Throughout today, I have been reflecting on the things that make my life so worthwhile - the things that I am grateful for. As we prepared and sat down to the meal of the year, the list grew and grew. I was astounded at the things that I often take for granted, the things that spring to mind the one day of the year that forces recall. So here is a list of things, both trivial and the opposite, that I am especially grateful for (in no particular order).
1. I love my bedroom. I think it is absolutely fantastic, from the furniture set that fulfills all of my little girl fantasies (it includes a vanity) to the handmade blanket and chair/table coverings to the photos hanging on the wall of my favorite place on earth. I wish I could spend more time here.
2. My family is fantastic. I have been blessed with Godly parents who are so concerned about my well-being and provision, a brother and sisters who are smart and witty and fun to be with, that I can depend on and trust, and a beautiful black lab that lives to make his owners happy. In addition to this, I have the most wonderful extended family - grandparents that love and care for me, who encourage me to grow and always support me, aunts and uncles who have watched me grow up and continue to be interested and encouraging in my life, cousins who are just absolutely fabulous, and in-laws that make life interesting.
3. Christmas movies are the bomb. Right now we are watching Miracle on 34th Street. How fantastic. I'm hoping to convince my sisters to watch Muppet Christmas Carol next.
4. Books are quite important to me. I am crazy in love with reading, a love affair that begun when I learned to read. From Little Women and The Chronicles of Narnia to Blue Like Jazz and a little Virgina Woolf, I just love them all. Oh, and Nancy Drew. Nancy Drew books are especially incredible.
5. Education. Oh my goodness, how I treasure this blessing. So much of our lives revolve around literacy and our ability to grasp concepts that education is absolutely a must. Add to that the opportunity to study at an institution so devoted to the heart of God and I am hooked.
6. Fantastic friends are essential. I have the most amazing friends in the world and I am grateful for them daily. I am just absolutely, absolutely, absolutely lost without their support and encouragement and all of the wonderful memories that we share. This year has brought so many new faces into this group, and I am so thankful for that.
7. West Central Christian Service Camp will always have a place especially close to my heart. This camp has meant so much to me, and so much of my growth occurred there. It is a place that prepares my heart to encounter God in a way that no other place has quite captured. I love the camp managers and the nurse and the campers and the faculty, even on the bad days.
8. I am so thankful for our security in Christ Jesus. I am grateful that God created us, that He treasures us, that He redeemed us, that Christ endured the cross, that the Holy Spirit continues to work in us, that the Spirit and Christ are interceding for us, and that there is nothing that can separate us from all that. Especially as I have been studying Romans 8:26-39, I am increasingly impressed by that fact. I marvel daily at all of this, and I praise God that I can't ever quite wrap my head around this, yet it doesn't change any of that.
9. Uh, technology. Holy cow is it amazing. From the laptop that I am typing this on to the lighting system that consumed most of my break, it is astonishing what we are able to do these days - especially skype!
10. Good food, especially around the Holiday season, makes my heart sing. I love mashed potatoes, turkey, bread, stuffed peppers, sweet potato souffle, green bean casserole, ice cream, pie, cake...and I could go on and on. I love the food that we can enjoy and prepare family-style, and I love learning to make all of this.
11. All of the ways that God has grown me in the past few years and His continued work in my life makes me so excited for the future.
12. Prayer is so great. I love having a means with which to communicate with my God.
13. I love me some real great music. From John Mayer to the Veggietales Christmas album, from Hillsong to Frank Sintra, what a blessing music is!
14.I am so excited to meet my new baby nephew in January, whose name I found out just days ago!
