~*~Thankful Thursday~*~

As I've sat today, perusing Facebook, I've seen so many people doing a "Thankful Challenge" where they are going to post something everyday that they are thankful for.  With Thanksgiving being this month, it seems fitting that thankfulness would become the theme I supposed. November is the month to remind us to be thankful for the many good things in our life. Isn't it a bit ironic that we begin the month of November by going and 'begging' for candy from perfect strangers the night before, and we end it by having Black Friday where we can't get enough and will be seeing fights in stores for 'things'.  November isn't the only time of the year that we should be thankful, however. We should live a life of gratitude, and while it's not easy to do, it's a very rewarding way to live. Looking for the simple things in life can be the most rewarding.  

Last year I joined a group called  One Thousand Gifts. It's based on the work of Ann Voskamp and is a challenge to get us to "Live Fully from Where You Are".  It's not about the fancy cars or big houses. It's not about the greatest job or perfect health. It's about seeing amazing life all around us and being grateful for each moment. Shortly after I began the journey of One Thousand Gifts, I came outside to see that my 5 year old had drawn a chalk family on the sidewalk, right outside our front door. 

 I saw my kids revealing over the joys of making tents in the livingroom. 

 I marveled in the simplicity during a moment of solitude

and had simple reminders of love.

While November 1 is a great day to begin a journey of gratitude,  I hope that it won't stop when Thanksgiving is over. Take that time to fully see the beauty of what is around you and be thankful for it. 

Since today is my normal Thankful Thursday, I need  to get to what I'm thankful for today. 

I'm thankful that we finally have a start day for our office!! And I'm thankful that things are really starting to come together. Tables have been ordered and our "Coming Soon" sign is up.

I'm thankful that the rain has finally stopped and the sun has come out, and that it's 10* warmer today than it has been the past few days!!

I'm thankful for my warm bed, and that (while temporary) I can get the kids off to school in the morning and crawl back into it and sleep until my body tells me to wake up.

Oh, and I'm thankful for bacon! Yep!  I'll admit it. I love making bacon and eggs for breakfast in the morning and yesterday, when I was out of bacon, I REALLY missed it! 

“We pray for the big things and forget to give thanks for the ordinary, small (and yet really not small) gifts.” 
― Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together: The Classic Exploration of Faith in Community