Thankful Thursday!! (63)

"May you be filled with JOY, always thanking the Father!"  ~Col. 1:11-12

Happy Thursday - praise God the weekend is almost here!! lol

Today, I am thankful for:

1.  Kelly Marie ~ for her kindness, warmth, joy, and encouragement!  Very happy that our friendship is growing!! :)

2.  Having the day off yesterday... getting to sleep in and read a bit, then finally getting to meet my downtown friends for a "Food Truck Wednesday" lunch at Guthrie Green!!  

(I walked around taking pics for a while after lunch, which was really nice.  Thankful for my good camera - there is such a quality difference in these pics and cell phone pics!)

(I'm also thankful for Andolini's Pizza. lol  And for the epic generosity of JEM, who bought lunch for all of us yesterday, and who is buying Cirque tickets for everyone in Vegas!!)

3.  Lauralai Allison ~ For being the type of comfortable friend I can have a judgment-free "binge-fest" night with when I'm feeling down. :)  Bread, fried mac n' cheese, and cheesecake + BBT = better mood! lol  (This was a few weeks back, but it was great!  The right pic is her telling me her guess on how Harry Potter is going to end, but wanting to make sure that she saw no facial reaction on my part that might give it away. lol)

4.  The lasting "community" effect of Lifegroups!  ...Chet's neighbor was so impressed that they had friends willing to come over and help paint the garage and refinish furniture.  (I assured him that Chet had done the same and more for most or all of us in the past.)  But I really love the witness of that - that we support each other and have fun together doing things that most people would dread and complain about and maybe feel overwhelmed trying to do it all themselves!

5.  Celebrating birthdays!  All fun -- the buying of presents, the writing and decorating of cards, and of course, the eating of birthday cake. :)

6.  'Graduating' from therapy! :)  Not sure how to phrase that exactly, but she said she can tell a huge difference in my confidence level and that I have made "remarkable progress" in dealing with my emotions without caving into depression or anxiety.  I can feel that too, and it is definitely a victory worth celebrating!  (I will still be on medication for a few more months, but no further scheduled counseling appointments... I can still request future meetings "as needed," which is comforting too.)
Del:  I wish I had a diploma or something for you.
Me:  I know - I wanna medal!! :)

7.  Everyone being able to go to VEGAS!  The flights and hotel are now officially booked for the 7 of us for my 30th birthday weekend -- so exciting!!  It will be epic! =)

Song of the Week = The Love of God by Mercy Me

My favorite song right now, and this video is soothing. :)
"Oh, LOVE OF GOD - how rich and pure, how measureless and strong!  It shall forevermore endure the saints' and angels' song!"