(Thankful) Photo Friday!

"As grace extends to more and more people, it may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of God. So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day." ~2 Corinthians 4:15-16

I missed writing a Thankful Thursday post yesterday, so I'm combining that with lots of pictures today!

Today, I am thankful for...

1. Impact Class on the book of Job, learning and understanding more of the many reasons God may allow suffering in our lives.  And hanging out with these guys... :)

 2. My one and only niece - and getting to see and hug her this past weekend! :)

3. Fried apples + peanut butter! :)

4. Getting to help "Grandma Laura" a bit with a project for her Mom's 70th Birthday! :)

5. Being closer to Rach and having a few long talks with her lately!

6. That Josh (my brother-in-law) drove the muddy golf course and finally found a rain-soaked little Bellsy-Bell on Sunday!! :)  No more unsupervised outdoor time for her (at my parents' house). 

7. Getting to see the Jaceman, and talking to him on the phone (and Facetime once, accidentally). He started a conversation the other day with, "Lindsey, I just love you!" lol It kinda made my day! (In this pic, he's rolling his eyes at something, after pouring out an absurd amount of ketchup for his lunch of French fries. lol_

8. Photomix to make collages, and Mom for helping me find cute ideas for the upcoming Jelly engagement party! :)

9. It's happened... I've become a Belieber. lol  I'm currently a little obsessed with this song, and thankful for it because I love connecting with music! #neverstopneverstopping ;-)

10. Strawberries & dip... always a fun, refreshing summery treat!!

11. My Mom, who has always been there to listen and support me, and every once in a while, to reign me back in when I'm freaking out about something minor! :)

12. My Dad, whose kindness and generosity in all the little things (and big things, too) does not go unnoticed or unappreciated!

13. The Propel women's group... and getting to celebrate Kelli's birthday last night (also thankful for Ludger's cake)! lol

14. On a deeper note, I'm thankful for Lindsay, the leader of the Propel group and of my smaller women's lifegroup (left of me in the striped shirt in this selfie group pic)! ...She lost her firstborn child, her precious one-month-old daughter, Aspyn Jane, to SIDS just over six months ago. It was sudden and shocking and heartbreaking, altering her life and many others forever. The light of Christ always shines brightest in dark surroundings, and listening to her story and witnessing God work in her heart and through her life in this season has been beautiful. Some of it obviously too sacred to write about here. Her strength is not a self-reliant false bravado, but a growing, deeper strength that comes from depending on God alone to get you through something! I'm genuinely so thankful to know her and my cousin, Kristin, along with Kelly and Amber and Laura and so many other friends who have experienced shattering loss and life-transforming suffering, who cling to God's strength and understand eternal hope in a way most people don't bother to think about!!

15. On a similar note, I'm thankful for God's healing comfort... and that he can use His Word or send other people to comfort us when we need it. Hearing some of the girls talk yesterday about spontaneously breaking down crying or feeling anger that's out of proportion to their situation made us all laugh, and it helped me so much to feel less alone and/or crazy after a rough couple weeks in that department! And that's always something I'm thankful for!! lol

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ.” ~2 Corinthians 1:3-5