Thankful Thursday

There are many things in my life that I am Thankful for today.

As always, I am thankful for my husband and our relationship we have. I love sharing my life with John. I love that I can share with him my thoughts, hopes, and dreams. Along with my disappointments and hurts.

I'm thankful for my daughters and who they are becoming.

I'm thankful for my job. I have really been enjoying it. The director of our center is just AWESOME to work for. I have been blessed with this job. It took me awhile to find it, but it has been good.

I am thankful for new friends and new opportunities that God is opening the door to.

I am also thankful for our old friends too.

I am thankful for our vacation and the rest we just had.

I am thankful for our church and the awesome place it is to go and worship my savior.

Most importantly I am thankful that The Lord is my best friend and cares for me deeply. I so glad that he knows my heart and understands everything about it.

To visit more Thankful Thursdays list please visit Sting my Heart here.

Until Later,

~Betty~

Thankful Thursday

This past year has had it's share of disappointments. However, today I have a lot to be Thankful for no matter the disappointments I have faced.

• First of after a long struggle, I found a job that I really love and it provides great benefits for me and my family. I have posted about the details of how I got the job here.
  


• I have a wonderful husband that has been great in completing tasks around the house the last few weeks. He has done a lot jumping in and doing things for me as I transition into working full time. He has also taken care of the girls and has given me time away from being mom & wife lately. I have felt so loved! He really is awesome and I can't express enough of how thankful I am for him!
  


• I am not only thankful for finding a job, I am thankful for the job I have. I have been there for 2 weeks and I love it and feel like I have the qualifications to do this job. I don't have to convince others (or myself) that I can do it. I have been very impressed with the administration. I have enjoyed working with my co - teacher and believe we will have a good working relationship. Also the kids are wonderful and seeing them learn my name and their hugs are such a blessing.
  


• I am so thankful for my best friend Pat! I am so thankful that I have a friend that just "Gets Me!" We live nine hours away from each other and only sees each other about once a year, but our friendship is such a gift from God. We talk on the phone about once a week for 1 - 2 hours at a time (thank goodness for free night minutes on my cell phone). Our lives and the situations we are dealing with are so different. She is 30 years older than me, has adult children, grand children, and is in the retirement years of her life. My children are still young and I am still in the midst of developing my working career. Regardless of the differences of our lives - our hearts just seem to connect and we are able to share our thoughts and feelings with each other and don't always have to explain it to each other. It seems like we take turns "whining" to each other and offering not only a listening ear, but an understanding heart. I am so thankful that God has brought Pat into my life and has blessed our friendship like only He can.

• I am Thankful for my family. I love being a mom and wife. I love seeing my girls play together. I love watching movies with my girls and playing card games with them (as we have started doing more of). Also my extended family. Since my parents have died I don't see my extend family very much, but I received a Thanksgiving card in the mail last week from an aunt and uncle of mine that I haven't seen for about 2 1/2 years. I'm also thankful for my cousins Heidi and Angie that I keep in contact with through email and Instant Messaging.

• I am thankful for my family that I "adopted" just because they are wonderful. Ron & Faye have supported, loved me, and have given me great advise. They have been that mother & father figure to me in my life. Even when I have faced one of the biggest failure moments of my life they have still been there hurting with me and saying "Betty we still love you and are praying for you." I love being including in their lives. I also am thankful for their daughter Caryl, who I grew up with. We have been friends since grade school and she is "Aunt Caryl" to my girls and I'm "Aunt Betty" to her girls. Our friendship has changed through the years and it has not developed into what we both thought it would be, but we both agree that we each hold a special place in our each other's heart and we are thankful to be apart of each other's lives and always will be.

• I am thankful for the friends that God has brought into my life. There are 2 other couples that we get together with and have such a good time. The guys have a bond together - they have similar sense of humors and watch bad sci-fi B movies together and we women connect and talk. I get so blessed by seeing John have "friends" of his own in his life.

• I am also thankful for my church and church family. They are awesome and we just love the church we attend.

• I am so thankful for Blogging and being able to express myself this way. I am so thankful for my blogging friend Cheri at Keeping Up With His Plans. Cheri you have blessed me so much these past few months. You have touched my heart in way that I will never be able to express what it has meant to me. Thanks you for your prayers and support.

• Most importantly in life I am Thankful for my relationship with Jesus Christ. I am thankful that He saw my imperfections and chose to love me anyways. He has blessed me over and over again. I am so thankful that in every situation in life He walks with me through them all.

As I have been typing this post it has been reminding me of all the great and wonderful things in my life. I am now going to go and spend Thanksgiving day with my family, cooking a big dinner, watching the parade, listening to a football game, watching a movie with my girls, and taking a nap. I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving day! If you want to read more Thankful Thursday posts please visit Laurel Wreath's Reflections

Until Later,

~Betty~

Thankful Thursday

It has been awhile since I participated in Thankful Thursday, but I am thankful that I can be apart of it this week. In the past couple of weeks God has been showing me things in my life that I have to be thankful for.

• I am so thankful for my husband and the relationship we have together. I love talking and sharing my heart & thoughts with John.


• I am thankful for the part time jobs I have right now, while I search for a full time job.


• I'm thankful for the people that are in my life and how God has blessed me with them.


• I am thankful for the person God has created me to be.


• I'm thankful for blogging and the need that it meets in me. It has been so nice to start posting more this week.


• I am thankful for my family.

I have learned that no matter what is going on in our lives, we can always find something to be thankful for. If you want to list what you are thankful for or to visit others who list please visit Crystal at God is in Control Not Me.

Until Later

~Betty~

Thankful Thursday

It’s Thursday again, which means it’s time to talk about something I am thankful for.

This week I am thankful for my husband. As I posted here John and I were fighting all last week, but we did resolve our issues. This week I was reminded of some good things about my husband.

This week I chose to work on reading to my children as a SMART Habit Saturday goal. You can visit Lara here to learn more about that. At dinner one night I was talking to John about this and explaining to girls my thoughts and plans about this. John knowing my desire took the lead by taking my thought one step further and said after dinner there would be no more television tonight and we were going to the library and spend the rest of the evening reading. As a family we started reading the Laura Ingalls Wilder books. I can not begin to express how much this just thrilled me. John and I disagree on the amount of time we allow the TV to be on in our house, therefore I was so excited when he decided to do this. It made me feel very thankful for him.

Also I was reminded this week that with all the faults and weaknesses that John has that irritated me so much last week, I am glad John is in my life.
I am thankful:

• For who John is and how God uses him
• For when it comes to the big things in life John is a good husband
• He cares about me & our girls
• He loves God
• Someone that I can trust
• Someone that I can talk to
• Someone that I respect
• He knows right from wrong
• He lives a life with convictions

This week our neighbor had a bad situation happen to her and we went over to help out and got in the middle of a mess. I know God had to be guiding us and protecting us, because I did not think about what could be happening or what could have happen to us. We just reacted to a desperate cry for help from a 10 year girl, who was claiming that someone was beating up her mom. We went over and as John broke up the fight, the guy punched John in the mouth and took off running. The police and the paramedics came and took care of things.
I am thankful

• That we were able to help
• That things were not any worse than they were
• Wonderful neighbors that also came to help when it was needed
• The neighborhood that we live in
• For John’s attitude about the whole thing
• Policemen that protect us from violent people
• Wisdom from God that tells us when we can and should help and when we need to let someone else help

Overall this week I am thankful for the life that I live, for my husband, and for my supportive friends.

You can visit Iris at Sting my Heart to see more Thankful Thursdays.

Until Later,
~Betty~

Thankful Thursday

I am thankful for God Blessings in my life and how He provides for me when I need him. One issue I really try not to blog about is finances and any situation relating to that, but I really must share this story in order to Praise God and give Him the glory.

Last week I was working on our budget and for various reasons I knew our expenses would be increasing this month and our income would be decreasing, which is not a joyful or fun position to be in. However, I continued to list our expenses for the month and then list our income for the month. In some ways we were coming up short. I rechecked some categories and was going to make it work. I do our budget in a spreadsheet and each bill has a category and I add or subtract money into each category as I need to. One of the categories that we pay is tithe. We believe in giving 10% of our income to our local church that we attend. When we get paid I put 10% of our income into our tithe category and keep track of it that way. Usually what happens on the weeks that we get paid, as I’m sitting in service on Sunday mornings I will write out our check. Sometimes I don’t always remember the exact amount that is in our account, but I’m usually pretty close to the figure.

Well, last week when I was working on our budget I felt like I should figure out the exact amount in our tithe account and write out the check. After figuring out our expenses and income I knew it was going to be really tight and we would be short on some bills and would have to go without some things. I didn’t have any solutions. I prayed about our financial situation as I have been for several months now.

You see, John & I are both looking for a different job that pays better and will be able to take care of our financial obligations and our needs. Therefore we are playing a wait and see game. We are sending out resumes and praying that we get interviews and then jobs, but that is as far as we are in the process. We are waiting for God to lead and open the right doors and trying to trust Him while we are waiting, which can be a challenge.

So back to the budget, I really felt like the Lord was telling me to write out the tithe check first even if that meant other bills may not get paid. To be honest, I struggled and was tempted not to pay our tithe this time. I just couldn’t see how some of our bills were going to get paid and we would make it through the month. As I was struggling with writing out that check I felt the Lord reminding me of the scripture verse

Malachi 3:10 which says:“Bing the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.”

The other scripture verse that the Lord brought to my mind was Matthew 6:31 – 32 which says, “So do not worry, saying ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.

And Philippians 4:19 says “And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Chris Jesus.”

As hard as it was I did write out that check and told the Lord that I did not see how He was going to provide, but I would trust Him. I gave my plan to Him and told him here is what I’m going to pay and how I’m going to spend our money, if He wanted me to do something different then He would have to provide something different. At that moment I felt more of a peace and trust than I had in a loooooooooong time! When John came home I told him of my conversation with the Lord and what I was going to do and was going to leave it at that. I did not share this specific situation/ concern with anyone other than John. Can you guess what the Lord did?

Later that night I received an unexpected check that more than covered the amount we needed for the rest of bills, and some extra that we were able to go out and celebrate our 12th wedding anniversary. God knew not only what our need was, but what the desire of my heart was too. Because I trusted Him and was obedient, even when it did not make sense to me He blessed me beyond what I could imagine or have asked for. This was bigger and more than what I would have even thought to ask for. God showered His blessing on us and I felt so loved.

I don’t know how God is going to work everything out from this point on, but I know I can trust Him and I know that He will provide and come through for His children. I am so thankful for God’s love, blessings, and guidance in my life. I give Him all the glory. If you have experience similar to this or how God has blessed you at the time you needed it, I would love to hear about it. We should share how God has blessed us and this is my way to share how he is working in my life. I hope God is blessing you too.

Please check out Sing My Heart for more Thankful Thursday posts.


Until Later
~Betty~

Thankful Thursday

This week I am thankful for the gift of LIFE. I am in the middle of facing some hard challenges and I don’t know how things are going to end up, but this week I decided that I was going to enjoy life. I am going to enjoy the good moments in life despite the current hard times & hurt in my life.

Tuesday night was my daughter, Bethany’s, school night at Skate County and we went as a family. I had THE best time. John was taking care of Jody who is still learning to skate, Bethany went around with her school friends, and I was able to skate by myself. It was great exercise and I totally enjoyed it. On the way home that night, while getting the girls ready for bed early so John I could enjoy our “weekly date night” watching House, was when I determined that I really do have many things to be grateful for despite any bad things going on. This didn’t just happen; I had to take action to make it happen.

Along with the hard challenges I am thankful that God gives small blessings:

• Family time toghter.


• My church, Gracepointe, where I am developing good friendships.


• My quiet time I have in the evening to blog, email, & IM my friends.


• The May Day Challenge to loose weight and the new bloggers I am meeting.


• The Christian radio station (104.7 The Fish) that I get to listen to in the mornings and to be blessed by. I love the morning show with Kevin & Taylor.


• The hope that I have to better my life and my family’s life.


• The fact that God doesn’t give up on me and loves me in spite of my weaknesses.
  
  The Bible says that Jesus came to give us life and to give it abundantly and I have decided this week to really enjoy life no matter what! I hope you are having a thankful week.
  
  If you would like to read more thankful posts or to join yourself please visit Iris here.
  
  Until Later,
  ~Betty~

Thankful Thursday!

I am thankful for my husband:

• who understands that I need some time away with my friends


• who is a good dad and can take care of our girls when I am out with friends for a night


• who can take care of the house chores when I have a night out


• who encourages me to support my friends on their accomplishments


• who listens to me when I need to talk


• WHO LOVES ME NO MATTER WHAT!!!!
  
  I LOVE YOU JOHN!!!

I am also thankful for friends:

• who keep you accountable when setting goals


• who take over my responsibilities when I need to do other things


• who will stand in a parking lot and talk to you when they are dying on the inside to go home and find out their final grades on their college exams


• who listens to your heart and knows what you are saying when you don’t know the words to express


• who’s company I enjoy – even when the food & service served from the restaurant isn’t all that good


• who inspire me just by living their lives

I am thankful for God’s love and blessings in my life!

To see more Thankful Thursdays visit Iris at Sting My Heart.

Until Later

~Betty~

Thankful Thursday

This week I am thankful for God's love in my life. I have been struggling trusting God to provide certain things this week and he has gently come to me and reminded me how much he loves me and is worthy enough to be trusted.

I'm thankful that when my faith is lacking God is still big enough to be trusted. A friend of mine reminded me this week of how faithful the Lord is and how He can be trusted to meet my needs and my heart's desires.

I'm thankful that God understands me and knows how to speak to my heart to get His message across to me. Sometimes in my life certain people will say things or I hear things over & over again, but don't get the message that there are areas in my life that I need to change. I don't always respond when others try to change me. However when God says it is time to change a behavior or attitude, He knows how to speak right to my heart and make the message clear so I don't misunderstand.

I'm thankful for the people God brings into my life to encourage me and inspire me to be more like Jesus. Our church is starting a 40 day Faith Journey Devotional and my friend Alice asked me to be her accountability partner through this and after talking about it we were able to connect on a "God level" and it was encouraging.

I'm thankful that God loves me through my short comings & faults.

Visit Sting My Heart to see more Thankful Thursday's participants.

Until Later,

~Betty~

Thankful Thursday

• Today I'm thankful that my husband loves me!
• I am thankful for a husband who loves me through my moods and when people and things irritate me.
• I'm thankful that my husband is there for me when things that you can't talk to others about are not going well.
• I'm thankful that I can count on my husband to be there and support me when I'm being irrational and overreact. When I ask him what he thinks he just answers "This is one of those times when there isn't a right answer, right?"
• I'm thankful that my husband has my back even when he doesn't agree with me.
• I'm thankful that my husband loves me enough to forgive me when I invite 30 plus people over to our house for Easter celebration and forgot to run it by him first.
• I'm thankful that my husband loves me.

Please visit Sting my Heart for more Thankful Thursdays.

Until Later,

~Betty~

Thankful Thursday

This week I wanted to share what it is that I am thankful for about my house. We have talked about selling our house and moving closer to our church. Right now it is just talk, but I wanted to reflect on why I am thankful for the current home we have.

• I am thankful that I have 2 bathrooms and I have a garden tub to enjoy hot bubble baths by myself


• I am thankful that I have enough room for my girls to have a separate playroom than their bedroom


• I am thankful for a fireplace


• I am thankful for a dinning room and a breakfast area


• I am thankful for a garage


• I am thankful for a yard the kids can play in


• I am thankful to be living in a subdivision away from traffic


• I am very thankful that we have been able to afford this house and have made each payment on it.

I don't want to sound cocky about my house - there are certain things I don't like about it and I would change, but I'm emphasizing the positive and the things that I do like. For those who do not know me after 11 years of marriage this is the first home we have been able to buy. I just don't want anyone to think that I take this for granted or that this has just been handed to me with no work or worries, because that is not the case. We have had our struggles. I just don't want to turn people off and sound like I'm bragging, because that is not my intent. I am just trying to reflect on the blessing God has provided for us. I hope you understand my heart as I share this.

For more Thankful Thursday please visit Sting My Heart.

Until Later,

~Betty~

Thankful Thursday

During our family Prayer time at night we always go around and tell what we are thankful for that happened during the day or the week. Therefore, I decided that I want to add this to my blog. So every Thursday I am going to share things in my life that I am thankful for.

This has been a difficult week and I am feeling discouraged and disapppointed right now, but I know there are still things in my life that I am thankful for no matter how I am feeling.

I am thankful for the blessing of friendship. Since we have moved to Georgia God has blessed John & I with a group of friends that have blessed me more then what I can express.

I am thankful that I was able to talk on the phone to Pat, my best friend from Lima. It was like a breath of fresh air. Talking with Pat encourages, inspires, and sometimes convictes me in my spiritual walk.

I'm thankful for the opportunity to blog. It has been helping to stay accountable to my daily home task, to be a better mom, better wife, and better Christian. I have been so encouraged by some of the blogging friends I have made and by reading their stories & lives.

As always I'm thankful for my family. We are together no matter how we feel or what is happening in our lives.

Dear Lord, Thank you for all these things that I have listed and so many more that I have not listed.

Visit Sting My Heart for more Thankful Thursday entries.

Until Later,
Betty