Thankful Thursday #139

"But I have trusted in Your steadfast love;

My heart will rejoice in Your salvation.

I will sing to the Lord because He has treated me generously"

~Psalm 13:5

Today, I am thankful for:

1.  The simple encouragement I felt re-reading this post from 11 years ago today...  thanks, yesteryear Lindsey! lol

2.  Hosting a lovely Sunday lunch with Sarah and Kate this weekend!  It was good to finally catch up on the events of 2022 over Hideaway pizza, lemonade, and brownies... and a delight to see Miss Katherine Claire in her adorable llama shirt and heart pants! ❤

3.  Celebrating Kristin Renee's birthday with a Red Robin lunch later today... and thankful for 15 years of wonderful friendship with her!  (I threw in the cookiecake pic since we both laughed a lot when Chet randomly commented around 12 years later apologizing for them misspelling her name. lol)

4.  My niece and nephews... Carter wasn't there, and T-man doesn't participate in the Spirit Week craziness... but I'm enjoying J&K's costumes for Biker day and Surfer day! lol  (And thinking we would not have gotten away with even the fake tattoo sleeve back in my day at CHA - I'm glad they've loosened up a little!!)

5.  Lindsay Jane for shining God's light and hope... we met for lunch last week and had a really great talk, eventually talking about how certain dates on the calendar really trigger grief.  She said, "It's such a relief to me when I reach the end of that day.  I always tell myself, 'You will never have to go through this day again.'"  (Immediately, I'm thinking "until next year.")  Then she said, "Because you'll keep growing, and you'll be 365 days stronger when it comes around the next time!"  Umm, yes, please to that powerful perspective!!  I'm holding on to that.

*Yesterday was the one-year mark, and I never have to go through that day again. ❤

6.  I'm also incredibly grateful for Lysa TerKeurst and the beautiful example of grace & wisdom she is setting for myself and the many women across the world who have experienced similar humiliation and renewed heartbreak after working to heal and forgive, reviving our long-buried hopes, and offering someone who expressed remorse for hurting us a second chance.  In the face of deep and undeserved pain, her forgiveness, courage, kindness, self-compassion without self-pity, resilient strength of spirit, fortified boundaries, and unwavering faith in God's goodness are all things I wholeheartedly respect/admire and want to emulate!!  What a gift that when we press in and seek Him and rise up, there is beauty for ashes and an inner light that shines even brighter in the hardest things we go through. ❤

“This year looked very different than I thought it would. It’s been a year of waiting, listening to God, grieving, and taking some time off to process and heal…  It’s brutal and heart crushing to constantly fear the hurtful choices of someone you love.  It’s hard to face a future that looks nothing like what I constantly prayed it would look like.  I don’t like this reality, but the truth is, relationship restoration doesn’t always work. I’ve cried and grieved over this and waited years hoping this wouldn’t be our story. But even when restoration doesn’t work, forgiveness always does… With time, prayer, and lots of counseling, my heart is healing.  Sometimes the culmination of all our efforts and the answer to our prayers is that God restores us in relationships. And sometimes He rescues us out of relationships."  ~Lysa TerKeurst, New Years Day 2022

7.  Celebrating Tiffany's birthday at Andolini's a couple days early this week... and we're celebrating almost a decade of close friendship now (we need to throw a #Tinfinity party next year) -- HAPPY BIRTHDAY, TIFFANY!! ❤  Thankful for your joy, kindness, compassion, and all our fun memories together!

8.  My early-2000s-rap-loving self was so happy/excited when I saw the epic trailer for this year's Super Bowl Halftime show, which I've now watched approximately 20 times. lol  Dr. Dre and four of the most successful artists whose music he's produced... love it!  They don't usually make a preview for the halftime stuff, but I can see why they made an exception here... well played.  So. much. swagger!  Here's hoping the actual performance lives up to the hype. lol

9.  Donald Miller's buh-rilliant new book, which will undoubtedly get its own post someday soon.  I admire his life story more and more, and this book will be a game changer for me!  I'm attending a live webinar with him teaching more about it today and so looking forward to that. ❤

10.  My cousin, Kristin, (who I hope I get to see this weekend) for thinking of me and sending this encouraging song that brightened an emotional week with hope! ❤

"I know there's gonna be some brighter days.
I swear that Love will find you in your pain.
I feel it in me like the beating of Life in my veins...
I know there's gonna be some brighter days!"

(Capitalization by me... because God is Love and Jesus is our Life source!)

Song of the Week = Brighter Days by Blessing Offor

Happy Thursday, friends!!  Praying for healing for the many friends I have currently recovering from Covid (Wilsons, Shoemakers, Johnsons, Andersons, and Parrishes).  And praying that God's grace and kindness will be as real and tangible in your life today as it has been in mine throughout the past week!