Family

     I'll try not to get sappy on any potential readers, but how could I possibly write a blog about gratefulness without mentioning family.  Especially after an amazing and special birthday, I feel so lucky and blessed to have all these people surrounding me.  They have been there through the not-so-good moments, as well as the successes.  I am so thankful that God has placed me in this specific family, and he has done just that: place, each and every one of us!
    Granted, we are very dysfunctional.  We all have weird quirks, pet-peeves, and tiny little buttons to push.  Yet, I have found that most of the things about my family that drive me crazy, are the very things that I struggle with myself.  Crazy how God does that!  They act as a mirror, a reflection of who I am and where I come from.  Family is a comforting familiar in this crazy world, that pulls me back to fun game nights and Wipeout on the Xbox Kinect.  Most importantly, my family has shown me the love of God.  My mom, dad and siblings, mean so much to me.  In a sense, they are a driving factor in who I am and what I expect of myself.
     Thank you so much God for these blessings that I often yell at and disregard.  Thank you so much for the loving care they have shown me throughout my life, and for years to come.  And to those family members themselves: I cannot thank you enough.  Perhaps anonymously celebrating you on the internet will suffice :)
     

My best friend

     Flashback four years ago:  I was praying for a best friend.  I wanted someone to uplift and encourage me, and who I could do the same for.  I met my best friend at a youth conference that year, and I am so grateful for the blessing she is to me.  I know for a fact she will read this-- so here's a little shout-out :)

My best friend came with us to see Christmas l
lights this year.  We had a bunch of fun!

     But seriously, she is the most caring person I have ever met.  She makes others feel so welcome and loved, something I aspire to growing in this year (See my Intro. post).  I could not ask for a friend who better  strengthens-- and sometimes challenges- me.  Sometimes I forget how important a friend like this is.  Since these people are always in our lives, we tend to take them for granted.  Thank you Lord for my best friend, and to my best friend: thank you!

A Confirmation

     I woke up this morning excited-- rare for a Monday morning.  I found the idea of looking for things to be grateful for, a challenge of sorts.  Maybe this is bad, but I feel more motivated to look for things I'm thankful for when I'm going to be writing these things down.  Not because people may see them, but because I know that I've set this goal for myself to blog about these things.  The blog will be as lively as my gratefulness, so that's a bit of motivation.  Again, I'm not out here to gain lots of views, but it would be great to inspire others to be thankful for all that God has given!
     Anyhow, it wasn't long before-- ten minutes after waking up-- that I began to doubt this little "mission" of mine.  Perhaps God hadn't suggested the idea after all.  Then, I began to read my Girlfriends in God devotional for the day (CLICK THE LINK TO READ IT.) and guess what it was all about: gratitude!  I love how God speaks like that!

God inhabits the praises of His people (Psalm 22:3 KJV).


     So, today I'm really grateful that he speaks to me like that, and loves to give me such joy!  That goes along with the verse I've been memorizing this week:

He will fill your mouth with praise.  Shouts of joy will come from your lips.   (Job 8:21)

     That was spoken to Job during a very hard time, and he had to take a leap of faith to trust God.  That's what this blog is.

Weather and a companion

     Oh my goodness! I'm majorly thankful for what I found out today: the weather on Tuesday  has a high of 65!!! I don't even care that it's supposed to be cloudy with 30 mph  winds- it's January. The reason I'm so excited is because it'll be my birthday, and it won't be bone-chillingly cold:)
     Number 2- I'm so grateful for my little companion who kept me company as I regretfully missed a movie with the family for my brother's birthday. I've missed Lily lately, and it was nice spending the day with her snoring beside me. I love how excited she always is to see me, and it reflects the love Christ has for us.  Thank you God for such a loyal friend as my little chocolate lab. One of my focuses lately, is to grow in my outward focus and that's something Lily showed me today. So grateful!

The Introduction

     I've started a blog.  I guess this warrants an explanation and a Welcome! post to any potential readers.  Shall I start with this: according to the Better Life Index of 2012, the U.S ranked 12th out of 32 countries measured for happiness.  I would argue that many American's don't understand what joy is, or are thankful for the many things we have-- myself included.  However, I was thinking over this in church today, and I realized how powerful the act of gratefulness truly is.  There are so many things that I hate now, but will come to appreciate later.  That's just how God works.  At this point in my life, there is a lot changing.  What better time to open up and blog regularly about the things I'm thankful for, whether or not I "feel" like I am.  So, I have turned this into my private project for 2013.  The act of physically voicing the blessings and hardships that I am thankful for, will make me more aware of how truly blessed I am.  In the process, I hope to share a bit of my chaotically fun, yet broken, life.  While everything will be themed around gratefulness, there's a wide scope of people, travels, hardships, and changes that will be posted to these pages.  I hope to grow in my faith, become more aware of my blessings, and inspire a grateful revolution in a country so desperately needy of some joy.