Thanksgiving!

I'm currently listening to the Justin Bieber Christmas CD which goes against my normal rule of no Christmas music before Thanksgiving, but for JB I can make an exception!  Even though I'm already getting in the Christmas spirit, I can't forget about Thanksgiving! With all of the pumpkin bread and pumpkin flavored coffee I have been consuming recently I'm falling in love with Fall.  I look at the trees and all of their bright red, yellow, and orange leaves and amazed at the creativity of my God!  Little Rock is so beautiful in the Fall.  On my drive to work each morning I cross over the Arkansas River and am amazed at all that my God has created.  The beauty of it all amazes me!  I have so much to be thankful for.  In honor of Thanksgiving I would like to share just a few of the things that I am thankful for!

1.  Starbucks Skinny Vanilla lattes!

2.  A good pair of tights!  I really appreciate the person who realized it was a smart idea to cut the feet off of panty hose and make them a little thicker!  

3.  My brother and sister-in-law!  Erin and I love this pic, but I'm sure Braden doesn't feel the same way.  I've been so blessed to have an incredible brother, and I am so thankful that He married one of my best friends in the whole wide world!  They are about to take off for 27 months to El Salvador.  I know that God is going to use them in incredible ways to bless the people they will be working with there!

4.  I am so thankful for my girls!  God has blessed me with some of the most incredible teens in the world.  I love my job!  They have taught me so much!  I love the opportunity to grow in our faith together!

5.  My parents!  I love these 2 people so much!  They have blessed my life in so many amazing ways.  I've been so blessed to grow up in a home where there was always more than enough love to go around.  I still crawl up in my dad's lap on the couch to watch sports whenever I go back to OKC, and I talk to my sweet mother weekly on the phone! They have pointed my eyes towards Christ since day one, and there is no way I could ever repay them for all they have done for me!

6. Casey, Kellie, and Isaac Rine!  I have been really blessed to be able to work with Casey over the past 6 months.  Each day in the office is full of lots of laughs and practical jokes.  Their family has been a blessing to me since I moved to Little Rock 1 1/2 years ago before we ever even worked together.  I'm very blessed to have this family in my life!

7.  My lil sister/best friend!  No one makes me laugh more than my little sister.  She is my absolute best friend in the whole wide world.  I love our random phone calls and our slumber parties that we have every time we are in the same city!  She has the biggest heart in the whole wide world.  She is always looking for ways to make other people feel loved.  I'm so glad that I was blessed with a built in best friend.

8.  The wonderful women at PV who mentor me and cover me in prayers!  Tonya, Linda, Jana, Gwen, and so many more!  God has blessed me with so many incredible women.  If I ever need anything I know that all it takes is one text and I will have some incredible women of faith at my side in no time!  I receive constant texts, emails, and phone calls of encouragement from these women.  I am so blessed to be a part of their lives!

9.  Kristin and Kristen!  Kristin has been right by my side since sr. year of high school and as time goes on we just continue to get closer.  Every time I come back to OKC we make it a priority to see each other and we have frequent phone calls in between my visits to OKC.  She is incredible and I am so thankful for her.  Before I moved to LR I prayed and prayed that God would bring me good friends here.  He is so faithful.  I have a wonderful group of friends here that I am so thankful for, especially Kristen.  He has blessed me with that go to friend who I know will always be there!

10.  The Horns!  The summer I interned in Jonesboro I was blessed to get a second family.  This family is so special to me.  I love my three little siblings and my second set of really young parents!  Since my family is 5 hours away from me it is nice to have the Horns a little bit closer.  I know that if I ever need a weekend away or if something goes wrong that I can be with my second family in less than 2 hours.  I always enjoy going up to Jonesboro to see them and slumber partying with Maggie Beth!  

11. A nice apartment.  I am so thankful for a place to live.  God has blessed me with a comfortable place to sleep.  I love having a place where my girls know they can come and hang out!  I love having them in my home.  I love being able to use my apartment to bless other people.  

12.  Abbey, Beth, and Jenna!  There aren't too many of us girls in youth ministry floating around, but I have been so blessed to have three close friends right there going through the same blessings and struggles.  It's such a blessing to have friends who understand some of the struggles and joys of ministry. These girls are a constant resource and some of my best friends!

13.  The Church!  I am so thankful that God has blessed me with an incredible church family.  I love knowing that I can go almost anywhere and have a family of believers there.  I am blessed so much by being a part of His family.  

14.  The Word!  I have always been thankful for the Bible, but God has really given me a hunger for His Word recently.  I am really starting to learn just how much His Word impacts my life.  It is my constant source of strength and guidance.  His Word fills me with joy and overflows my heart!  

15.  The thing that I am most thankful for is my Jesus.  You could take away all of the other things on this list from my life, and although I would be upset, I would still have a reason to rejoice because my Jesus can never be taken from me.  No matter what this world has in store for me, I know that someday soon my Jesus has something far greater prepared for me.  I am so thankful for the sacrificial love of my father to give up His only son for me.  

I have been blessed beyond belief.  I am so thankful to my awesome God for all the blessings that He has poured out on my life.  I pray that I will turn around and use these blessings to bless others.  To those who have been given much, much will be expected.  After all that my God has given me I know that He expects much from me.  I pray that each breath of my life will be fully 100% dedicated to the glory of His name.  May I never forget that these blessings came from Him and should be used for Him.