Pages

Wednesday, November 27, 2013

Thankful...

"Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto himand bless his name."
- Psalm 100:4 - 

Being thankful. It's something that we forget to do many times isn't it? I know so many times my life and the way that I live can scream selfishness instead of gratitude. As the holiday of Thanksgiving approaches tomorrow, my heart is naturally turned toward what I am thankful for. However, I realize that this should be my mindset each and every day, not just the time I gather with family around a holiday meal. 

The truth is, those of us who have the most to say "Thank You" for are the worst at it. I want my life to show thankfulness in every way - to never get over how good God has been to me. Here are a few things that I am most thankful for today and every day...



First, my salvation. In no way, shape, or form do I deserve for a loving Savior to take the penalty for my sin. But He did. It's done - finished. All I had to do was believe on Him and accept Him as my Savior. WOW. I get to spend eternity in Heaven and share a personal relationship with the God of the universe based on nothing that I have done but on everything that Christ did on the cross. 

Next, I'm thankful for my family. I have a wonderful husband - a husband that I know was hand-picked by God to complete me. I know God is still writing our love story, but I love every page and chapter! I have a precious little boy - there is just something about motherhood that cannot be explained or understood except by another mother. I have a little girl on the way - and I am so thankful for a healthy pregnancy so far. And we all have good health - something that I know we too often take for granted. 

I'm thankful for my extended family. My parents and siblings, my in-laws, my grandparents, cousins - God has truly blessed me with a wonderful and loving family both personally and through the family that I married into. 

I'm thankful for my church family - a support group that thinks the way that I do and can help me from a biblical standpoint. 

I'm thankful for the "little" things - plenty of food, shelter, a car, health, friends, family, a job. Not to mention all of the unnecessary amenities and wants that I have been blessed with. 

Some days I wonder why in the world God has chosen to bless me with so much. But I know that I must remember that what He has passed to me, I must pass to others. 

There is no way that I can mention everything (nor would you read a post that long) that I am thankful for, but I thought I'd leave you with a few. 

Take time to thank the Lord for His blessings in your life, and then determine to make gratitude a permanent attitude in your life! 

Happy Thanksgiving!

Tuesday, November 5, 2013

Fall Favorites

Hello everyone! Wow! This week is really crazy for me because our church is hosting a HUGE ladies' conference. East Coast Ladies Retreat 2013 has already registered over 1000 ladies, and I'm in charge of the teen retreat going on with it. I am super excited and everything is coming together wonderfully! That being said, I wanted to give everyone a post this week, so here is a super short and sweet one for you...

I love fall and all of the many things that go along with it. Here are a few of my favorite things when it comes to cooler weather and falling leaves:


1. Autumn candle from BBW. This is my absolute favorite candle of all time! It smells just how I imagine fall should smell, and it permeates the house with its amazingness!

2. Chunky knit scarves. Gotta have a warm scarf for those cool, crisp days. 

3. Essie nail polish in Hot Coco. I ordered this on amazon because I couldn't find it in the store, but it is my nail color of choice this fall. 

4. PSL. Also known as Pumpkin Spice Latte. Although I haven't tried coffee again since I was a few weeks pregnant, I'm thinking about picking up one of my favorites sometime this week. It's just not fall until you've enjoyed a few of these. 

5. Pumpkins. I love pumpkins! I decorate with them, carve them, go to the pumpkin patch, and eat all kinds of pumpkin flavored goodies. In fact, the word FALL always brings the image of a pumpkin to my mind. 

Happy November everyone! Enjoy the last few weeks of fall! 


Leave me your fall favorites in the comments! I'd love to hear them, and comments make me smile :)