Days 21 and 22 - I am thankful

I'm having to combine two days.  Yesterday got busy fast and never let up!  Today has been a little better but not much.  So I will do both days of gratitude here.

First, I am thankful for the wonderful opportunity DD had to work with great clinicians this past week in the Acting in Singing Workshop put on my Ars Nova.  She really did learn alot.  One of the things they did was a one act play by Thurber called The Happy Journey.  Katie had a lot of lines to learn and did a great job!  I do not think she has ever had to learn so many lines so quickly.  Ron Harris was the clinician for that part.  Dr. Beazley worked with her on voice and Paul Houghtailing worked with the group staging their excerpts.  DD's part was in Les Mis.  She also worked with Susan Kelly on dance and movement.  Dr. Beazley really did put together an excellent staff for this!

Secondly, I am thankful for the time I had today to be amongst God's family.  It is wonderful to spend time with our church family.  Being in the company of fellow believers is always welcomed.

Day 20 - I am thankful

Some days it feels like I live behind the wheel in my van.  Today was one of those days.  Business meeting, kids to school and a workshop, kid to church, kid to the mall, pickup from mall to store and then home and last but not least, a pickup from church.  I'm sure I forgot an errand or two in there.  There was little time to create!

But I am thankful for time spent, one on one with my kids.  They are captive in the vehicle with me and we have some wonderful conversations while I am driving.  It takes practice to draw information out of a 13 year old boy but the van is a great place for it.

Day 19 - I am thankful!

Singer, a photo by theresplendentbeauty on Flickr.

The picture says it all tonight! I am thankful for my sewing machine. Nothing fancy but getting the job done. I think I am going to name the machine finally. Care to make a suggestion for a name? I'm leaning towards Beverly at the moment. That would be in honor of Beverly Sills the opera singer. Get it?!

Day 18 - I am thankful!

Today I had the pleasure of meeting Suzanne Thornhill, the new Disaster Coordinator for North Alabama Presbytery.  She will be coordinating volunteer efforts throughout the area.  Currently, there is a group in from North Caroline working in the area.  I am so thankful for Suzanne and others like her who are working tirelessly to help with the recovery process.

Suzanne will be reporting volunteer hours and donations up to Presbyterian Disaster Assistance, part of PCUSA.  She is a resource for out of town groups who wish to help.  She will know who has chain saws to put to use and who can provide meals for volunteers.  You can reach Suzanne at tornadorecovery@gmail.com

At a time when there is so much strife about PCUSA, it is a blessing to see the reach we have when we all work together.  I am so thankful for a connectional church and Suzanne Thornhill.

Day 17 - I am thankful

What a busy day!  Lots of errands were completed today and a project undertaken and completed.  Makes me a happy girl!

I have been reflecting on different cultures here in the US and how thankful I am to be where I am!  The idea that girls are not worth educating has really bothered me.  I have heard stories of certain cultures where that is the norm.  It seems incredible to me to hear that!  I suspect it is a small subset of the particular culture and not the whole.  I am so thankful to have been raised by parents who did not put limits on my dreams or education!

Day 16 - I am Thankful!

So you might have noticed I am on a gratitude thing right now.  I really want to practice being thankful, having a gratitude attitude, or whatever you want to call it.  Life isn't perfect by any means but when we count our blessings, it becomes easier to...  skip over the bumps, roll with the punches, weather the storm... choose your metaphor or suggest one in the comments.  Stopping each day to find the blessings, find the God moments, gives me time to reflect.  I know at 16 days, this is hardly a habit but I am well on my way to making this change.

Today's gratitude - I am thankful for the internet and the connections it makes for me!  I know that might sound strange but it really is true.  There is so much knowledge shared collectively on the internet and friendships and relationships are established and maintained because of it .  What a blessing it is!  (I know it can be a curse when misused but for me, it is almost entirely a blessing!)

Day 15 - I am Thankful

Today I am thankful for my oldest DD.  She has returned from PA (LOGOS Youth Conference) a changed child.  Maybe not even a child so much as a growing young adult, becoming more secure with her place in this world and totally secure in her relationship with the Lord. 

She has shared glimpses of her time in PA with me and I know that she had a blast.  I also know that these conferences are extremely intense for the kids.  This year seems to have been a particularly strong year.  She wrote a beautiful song while she was there and shared with me the comments she received from her Bible study group.  I am left in awe of of God's work in her life and pray that her gifts will take her far!

Day 14 - I am thankful!

Today I am thankful for the company of good friends, good food and much laughter!  This kind of fellowship is just good for the body and the soul.  Tonight we were blessed to be invited to try the food of Portugal.  It was quite good!  We met new people too which was fun.  And to top of the evening, our oldest should be home by midnight!  All around us are many blessings!

Day 13 - I am Thankful!

Today I am thankful for my husband who supports my work and encourages me to be my best.  I am blessed!

Made in His image...

I'm pondering upon this scripture that we are made in God's image.  If we are made in His image, we are then creators too.  What a wonderful gift to be given!  We were created to create! 

I don't believe that we were all meant to be artists in the classical sense.  Certainly painting and sculpture are gifts or talents in themselves.  Creators make the world around us though.  Buildings are created.  Automobiles, planes, trains and boats are created.  Knitters and crocheters are creating.  Quilters and sewers are creating.  Engineers are creating.  Parents are creating homes and opportunities for their children.  Programmers are creating code to aid others.  Medical professionals are creating health and healing.

If we see creating as a gift, we then are responsible for using our gifts in a positive manner.  Certainly creators can make things that are not pleasing to God.  Choosing to create in such a way as to be pleasing to Him is another layer to ponder. 

Lord bless my works that they may be pleasing to you and a service to your people.

Day 12 - I am Thankful!

I am thankful for Thursday mornings!  They come early at our house as DH is usually out the door well before 7AM to get to a 7:15 meeting each week.  I am usually awake and this summer have made it a habit to head to Panera for some Mommy time!  It has been wonderful!  I take my laptop, order breakfast and make myself an iced coffee (Hazelnut of course!).  Then I settle into my seat and enjoy the morning!

I have met interesting people this summer with this weekly ritual.  I run into friends.  My DH usually joins me when his meeting is over and we have a few minutes in the middle of the day to touch base.

Meanwhile, I have checked in with FB, Twitter, Google+ and read the blog updates which I find in my google reader.  I check the news but not my email.  I find it so relaxing to be there.  Who would have thought that early Thursday morning would become such a treasured time.  It will come to a screeching halt when school rolls around.  Hopefully, I will be able to go still, just a little later after dropping off all the kiddos.

But for now, I as so thankful for Thursday mornings and this new ritual.

Day 11 - I am Thankful!

Tonight was the first meeting of the Rocket City Bloggers.  This is an informal group of people who blog and are willing to meet together to share knowledge and learn from each other.  I hope that is a fair way of stating it.  We met at BAM and though we were afraid that it might be a small group to start, we quickly grew in number until there were nine bloggers there.  Many, like myself, manage more than 1 blog and others focus on just one blog / area.  For a first meeting, I think it went really well!  We were able to talk about what topics we might want to have for future meetings.  We got to know more about each other and generally all agreed that FB was not to be trusted with anything that needed to be kept private! 

One thing that we talked about was having a blog carnival.  I admit it!  I didn't know exactly what that was and I'm still not sure exactly how it should work!  I googled it and will be adding links here to others who attended the meetup!  Not sure if that is truly a carnival or not.  See?  I have much to learn with respect to blogging!

http://carolmarksonline.com/

http://www.rocketcitymom.com/

http://www.thediningdragon.com/

http://mrsdragon.net/

http://notyourtypicalsouthernbelle.net/

http://entirelyadequate.com/

http://auntgeebakes.com

This is just a list of blogs from those who were there tonight.  There are more to add and I will try to get to them later too!  So for my gratitude today, I am thankful for this new circle of friends.  I'm excited to see where we go and watching each one grow!

Day 10 - I am Thankful

I am thankful for my crafting / sewing friends once again tonight.  I am blessed to be surrounded by people who love to create, love to laugh and freely share their knowledge with me.  I blogged about the quilt I am working on over at my craft blog.  You can check it out there.  Thank you God for great friends!

Day 9 - I am Thankful!

Today I had the joy of spending time creating with girlfriends.  I am so thankful for my girlfriends!  We were working on quilts!  I found my project from when I took a quilting class in 1994!  The colors are not anything I would choose now!  But, if I look at this as an opportunity to learn and practice the skills, the colors really don't matter.  They aren't hideous, just not attractive to me now.  I'll try to post a picture later.

Day 8 - I am thankful

I am thankful for safe travels and chaperones who are posting pics from LOGOS!  I have seen DD in one photo and know that the trip went well.  Praying the fellowship and relationships deepen with Christ and His community.

Day 7 - I am thankful!

Today - I am thankful that my oldest is on her way to Scranton, PA to participate in the annual LOGOS Conference East.  I put her on a bus at 5:30 pm to leave for a 14 hour trip (not including their stops).  I am praying for safe travels, a week of new and renewed friendships, fellowship and learning.  Praise God!

Day 6 - I am Thankful

Fabulous Friday!  Well if your definition of Friday is that it is Fabulous no matter what!  Completed work and fruits of labor both contributed to make this a great day.  I am thankful that I got to see the performance of the class that DD has been helping with all week.  It is wonderful to watch a child grow in ability and confidence!

Day 5 - I am Thankful!

I had to shut down the computer last night because a huge thunderstorm came rolling through.  It brought much needed rain to refresh the yards and fields.  Thank you Lord for rain!

Please excuse me if I post a second one of these later today.  I really wanted to add yesterday's gratitude here!

Day 4 -I am Thankful!

Today has been a busy day for sure!  I am thankful for work today!  Work that keeps the bill paid, work that occupies the mind and hands, work that hopefully is pleasing to the Lord. 

When you are self-employed, work is a blessing!  2011 has been a rough year so far but we have survived (in a rough sort of way!)  Definitely some bumps this year.  An ice storm which kept the city shut down for a week and then the tornados which caused the city to lose power for 4-5 days and longer in some areas.  Two weeks without work are not the easiest thing!  And that is why I am thankful for work!  Here's hoping your 2011 has been better! 

Day 3 - I am thankful!

On this summer day, I am thankful for rain!  While it was plenty hot this morning and early afternoon, rain came and cooled us down!  It was such a blessing!

Day 2 - I am thankful

Today, I am thankful for the opportunity my oldest daughter has this week.  She is assisting with an arts workshop for elementary students.  In return, she will earn part of her tuition for the workshop she wants to take later in the month!  It is a great opportunity for her to learn new skills and practice some old ones too.

Day 1 - I am thankful!

Today I thought I would start something new to keep the blogging spark going.  I am going to give one thing everyday for which I am thankful.  Remembering God's blessings is what I hope to accomplish with this.  I will still post other things as they occur but I really want to have a daily gratitude attitude!

So for today, I am thankful for my sweet family.  They are blessings to me in ways too numerous to count.  They keep me going and lift me up when I am down.  God is good!