Week of Thankfulness - Friday

Knowing that today is the last day of my Week of Thankfulness, I have struggled with committing to one specific thing, leaving everything else important to us out. Therefore, today I am thankful for blessings.

Lamentations 3:22-23 says:
Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed,
for his compassions never fail.
They are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.

Each new day brings blessings that only Christ alone can give. For all of those that are incredibly obvious as well as those that go unnoticed, we are thankful. May we return praise to the Giver of all things.

Oh, how we are thankful.

Week of Thankfulness - Thursday - Thanksgiving Day

Today, I am thankful for family.

As families all across the nation are gathering to celebrate and commemorate all they are thankful for, ours is doing just the same.
A gift that Brandon and I may take for granted is that both of our families live in Franklin. We are able to visit and spend time with our families on a regular basis, however, that does not mean that Thanksgiving and the time we spend with our family is any less special to us.
Both of our families have loved us sacrificially and have invested love, discipline, and values into our lives so that one day we may be the parents they chose to be for us. Currently, we are watching both of our families change and evolve - something that happens to everything over time. However, we are thankful for the people God placed in our lives and blessed us to call family.

Also today, we are thankful and praying for those that are serving our country. The men and women that cannot be with their families to celebrate are ensuring that my time with my family is safe and protected. They too are practicing sacrificial love, not only to their family, but their nation. We are thankful for these men and women and we praying for their safety as they serve our country.

Happy Thanksgiving, Friends!

Week of Thankfulness - Wednesday

Today I am thankful for my job.

Being able to work in an exciting place like the theatre is truly a gift. I enjoy the people I work with and the community that we serve. Even still, after hosting a year of performances, there is still an excitement and thrill that fills the building on the night of a show and it's exciting to be a small part in that.

Within the last couple of years we have watched as availability in jobs have decreased, company lay offs have increased, and the search for work has intensified, leaving the entire nation on edge. I do not want to take my job for granted in any way, there are so many lives effected by someone not have one of their own.

So today, Week of Thankfulness - Wednesday, I am thankful for having the chance to work at a place that brings excitement to the faces of our community.

Week of Thankfulness - Tuesday

Tuesday - I am thankful for Brandon.

I married my best friend 3 years ago. I knew I loved him then, but my love for him now runs so much more deeper than it did then.

Within the last three years of our lives, we have spent most of that time figuring out how to manage a home and how to be more dependent on Jesus than we are on ourselves. Brandon was patient with me while I figured out my role in our marriage. He didn't say a word when we ate Hamburger Helper for entirely too many meals. He didn't get upset with me when I put Ajax in the dishwasher and flooded it and even though he appreciates his clothes, he appreciates me more and didn't even bring it to my attention when I ruined a load of laundry. Although it took me a while to settle into my role as wife, Brandon immediately valued his role as a husband. Since our married journey began, Brandon has always loved me and has always put me first.

As a part of our vows, we promised one another to do our best to encourage and support the other so that they would reach their fullest potential. Although I try to do that for Brandon, I feel as though he does that so much more for me. We were married for 4 months when he encouraged me to quite my full time job at a bank so that I could go to school full time and finish my Elementary Ed. degree. If I had to make that decision on my own, I would still be at the bank out of fear of having to make the decision on my own. However it was his encouragement and his dedication to help me reach my fullest potential that enabled me to make the decision to go for it.

Brandon is a part of every aspect of my life. Three years ago our two separate lives became one and because of that, I will never be the same. He plays so many roles in our life together. He is the spiritual leader of our home, a husband, an encourager, a supporter, a prayer warrior, a best friend, a quiet rock. For everything Brandon is in the life we share together, I am thankful.

The last three years of our lives have been a "journey" to say the least a journey that we are still on. I'm just thankful that we get to travel it together.

Week of Thankfulness - Monday

This week we will be celebrating Thanksgiving. Therefore, today I will be kicking off a Week of Thankfulness blog. Each day this week, Monday through Friday, I will post blogs, each about something different that I am thankful for and why. I know we are all truly thankful throughout the year, but a lot of times our thankfulness just goes unsaid. So take the Week of Thankfulness Challenge! If you have a blog, maybe this is a way you can share of what you are thankful for and if you don't share with your spouse or a friend as to what you are thankful for and why.

Monday:
I am thankful for Jesus. I am thankful that He longs to have a relationship with me, just as He does with everyone. I am thankful that He alone is the Provider, Sustainer, and Redeemer of our lives. He is the provider when we cannot provide for ourselves. He is the sustainer of life when we encounter life's hardships and feel as though we cannot go on. It is He that is the Redeemer of sin, changing lives, mending families, and fills our souls with a Redemption that only He can give. More than anything, I am thankful that King Jesus is faithful. He is faithful even when I am not. Just today, I was reminded of the chorus of Great is Thy Faithfulness:

"Great is Thy faithfulness! Great is Thy faithfulness!

Morning by morning new mercies I see.

All I have needed Thy hand hath provided;

Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me! "

Oh how He is faithful and I am thankful.

I am thankful that He has "placed the stars in the sky and He knows them by name" because it reminds me that if He knows the names of the stars, then He certainly knows not only MY name but He knows the breaks of my heart, the disappointment that overwhelms me, and my fear of the unknown and He longs for me to run to Him and let Him take them from me so that I can live with His joy - for His glory.

The last few weeks have been tough for several different reasons, running much deeper than simply not having a teaching position. Although I am the one writing this post, I am still encouraged, simply by reminding myself of exactly who Jesus is and my dependence on Him and the power of His Truth.

The Season of Waiting is beginning to effect every part of me

For a couple weeks, I have wanted to blog about all that is taking place in our lives right now. The reason why I haven't is simply because I don't really know what to say and when I figure that out, I may not know how to say it. I want this blog to be a record of the lives that Brandon and I share - a place to document our life together and a place to record how Jesus is working in our lives. We want to be able to use this blog to return praise to Him for all He is doing. Our hope is to document as much as we can or as necessary so that in years from now, we will have clear evidence of God's faithfulness and His mercy.
I do feel as though it is important to document the prayers of our hearts as much as possible so that God's answer is all the more evident.

So this post will stay short & sweet. In a lot of ways, this specific post is a starting place as I attempt to meet Jesus where He is as He works through this chaos that seems to surrounding our lives right now. I'm not sure if I am prepared for what may come of this, so for now, I will at least admit the state of my heart.

For the last month, Brandon has wiped my tears, calmed me down, and comforted my heart just so he could do it all again the next day.

Much is going on in my heart and my head. Overwhelmed. Stressed. Confused. Lately my days have been filled with confusion, frustration, cynicism & tears. Can't explain, I wouldn't really even know how to begin.

So for now, I am just admitting that my heart is heavy & I am ready for it to change. Unsure as to what is ahead leaves me nervous and reaffirms that I may not be prepared for it.

I keep thinking I just need to go on a good walk for clarity of mind, but I'm afraid I would walk for days.

Veteran's Day 2010

To all Veterans: Thank you for your service. Thank you for your sacrifice of holidays, comfort, & safety. You are the heroes of this country and for that, I am thankful.

Today is a special Veteran's Day for my Papaw, Grady Holland. Since he has come home from the service, he has celebrated 64 Veteran's Days, yet, today's Veteran's Day was different. Daddy brought Papaw & Mamaw to town for the Veteran's Parade & Ceremony, which is special all in its own as it is difficult for Papaw to go anywhere. This year, Papaw was taking part in a special portion of the ceremony.

Lucas & I stood on the sidewalk of Main Street and watched the parade of Veterans pass by. We clapped & waved as the men & women proudly walked toward the gathering place of the ceremony. Once everyone had assembled, the ceremony began.
There, Town Alderman, Bob Scott, presented Papaw with something he had waited for a long time to have. He was presented with the medals he had earned in service.

After WW2, Papaw had the option of staying longer to receive his medals or to go home. As many others, he opted to go home, see his family and live a civilian life. Today, 64 years later and at the age of 95, he was presented with the 5 medals. Boyce Deitz presented the flag that had flown over the State Capitol on behalf of the North Carolina State Congressman, Heath Shuler.

Several of our family were able to make it and watch on as Papaw accepted his medals and flag. It was a proud moment to be able to watch the man who has invested into all of us in so many ways receive something that is to be valued, appreciated, and respected.

As a family, we are so proud of Papaw, regardless to what he is to each of us: Husband, Daddy, Papaw.

Fire Ants have Momas & Daddys too

Yesterday, Lucas was playing in a sand pile. He squatted down and saw a fire ant. With the attitude of how dare a fire ant be in MY sand pile, he announced to Mamaw, "I'm going to kill it!" Right before he stomped it or rolled his biggest Tonka machinery over it, he stopped. He looked at Mamaw and said, "No, I'm not going to kill it. It's probably on its way to see his Mama & Daddy and they would be so sad."