you God for miracles!

I wrote previously about the ACU bus crash that happened on November 4.  One student died in the crash and others were seriously injured.  When I look at the pictures, it is just shocking that anyone lived.  One of the injured was Mrs. Pat.  She had been unconscious since the accident in a hospital in San Angelo.
Saturday we received word by email that Mrs. Pat was being moved to an Abilene hospital's hospice care.  Tests had shown no brain activity, and the family thought she was at the end of her life.  Well Saturday afternoon she woke up and started asking her family questions! 

Not knowing this yet, we went by to see her.  The family was talking with the doctor, but the nurse told me I could go on in her room.  I was so surprised to walk in her room and see her eyes open...not at all what I expected.  Then she started moving her mouth trying to talk to me and pointed to her trach.  I was just so amazed.  I got my husband from the hall and we prayed with her.  As we were leaving the nurse said we could talk to her family now.  They were in a family room and all of them just had looks of shock on their faces.  They said the doctors didn't know what happenened!

Everyone is so amazed and thanking God for this wonderful miracle!  Please pray for her and her family in the days ahead. 

To God be the glory!

Have a day of blessings!

Book review: A Wedding Invitation

I'm happy to share with you my review of Alice Wisler's book A Wedding Invtation.  This is my third book to read by this author (click to see my reviews of Hatteras Girl or How Sweet It Is).

In A Wedding Invitation Samantha Bravencourt lives near Washington, D.C. where she works at her mother's clothing shop.  She receives a wedding invitation in the mail from an old friend, and the wedding ends up very differently than Samantha (or the reader) might expect!  Samantha ends up coming into contact with Carson Brylie, who was a fellow teacher at a refuge camp years ago, and one of her former students from the camp named Lien. 

As Carson and Samantha work together to help Lien, Samantha has flashbacks to the time she spent with Carson at the refuge camp as her emotions are stirred for the one who broke her heart.

I really enjoy the books this author has written, and this one is no exception.  I like the feel of her books, the way she writes, her characters and settings, and how the books seem unique from other authors' writing styles.
And one more thing, I really like this cover a lot. 

Thank you to Bethany House publishers for providing this book for my honest review. 

Have a day of blessings!

Thankful Thursday

We have so many blessings.  Just look around a take a minute to appreciate the blessings in your life right now. 

Today I am thankful for...
~ my husband's love and companionship.  I love the comfortable feel of just being with him. 

~ my son's health and how he is growing as he should.  Even though it is hard to admit he is growing up, I'm thankful he IS and is healthy! 

~ winning a pretty bag in a giveaway :)  Here is a picture of it.  My husband's name was drawn in a giveaway. When my husband saw the price tag, his mouth fell open.  This isn't something we'd ever buy ourselves but.is so pretty and purple (my favorite color), and I just love bags!  :)

~ listening to music on Pandora while I'm at home.  I have enjoyed this so much recently. 

~ money for our groceries.  I went to the grocery store this week and was thankful for money to buy food plus get a few extras to donate for the local food drive. 

Have a day of blessings!

Audio book: Courageous Living Dare to Take a Stand

I have finished listening to a wonderful audio book called Courageous Living by Michael C. Catt. 

From the site:
In the new film COURAGEOUS (from the makers of Fireproof), four police officers are confident and focused when it comes to facing danger on the job. But leading their families at home in a God-honoring way? That takes courage. Because it is important to take a faithful, fearless stand in so many areas of life, pastor and COURAGEOUS executive producer Michael Catt offers Courageous Living as a closer look at biblical themes and characters that inspired the greatly anticipated movie.

My thoughts: 
I am so glad I downloaded this book.  I found it to be very encouraging to me as a woman.  I really enjoyed how the author chose various examples of courageous people from the Bible to make his points.  People like Gideon, Ruth, Daniel, and Stephen are examples of what courage really looks like.

We need courageous leaders in our homes, churches, and workplaces.  We need men to step up and lead their families as they are commanded to do in the Word.  This book is a great way to encourage men and show them how to live as men of courage in a world where we do not see many men living courageously. 

Although some of this book is directed to men, I highly recommend this book to both men and women.  It will challenge and encourage you. It is not a long book and the chapters were less than 30 minutes each making them good for listening to on the drive to and from work.  I think it would make a nice gift as well. The narrator, Maruice England, did a good job with this book and I enjoyed hearing him read. 

Thank you to the christianaudio Reviewers program for providing this audio book for my review.

Have a day of blessings!

SSMT #22 and Laced with Grace devo

I heard this verse yesterday and immediately knew I wanted it to be my new verse for SSMT.  Here it is.

“Turn my eyes away from worthless things; preserve my life according to your word.” Psalm 119:37

Also, I have shared a devotional thought on this verse over at Laced With Grace today.  Come visit me there!

Have a day of blessings!

Thankful Thursday

I'm late today with my thankful post but that's okay!  I've had a busy week and full past couple of days as I've been keeping a little 7 month old girl.  It was fun to have a baby here, and I'm glad I could help out this family while their regular babysitter was out of town. 

This week I am thankful for...
~ my husband stopping by the store for me on his way home from work.  I needed new lunch meat for a few days and also saw that they had cream cheese on sale for $.99 so I wanted some of that too! 

~ my son's positive attitude.  I have told him recently how nice it is for him to have his positive attitude about doing his spelling practice for homework.

~  getting our electric bill with at $42 credit!!!!  Last month we thought it was WAY high (higher than the previous month which made no sense since the temperature was lower and we didn't use the A/C as much), but I kinda forgot about it and didn't call about it to check why.  This month it was such a blessing to find the credit!

~ seeing the colors of fall.  It makes me smile to see the leaves changing colors now.

~ reading all the thankful posts this month on Facebook.  It is so nice to see all the thankfulness and read as others share their thankful hearts.
Have a day of blessings!

Shoe box time

It's time again to get those shoe boxes ready for Operation Christmas Child.  If you have never packed a shoe box before, I would encourage you to take the time to do so this year.  It is a great project for your family and a nice way to think of others and make a difference to a child this Christmas. 

You can get easy to follow step-by-step directions for packing a shoe box at Samaritan's Purse.  Also, you can find a location where you can drop off your shoe box as well. 

Have a day of blessings!

Coming together

Friday afternoon I saw a Facebook status from a news station that there was a wreck involving a bus of students and faculty from ACU.  It wasn't confirmed who it was, but my heart sank as I knew of a group from the department of agriculture heading to a children's home to do a weekend of service work.  I checked a map and found the location of the wreck would have been on the path to the children's home so I waited to hear more.  Soon it was confirmed that it was that group of students headed to the children's home.  The driver had lost control and the bus flipped.  The passengers were seriously injured and flown to area hospitals.  One ACU student died. 

I know some of these people personally.  Just last Saturday I was speaking to one of the ladies about the trip.  It just doesn't seem real that these same people are now injured and this same lady is in critical condition in ICU. 

I am proud to be a graduate of ACU.  It was a wonderful place and holds so many memories for me.  Once word got out about the accident, people from all over were gathered around lifting everyone up in prayer.  A prayer vigil was held on campus.  I noticed at this time that when one part of the body suffers, we all hurt as brothers and sisters in Christ.  It is a blessing too to be able to come together to encourage and lift each other up during hard times.    You can read an article here about the ACU community from the ACU campus newspaper. 

Please join me in praying for the ACU family and all those involved...the parents who had to receive such devastating news, friends, roommates, professors, the ag department, the driver of the bus. 

My heart has been so saddened by this devastating tragedy.  I have been reminded how life can change in an instant.  We never know how much time we will be here.  Make the most of your days.  Enjoy your family and friends.  Make happy memories.  Do the things you enjoy.  Live for Jesus. 

Have a day of blessings!

Thankful Thursday

Time for a new month of Thankful Thursday this first Thursday of November.  We are meeting this month at Women Taking a Stand.  It has been nice to see all the thankful posts from many of my friends the past three days on Facebook statuses.

Today I am thankful for...
~ my husband working to provide for our family.  He deals with many different challenges.  A couple got resolved at the beginning of the week, which was a blessing for him.

~ my boy telling me after supper last night with a hug that he liked my food.

~ our warm beds and home and vehicles with heat on this chilly morning.

~ having a very productive day at home.  I got a lot done yesterday and it felt good to get those things marked off my list.  I'm hoping to have another productive day today.

~ the enjoyable time I had last weekend at a ladies retreat at our church.  The topic  was contentment.  I enjoyed the time with the other ladies.

Have a day of blessings!

SSMT #21

"Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens."  --Psalms 68:19

Have a day of blessings!

Giving Thanks Challenge 2011

It is time once again for the Giving Thanks Challenge which is hosted by South Breeze Farm.  I've participated the past two years I believe and was looking forward to November and participating again this year. 

I will be adding something I am thankful for every day this  month at the top of my blog.  Here are my lists from previous years:   2009 and 2010  It was fun for me to read the two lists and remember the times we were going through those years and think about how much has changed for us since then.

Visit South Breeze Farm to join in the giving of thanks every day this month!

Have a day of blessings!