Thankfulness Thursday

I have seen lots of people on Facebook participating in 30 Days of Thankfulness (or something like that) and it's been great to see thankfulness posts every day. Thankfulness is a great way to live every day of the year, and listing out things that I'm thankful for often lifts me out of a pending pity-party and reminds me of the goodness of the Lord.

Today I am thankful for:

• the completion of the 2012 Election season! Enough said.
• Daniel's continued hard work and talent in the area of music. It's fun for me to hear him practicing the drums or playing the piano in our living room and to know that he is passionate about music.
• a shared whisper with my fun four-year-old niece. Sometimes I like to whisper in her ear, "I love you" and she likes to come close, lift my hair up away from my ear, and whisper back, "I love you, too!" So sweet!
• playing a little game of "chase" with my two-year-old niece and hearing her giggle when I catch her.
• a job that I love going to each day and being able to work in an environment that is mutually encouraging and team/servant-oriented.
• hearing from a friend who I haven't seen in a while and having an opportunity to go to dinner with her tonight.

"Rejoice always!

Pray constantly.

Give thanks in everything,
for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. "

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, HCSB

My East Coast Heart

Since I was born and raised on the East Coast, and spent most of my growing up years in NJ, the events related to Hurricane Sandy last week have been heavy on my heart. I know many people who live in the states that were affected and have many close friends and an uncle who live in the NJ/NY area. It has been difficult and surreal to see the photos and video of familiar places near where I grew up and I have felt helpless at times this past week (and also a little guilty when I was taking a hot shower in a house with working electricity and easily drove my car to fill up with gas).

Thankfully, all of the people who I am in touch with who live there have come out of it relatively well. One of my friend's parents had flooding in their home on the Jersey Shore and are currently still displaced while their house is repaired. Other friends lost power for days and some are still waiting to have power restored. The gas situation has been frustrating, to say the least. All of these friends have been thankful for a roof over their heads and have been ready and willing to help their neighbors.

We have also been in touch with several ministries/churches in the NJ/NY area. One pastor who used to work with my dad at the Metropolitan NY Baptist Association has given updates of the Southern Baptist Disaster Relief teams that have gone in and are helping with recovery and feeding people (using his church as part of their headquarters). Another ministry on the lower East side of Manhattan, Graffiti, had some damage to their basement and have some items that are needing to be replaced.

If you feel led to donate to the relief efforts, here are some specific ways that you can help:

•  Our pastor here in Nashville told us about how we can donate through the Tennessee Baptist Convention to the Southern Baptist Disaster Relief efforts. You can donate specifically for relief efforts related to Hurricane Sandy.
• The Metropolitan NY Baptist Association has set up a place to donate and you can read more and find the link here.
• If you would like to help the Graffiti Community Ministries/East 7th St. Baptist Church replace items from their nursery that were damaged in some flooding in their basement, you can check out their Amazon Wishlist.

I know that the people who live in the NJ/NY area, as well as other places that were affected by Hurricane Sandy, greatly appreciate our prayers. I have been praying that this catastrophic event will open doors to the gospel and that the people who receive help will know that God cares and is with them, even in this hard time, and that they have hope.

Thankfulness Thursday

Happy November! I wanted to put something up here today on my blog since it's a new month. A few years ago I wrote a blog every day of November telling about things I am thankful for. I could do that again, and every month, but I thought maybe this year I'll have "Thankful Thursdays" for all of the Thursdays in November (and maybe I'll continue to do it after the month is over).


Today I'm thankful for:

• Daniel's college applications being completed and submitted (oh wait, there's that one last essay-- well, then I'm thankful that the applications are almost all finished).
• A nice, relaxing weekend in Destin last weekend with some dear friends. It was great weather and we had fun just doing whatever was restful (reading, watching the sunset, finding yard sales).
• Generous friends who include me in activities like the one last week.
• Our continuing Fall season in Nashville. When I returned from Florida, it was cooler and the leaves were still somewhat on the trees.
• A family who lives close by and who likes to get together on the spur of the moment.
• My son who makes me laugh (usually not at my expense, but sometimes I am the reason we're laughing).

I'd also like to invite you to add your own thanksgivings in the comments. Don't be shy and don't worry if you don't have a Google account. I have made it so you can comment as "anonymous" if you want.

So . . . what are you thankful for today?

Conflicted October

I love October. It's really been one of my favorite months for a long time. I love the changing colors of the leaves (especially when I view them through my sunglasses--the colors really pop!). I like the fact that the weather is cooler. It's also a month when there are fun activities planned and people gather together, and I always like that.

I don't like October, though, because it makes me sad. I was married in October (by choice, because I love this time of year), but ironically, my divorce was final in October, too. And my dad passed away six days before his birthday in October last year.

I was dreading October this year, mainly because of the first anniversary of my dad's death. I wasn't sure what it "should" look like and feel like and what we should do. I didn't want to ignore the day and the memories of last year, but I also wanted to celebrate my dad's life and the life we live now and the fact that he's with his Savior for eternity. I wanted to be with my mom and sister and be together in whatever ways we needed, but I also wanted to be alone to process my grief (or truth be told, to try to ignore it sometimes).

This October has been a busy month in our lives, with it being "crunch time" for Daniel and his college applications. We took a trip to Knoxville to tour the UT campus, with neither of us having very high expectations of it being the place for Daniel. We were proven wrong and he actually came away (we both did) with a great impression of the campus and of the music program. This was a surprising twist to Daniel's pursuit and desire to only apply to Belmont University and their School of Music.

On the drive home, it hit me that while I want Daniel to go to whichever school the Lord wills and guides him to, there is some conflict in my heart about the fact that Belmont is in our backyard, so to speak, and UT is two and a half hours away. I know that I don't have much room to talk, since I went over a thousand miles away from my home when I left for college. And with today's technology, it will be a lot easier to stay in touch with Daniel if he ends up at UT. Not that I'd pester him with daily texts or anything. Give me some credit here!

So, there are some of my thoughts from this month. I've been quiet on the blog, but I haven't been in the doldrums all month and have had some fun times with friends and family this month. In fact, I am getting ready to go on a fun trip to Florida and get some R&R on the beach. Not a bad way to end the month, although I do hope that the colorful leaves will still be on the trees in Nashville when I return so I can look at them through my sunglasses and stand in awe again of God's wonderful creation.

Friday Favorites: Apples

I think if I had to choose only one favorite food, it would be apples. I love many other foods and types of foods, but there is just something about a nice, crisp, tart/sweet apple that makes me go, "mmm!" And then there are all of the apple by-products:  apple pie, apple butter, applesauce, and my mom's apple cake. YUM!

A couple of weeks ago, I took my nieces to an apple orchard, mainly to buy some local apples and some apple butter. Sometime, I'll take them to actually pick apples, because that can be fun, too. I also remember going with Daniel's kindergarten class on a field trip to that same apple orchard. You haven't really lived until you have gone on a field trip with a bus load of five-year-olds. We had so much fun that year going on eight different field trips!

Last night I decided to cook up some leftover apple slices that I had in the fridge. I probably could have figured out out on my own, but I got out my trusty Betty Crocker cookbook and got the right time for microwaving them. I only added cinnamon and once they were cooked, they were just the right thing for my fall taste buds. Of course, a little vanilla ice cream would have put them over the top, but those apples were just fine by themselves.

I could probably go on and on about my love for apples and how I used to decorate my house with apple-y things. We had some friends in Virginia who lived in a farm house and they had a red-and-white checkered floor in their kitchen. I loved that idea and dreamed of decorating my kitchen that way when I grew up. Miss Lenora probably made one of the best apple pies that I've ever tasted, too, except for my own grandmother's pie.

And speaking of apple pie (and then I'll stop, I promise): my Maw-Maw even made me an apple pie for my birthday when I was five years old. She knew how much I loved apple pie and I may have even requested it. We have a picture somewhere of me standing in front of her refrigerator holding my birthday pie with five candles in it.

So, now you want some apples, right? They shouldn't be too hard to find, so go on out and get some!

Sister Saturday: Happy Fall, Ya'll!

I know I'm a couple of days late for a "Sister Saturday" post, but the picture was taken on Saturday! And it was the first day of Fall!

I got to spend the weekend with these sweet girls and one of the things we did together (along with Grandma) was take a little trip down to an apple orchard. I did not have expectations for us to pick apples, only to buy some apples and some apple butter and to enjoy the late afternoon drive. I think those expectations were met and we got to see some pumpkins as a bonus!

I'm usually a "wait until October to get excited about Fall" kind of person, but since the weather has given us a little teaser, I've loosened up on my "rule" and have started drinking pumpkin spiced beverages and hung a Fall wreath on my front door.

In case you can't tell, I love Fall!

A Trip Home: Old Favorites and New Experiences

Happy Friday! Can you believe that I have posted almost every day this week??!! But, sadly, I don't know by the comments whether anything was read. I know this isn't Facebook, but . . . just sayin' (and hinting).

To wind up my posts about my awesome Labor Day trip to NJ/NY, I just wanted to post some random pics of things that I felt compelled to take a picture of for sentimentality's sake. Also, I actually got to do something I had never done before in NY:  I walked across the Brooklyn Bridge! So cool, even with the construction that was being done on the bridge. I highly recommend it if you're ever visiting NYC.

And speaking of visiting NYC, I could easily be swayed/bribed to take small groups of people at a time for personalized tours. I mean, think about it:  how often are you able to go visit a city with someone who grew up there and knows people who are even more familiar with the area? It would be fun!

This is a chain restaurant known for ice cream. The wattmelon roll is significant in our memories, because our friend Lara C. loves watermelon sherbet w/ chocolate sprinkles.

I had to get a pretzel from a street vendor. I had already shared and eaten some of it by the time I took the pic. I don't do mustard on my pretzel.

No trip to NJ is complete without a trip to a diner. We at breakfast at this one in Nutley on Labor Day. I had never been to that one before, but used to frequent diners w/ friends back in high school. I got some yummy French toast.

The beautiful Brooklyn Bridge (looking toward Manhattan).

This is the place in Brooklyn where we ate lunch (pizza) out in that courtyard. Didn't get the name of the place nor did I get pics of the pizza. It was good, though, and we had plenty to take home for supper!

Got to ride the subway several times. Not all of the cars have this, but it's a nice addition to be shown/told what the next stop will be. Helps me look like I know what I'm doing without having to look at the map!