30 Days of Thanks: Days 5, 6 and 7

 Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! 

• coffee with a friend
• fall weather
• sun and windows open
• Chic-fil-A mac and cheese
• laughs at work
• productive times
• butterfly windchimes
• sunsets
• waking up to a new morning
• His mercies are new every day
• Bible study with friends
• life lessons even when they are hard
• tree showers-  leaves letting go
• windchimes on a windy day
• everyone together under the same roof for Friday night dinner.  

30 Days of Thanks--Days 3 and 4

 I'm thankful for:  

• fall colors 
• leaves falling off trees and reminding us how beautiful it is to let go--to let go of the things that don't serve us any more, to let go of worry and anxiety.
• quiet days at home
• access to medicine and healthcare
• laughter even when we are sad

30 Days of Thanks

Oh my goodness...that's how I will start this post.  If you've been around for a while, you know that I have done some form of 30 days of Thanks posts for YEARS. Then, I stopped.  Stopped posting here altogether when I was going through a separation and eventually a divorce.  The kids are older now--two college graduates and one last homeschooled kid in the home stretch to adulthood.  Tera's married to my wonderful son-in-law, Gideon--they are working in ministry (Ratio Christi)  and the Lord is using them in so many ways;  Daniel is working full-time and composing music (Perplexing Bestiary); Michael is still in the throws of high school graduation requirements and figuring out what he wants to do post high school.  

It's so easy for our brains to continue down the old paths to the familiar--worry, anxiety, depression that we can forget so easily to thank the Lord for his many blessings.  I'm feeling more like "myself"  (a totally new me) than I have in years.  So, it was time to come back and be in this good familiar space...processing the abundant blessings in my life in the midst of the trials that we all face.  I hope you are encouraged this year to do the same!  

Days 1 and 2:  

• God's provision in our lives (financial, emotional, spiritual)
• For a peaceful home with reminders of friends and family 
• Discovering creative outlets
• A new job and a new-to-me car
• For grace from others when I'm less than what I should be (which is a lot of the time)
• Stability

 A lot has gone in our lives in the past 8-10 months and I'm still not ready to process it for the world to see.  But I was reading through my journal and came across this poem that I wrote a  bit  ago:

I cry in the shower hoping the water muffles the sobs...

I cry in pillows that suffocate the sound of an asphyxiated  heart...

I cry alone in my car like a wild woman trying to break free of the grief that consumes...

I cry myself to sleep and wake up to cry myself through the day...

I say I am fine as the silent tears roll down my face...

No matter how much I cry it never truly heals the pain that is there.

Will I ever cry enough to wash it all away?

Honor Club Initiation

 Michael has worked hard over the last couple of years and his application for the Tennessee 4-H Honor Club was accepted and he was initiated into the honor club during a recent ceremony. 

Greenback

Greenback Diner

Greenback Historical museum 

Downtown walking tour

 

Climbing and belaying