Thankful Thursday! (76)

“So do not throw away this confident trust in the Lord. Remember the great reward it brings you! Patient endurance is what you need now, so that you will continue to do God’s will. Then you will receive all that He has promised.”  ~Hebrews 10:35-36

Today, I am thankful for:

1. My happy new coasters from Bed Bath & Beyond! =)

2.  Fun pizza & movie nights with friends... and couples who don't make me feel awkward or third-wheel-ish! lol

3. Randomly finding this old CD that Mark made for Holly their senior year at CHA... "Christmas Mix 03." I guess she didn't like it or something because it ended up in my CD book. So I jammed out to some Christmas music in May and remembered all the great memories with Mark!!  (He would have been 32 on May 2nd...)

4. Getting to hang out with this little presh face! She's just SO much fun all around right now... she loves to get her fingernails and toenails painted, and then she walks really cute trying to make sure she doesn't mess them up. She can't read but likes to open books and make up stories, pretending she's reading and mostly talking to herself... but if I'm anywhere near, you can bet I'm listening! :) When she tells real stories about whatever they've done recently, she's super expressive, using her hands and waving her arms and really hamming it up. Until you make direct eye contact with her, then she kinda gets shy sometimes. lol Anyway, she's the cutest and best niece ever!!

 Story time with Kyndal Faith!

 5. Getting this happy postcard from Lindsay, and getting to have lunch with her at Panera the other day!  Baby Phoenix is growing up and looking handsome! :)

6. The in-your-face comfort of a Sam-Puffins! lol She wants to be eye to eye with you and squirms and fights to get there. But she's a fluffy presh, so it's hard to resist sometimes!

7. Gun range practice with Steve and Sarah!  (That'll get a Memory Monday post later.)  It was fun and good for me. =)  This = me about to shoot Steve's Army rifle for the first time whilst Sarah "steadies me" with her hand on my shoulder! Much like most things in life, the kick wasn't as bad as I anticipated. :)

No picture for this, but in closing, I'm feeling very thankful right now for having more God-given peace and more physical energy and confidence. It's amazing how quickly healthy habits pay off, physically and spiritually. I am eating better, exercising more, reading more, and spending more time with God. I feel good about where I am in life and un-flustered about the future. I want to get to know God more deeply and to walk in the fruit of the Spirit more consistently. I want substance over style - to genuinely please God over looking good to people. I'm thankful that I feel closer to God, and I want to fight for that to continue!