blessed.: give thanks

It's hard not to be reminded of all that we can be thankful for at this time of year. With many people posting 30 days of thanks on facebook, I usually can agree with most things I read. However, I have seen some people being intentional about posting blessings in disguise, and I felt challenged to do the same - to take the nuisances and stresses in my life and instead see the blessing that is waiting for me if I only look a little deeper. So here goes my first week...

#1: I am thankful for God's creativity that can be seen in each one of us. Sometimes our differences can be frustrating and make it difficult to develop relationships, but we are all image bearers of Him and his diversity is beautiful.

#2: I am thankful for poopy diapers because it means my daughter is healthy and eating really well!

#3: I am thankful for the never-ending task of raking leaves because it allows me to do some physical labor outside and enjoy my favorite season of the year.

#4: I am thankful for political ads (not the content necessarily) but because they mean we live in a country that gives me the right to vote and freely live out my faith. I personally think these kids say it much better to a little "Call Me Maybe" tune! :) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EVkfNUxRh7g

#5: I am thankful for long (sometimes reeeally long) days at home because it means that God had provided just enough for me to be able to stay at home with our daughter this school year.

#6: I am thankful for rainy, dreary days because our God knows just what we need after a hot, dry summer.

#7: I am thankful for a daughter that fights sleep because sometimes that's what it takes to make us slow down, drop everything, and just be with her to comfort and sing her to sleep.

And here are some pictures of our smiling, cooing, beautiful blessing that we see growing before our eyes every day...