Thankful

I love getting to the place where the fog lifts a little and I glance back at the path that I've been tredging along on and see how each step has fallen into the place it was meant for.

And gratitude fills my heart!

A few months ago, at a women's retreat, a wise woman spent a large block of time talking about thankfulness and giving practical tips. One thing she mentioned was starting off her day listing things she's thankful for.

Sometimes I hate the idea of the "thankfulness formula" BUT I also know that it SIMPLY WORKS.

So I decided to try it, listing 20 gratitudes before raising my head from my pillow.

I admit, there are only a couple of days that I actually got to 20... hmm, pre coffee brain?
But...even if I only think of a couple of things it has now become a habit and has been a consistant way God has carried me through some darkened days.

And though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil for You are with me, Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

This morning I was thankful for my boy who let me sleep in a little before he peeked in my room and with his smiling eyes, asking for breakfast.

I was thankful for the worship song that was in my mind and on my lips as I woke up (this has happened more and more since I started this little routine).

I was thankful for the opportunity of our oldest to sing this morning in church for Youth Sunday (I think she did an amazing job by the way).

And my love, my big strong husband; the one who challenges my soul and my heart. I am thankful that God made me his helper, his partner, his encourager. I'm thankful that I can see things in him that he can't see himself and I get to call those things out of him! (God has brought me far I tell you!) 

And lastly today I cannot get over how thankful I am for friendships that are healthy, honest, vulnerable, and trustworthy.

Last weekend we went camping at a local campground on the beach. It was a beautiful Saturday and a lovely time of rest for our family. My husband needed it, just to take a break from the overwhelming tasks that having a business entail. I'm actually am not the biggest fan of sitting around a campfire, but he repaid me kindly by patiently waiting on a windy beach while the sun set over the islands in the west.