Day 30

Today, I'm thankful for Jesus Christ!!

Pic = Description of Jesus in Isaiah 42:1-9

I especially love verse 3 - "He will not crush those who are weak or quench the smallest hope.  He will bring full justice to all who have been wronged."

...Yessss, awesome!

Day 29

Today, I'm thankful that there's only one more day of this challenge. lol

Kidding, sort of.  I just get the feeling December is going to require me to be super-focused and incredibly productive at work and school!  I'll be finishing 2012 off strong! ;-)

But today, I'm thankful for... Montgomery Exterminators, and a typically bug-free house!  Not kidding at all about that one.  I despise and have an almost phobia-like fear of most bugs, so I get my house sprayed four times a year (today being one of those days).  Most people would think that's extreme, but it's definitely worth it to me for peace of mind!

Pic = my bug-free happy Christmas living room! :)

Day 28

Today, I'm thankful for Malori Riah, my genuine and hilarious and brilliant and truly secure and all around freaking awesome best friend!!  I'm thankful for the way our friendship has grown and continues to grow... and for all the fun memories and great conversations along the way!

Happy Friend-iversary! :)

Pic = Malori and I at Bow Bridge in Central Park

As of today, we've officially been friends for five years...... and two months. lol  I missed celebrating the official five-year mark on September 28th :( but I'm celebrating it now, so get excited!  And by celebrating, I of course mean creating a ridiculously cheesy through-the-years picture slideshow to Queen's You're My Best Friend. lol  I kinda cracked myself up picking that one.
Enjoy...

Day 27

Today, I'm thankful for being part of a book club for the first time tonight... that's right, I'm driving down to OKC to join Malori's book club to talk about The Book Thief! =)

Also thankful for the way that God is working things out behind the scenes when we least expect it!  

GIGATT.

Pic = The Book Thief

Day 26

Today, I'm thankful for blogging - both writing and reading the blogs of others!  I really love having this as a sort of online journal, timeline, and scrapbook for my life and spiritual journey!  And on the rare occasion when Malori, Laura, or Chet decide to write, I love reading their posts!

But I also love reading posts by a few awesome people that I've never had the privilege of meeting in 'real life,' most notably Ashley Campbell and Fabs Harford!

Pic = an excerpt from Fabs' blog today... a letter to her 16-year-old self.  

(Or to my 28-year-old self.)  

"People are drawn to the reality that you don't need them to keep breathing... that kind of confidence is only possible if you have a guaranteed supply of love and affection coming your way for eternity."  I LOVE that. ❤

Day 25

Today, I am thankful for the mercy of God ...like the manna, it is new every morning, and is always the perfect amount for what I need that day!!

I'm also thankful (almost) for the scale... because it's always honest, and when I'm in the right frame of mind, it inspires change without being condemning! 

Pic = my scale that I finally put new batteries in today :)

So I am facing my fears and beginning again today, 

Knowing that God loves me right where I am 

And His mercy is enough to help me change.

I am forcing myself to try, to eat healthy, to exercise, 

To form new habits, to hope for something better!

I'm changing my negative internal dialogue,

Letting go of the past and pressing into the future,

Striving for health and wholeness rather than weight loss at any cost,

Acknowledging that I will definitely mess up at times, but will not give up,

And relying on God's help rather than doing this alone!

...and I'm expecting good things! Yay! =)

Day 24

Today, I'm thankful for movie theaters! lol  I really love movies, and they're always better on the big screen!  

Pic = my ticket stub from the movie Charlene and I saw this morning :)

Day 23

Today, I'm thankful for my cousin, Jayme! =)  She's fun and joyful and genuine... and in addition to having the same middle name, we share a love for God and T-Swift (who will be in Tulsa August 2013 - get excited!) and Harry Potter and Hunger Games and our baby nephews and movie musicals and ridiculous cheesy movies and blogging and light photography and the sexy French language and Christmas and Starbucks. lol  So she's fun to hang out with at the family get-togethers... and I'm thankful for that!!

Pic = Jayme Claire =)

Day 22 ~ Thanksgiving!

Today, I am most thankful for God!  

...Triston had to list two things he was thankful for in an art project for school, and he chose God and Mrs. Mitchum (his teacher).  My first thought was, oh, the cuteness!! =)  And second, I realized how long it's been since I was simply thankful for God, not something God had done or was doing... it was a perfect well-timed little reminder for me.

Pic = Triston's Thanksgiving project. =)

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Day 21

Today, I'm thankful for my youngest nephew, "Bubby" Jace Michael!

*And for Josh, my brother-in-law, whose birthday is today!!

Pic = me holding Jace this afternoon =)

Day 20

Today (and every day), I'm thankful for all the awesome friendships I've formed in and through the Diving Deeper Lifegroup!!  (Which includes just about every friend I have right now.)  Thankful for fun friends who love God!

Pic = Chet and his Vegas cards and Sarah and the hilarious coffee cup :)

...at "Friendsgiving" dinner at Chet's house (Chet, Jeff, Kyle, Kevin, Karli, Mindi, Sarah, Jessica, and me)

Day 19

Today, I'm thankful to have a job and a steady income... thankful that it's a stable, in-demand, low-stress position with great freedom and perks and benefits!!  I'm really going to try to do a better job in remembering to be thankful for that!!

Pic = my steno machine =)

Day 18

Today, I'm thankful that (after more than a week in the hospital) Carter can eat solid food again and was finally released to go home today!!

Pic = Carter on the trip home =)

*Also thankful that I finally got to hang out with Tara Jane, and that I have a new elliptical machine!  Yay!

Day 17

Today, I am thankful for Laura Allison, my fun and faithful friend who is always willing to humor me and pose for silly pictures! =)  And for Dad giving us his club level tickets for today's game!  It was a fun-filled day in Stillwater!

Pic = collage from the OSU game today... "Oraaaaange....... Poweeeer!" lol

Day 16

Today, I'm especially thankful for heartwarmingly cute animals, especially "presh Pom Puppies!"  =)  And for the friends who put up with my ridiculous obsession with them. lol

Sad to say, I'm a day late on celebrating this anniversary, but a year ago yesterday, I cheered myself up whilst Mom was in the hospital when I first discovered Boo's FB page!! =) 

"Really?  I feel like Boo's been in our lives a lot longer than that!" -Malori :) hahaha

Pic = Boo in his red sweater, posing with his book, The Life of the World's Cutest Dog. lol  

(...which I discovered on my last Vegas trip, which only adds to my list of reasons to love Vegas!)

Harry Potter

There are two books that I plan to finish this month, but next on my list after that is definitely the Harry Potter series!  There are scenes in the movies that are so brilliant and spiritually powerful I can hardly stand it... and everyone who's read the books assures me that they're much better than the movies, which is usually the case.  So I'm excited!!

I've been watching the ABC marathon this week, and last night, watched Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix for the first time.  Wow!!  I seriously took notes on the spiritual warfare themed quotes on my iPad, then emailed it to myself. lol  

(When the enemy causes him to doubt his own heart...)
Harry:  This connection between me and Voldemort - what if the reason for it is that I am becoming more like him? I just feel so angry all the time, and what if, after everything that I've been through, something has gone wrong inside me? What if I'm becoming bad? 
Sirius:  I want you to listen to me very carefully, Harry. You're not a bad person; you're a very good person who bad things have happened to. Do you understand? Besides, the world isn't split into good people and death eaters; we've all got both light and dark inside us. What matters is the part we choose to act on. That's who we really are.

(When he feels outcast and abandoned...)
Luna:  We both believe you, by the way... that he-who-must-not-be-named is back, and you fought him...
Harry:  Thanks. You seem to be about the only ones that do.
Luna:  I don't think that's true.  But I suppose that's how he wants you to feel.
Harry:  What do you mean?
Luna:  Well, if I were you-know-who, I'd want you to feel cut off from everyone else... because if its just you alone, you're not as much of a threat.

(When he is belittled for believing evil exists and they need to fight it...)
Deloris:  You'll be learning about defensive spells in a secure, risk-free way.
Harry:  Well, what use is that?  If we're going to be attacked, it won't be "risk free!"  ...How is theory supposed to prepare us for what's out there?
Deloris:  There is nothing out there, dear.  Who would you imagine would want to attack children like yourself?

(When his friends tell about his impressive victories...)
Harry:  It all sounds great when you say it like that, but the truth is, most of that was just luck. I didn't know what I was doing half the time, and I nearly always had help! Facing this stuff in real life is not like school...

(Training his friends to fight evil...)
Harry:  Working hard is important, but there is something that matters even more - believing in yourself!  Think of it this way:  Every great wizard in history has started out as nothing more than what we are now - students.  If they can do it, why not us??

(When he feels defeated and confused...)
Harry:  I tried so hard to help and all it's done is make things worse. Anyway, it doesn't matter anymore, because I don't want to play anymore. All it does is make you care too much. The more you care, the more you have to lose!  So maybe it's just better to...
Hermione:  To what?
Harry:  To go it alone.

(When he's preparing to fight back...)
Snape:  Every memory he has access to is a weapon he can use against you. You won't last two seconds if he invades your mind...
Harry:  I'm not weak!
Snape:  Then prove it. Control your emotions.  Discipline your mind.
Harry:  We've been at it for hours... if I could just rest!!
Snape:  The dark lord ...isn't ...resting!  (as only Alan Rickman can say it! lol)

(When he's trained his friends to fight, but they're outnumbered by those who side with evil...)
Lucius:  Did you actually believe, or were you truly naive enough to think that children stood a chance against us?

(Final scene of the movie...)
Harry:  I've been thinking about something Dumbledore said to me... that even though we've got a fight ahead of us, we've got one thing that Voldemort doesn't have.
Ron:  What's that?
Harry:  Something worth fighting for!
(Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix)

I think anyone would relate to Harry in this movie, especially any Christian who is aware of the power and deception of the enemy, the call of Christ, feeling alone, and the flesh/spirit struggle inside them!  Whether that was J.K. Rowling's intention or not, it's there and it is blatant.  The final fight scene in that movie is so epic and powerful I had to rewind it at least four times.  It's the perfect "battlefield of the mind" illustration as he's being mentally pulled into darkness and condemnation while the enemy reminds him of all he's done wrong and repeatedly says, "You're so weak."  In the middle of the attack, Dumbledore helps pull him back into the light, reminding him not to focus on the connection, but on all the ways he and his enemy are different.  

I love that Harry and his friends take evil seriously and band together and train to fight it, but the idea that Harry defeats him in the end by using "a power that the Dark Lord knows not" -- that being the power to love -- I can't even talk about it yet.  There's just SO MUCH THERE.  

And that last quote really made me stop and think about the idea that Christians have something worth fighting for that Satan truly doesn't have.  It's true, but I'd never considered that before.

Happy rant over.  It's a little hilarious that I'm so behind in getting into this... I really hate to miss movies I love on the big screen, so hopefully they'll re-release it or have a theater HP marathon sometime, perhaps after I've read the books.  Okay, back to work now.

Day 15

Today, I'm thankful for Judith (Compassion child), and for her letters -- I especially liked that this one begins:  "I salute you in the name of God!" =)  ...awesome.

Pic = letter from Judith in Tanzania =)

Day 14

Today, I'm thankful for God's protection, which I take for granted way too often...

Pics = Mom and Dad's car wreck (and my FB post) ...one year ago today.

(Thankful that they're alive and healed and doing well, and thankful for how God has used this for good since then!)

Day 13

Today, I'm thankful for funny TV shows, specifically New Girl!

Pic = the scene where I got so cracked up I almost choked on my cereal! :)

Day 12

Today, I am thankful for books!! (There are NINE that I'm in the process of reading at this point, so I really need to focus and go one by one, but it's hard.)

Also thankful for the warm glow of Christmas tree lights at night. Ahhhh, so fantastic. =)

Pic = my newly decorated tree + me sitting on the couch to read The Shack.  

*I read this before in 2008, but it has literally been suggested to me 3 times in 3 different settings this past week... (in counseling, then a friend emailed me the audiobook, then our professor tonight gave us the choice between reading this or the textbook, highly suggesting this) ...so I'm no detective, but I'm guessing God wants me to re-read it!

Here goes...

Day 11

Today, I'm thankful that Carter Lee is feeling a bit better and that we got to go see him this afternoon!

(Pic = the Parrish fam, minus Triston, at Children's Hospital)

Day 10

Carter update:  Keep praying!  He had surgery tonight for some intestinal problems and will be at the hospital again overnight.  They're meeting with a gastroenterologist tomorrow morning.  (Obviously, very thankful that the surgery went well, but still pray for healing and for clarity as to what is wrong!)

And today, I'm thankful for time with Malori... our conversation tonight, as per usual, covered several topics and got pretty deep at points... but ended with a hilarious talk about us pairing up at a self-defense class + a ridiculous debate about exactly when we first learned about the little Boo puppy! lol

Pic = the Chocolate Mouse Muffin Sundae dessert at MiMi's (our waiter upgraded it to a sundae for free - or for a really nice tip, probably).  

I'm also thankful that my house is now fully decorated for Christmas!

Get excited!! =)

Day 9

Today, I'm thankful for my Mom... who proofread over 50 of my plea cases for me (sooo helpful!!), came to Tulsa to help me decorate my house this weekend, and baked tasty brownies for the occasion (a Christmas decorating tradition)!  =)  YAY, Mom!!

Pic = Part of my awesome Christmas garland... Rach and I decided to trade Christmas stuff this year because we both wanted to try something new.  I'm loving the classic red, green, and gold look! :)

P.S.  On a much heavier note, please pray for my little nephew, Carter...

He is currently in the hospital (for his 3rd overnight stay this week!) with severe stomach pain and joint swelling, among other symptoms. :(

They've diagnosed him with a rare condition called HSP, which thankfully is temporary and should be gone within a couple weeks, but that doesn't help him at this very moment - he's pretty miserable, so pray for comfort and quick healing!!