Practicing Gratitude

Man, I can't believe I missed last week's Thankful Thursday post!

Well, yeah... actually, I can.

It's been a rough week and a half in some respects. I won't expand on that, but I am thankful for evidence that God is really at work in my life. It is so often the hard things that test us, displaying our growth ~ or, as is so often the case in my life, the lack thereof. This time, I believe there is evidence of forward progress.

I'm thankful that God still speaks.  Maybe not quite the way He did in Bible times, but I know He speaks nonetheless.  I had written and auto-posted a very different post for this morning, but after listening to Tuesday's Revive Our Hearts broadcast yesterday afternoon, I seriously had to question the real motives behind it.  In and of itself, there was nothing wrong with what I'd written, but while I claimed (to myself) that it was supposed to be an encouragement to other Christians, I was faced with the very distinct possibility that what I was really after was their admiration.

I'm so grateful for "second" chances.  And a God who doesn't give up as easily as I do.

I'm thankful my girls seem to have great teachers this year.  That was a huge issue for Mack last year and she was concerned this year would be rough, too, given she's got a very different teacher now ~ one who knows how to lay down the law and keep her class in line!  Mack was initially afraid of the long list of rules this teacher apparently laid out and very firmly applied in the first week of school, but she has already been heard to say that she thinks this will be the best school year yet.  I'm thankful for teachers who know how to command respect, implement discipline, and yet make learning fun at the same time.  Seems like a rather rare combination these days.

I'm thankful for the sights, sounds, and smells of fall. The green trees becoming orange and gold; the crisp mornings; the amber stubble in the fields against the vivid blue afternoon skies; the ever-present distant roar of combines and grain trucks ~ there is just nothing like the smell of fresh-cut straw mixed with the faint scent of diesel fuel!  I can hardly wait for the stubble-burning phase!!  I know a lot of people living out in the country have trouble with allergy-activation this time of year, so I guess another thing to be thankful for is that I don't!

I AM a bit sneezy and drippy today though; I have developed a cold.  Boo. But I'm thankful I can stay home, cuddle up on the couch, drink tea, read, and nap today, all very legitimately!!

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