Category Archives: Faith

30 Days of Thankfulness: Days 26-30

Posted in Faith, France, Holidays by

thankfulnessI have been rather busy this week and every night, by the time I get home, I have barely enough energy to put myself into bed. So my apologies for slacking so much on my thankfulness posts. I am still thankful for many things! So here are the last 5 posts of the month, all wrapped up nice and neatly in one simple blog post:

Holidays that revolve around family – Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter…it’s always fun to celebrate holidays surrounded by family (and family also includes close friends!). I’m once again thankful for being able to celebrate Christmas with my family in the States this year! It has been 2 years since I’ve seen most of them!!

Seasons – I LOVE seasons. In Florida our seasons are limited: there’s summer, hotter summer, and then if you live up north you’ll get a cold, dry winter for a couple of months in between a short autumn and an even shorter spring (literally less than 2 weeks). But where I live right now we have equal seasons! What a concept :) I just love seeing nature change constantly but slowly throughout the year.

Owning a car – You don’t really need a vehicle to get around over here in the Grenoble area, but it has been such a blessing to us to own a car this past year. We went for about 6 months or so without owning a car and I remember quite vividly having to walk to the train station every other week because half of the tram line was out of service during the summer. But now we have a car :) and we’re able to drive other people around as well, something that I have always loved doing since my freshman year at FSU when I was dependent on other people giving me rides. So thank You God for blessing us with a car!

Christmastime – I admit, we decorated our apartment for Christmas Monday night, the day after our first Thanksgiving celebration of the week. I will try to have that post up tomorrow hopefully :) I have already been listening to Christmas music since mid-November! I couldn’t stop myself after the first snow fell, but we abstained from buying a tree until this week so we could have 3 full weeks of Christmas decorations in our apartment before we leave for the States.

All of you readers! – And last, but certainly not least, I am very thankful for all of you who read and comment on my blog! I am thankful for the friends I have made and the conversations I have enjoyed having through the blogosphere. I’ve had this blog for nearly 2 years now, but until this year I didn’t really keep up with my posting but I am thankful for doing that now :)

Hope you all had a lovely Thanksgiving and a wonderful November! May the rest of your year continued to be filled with thankfulness and blessings :)

30 Days of Thankfulness: Days 24 & 25

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thankfulnessYesterday and today I have been thankful for my family.

I know I already wrote posts for my husband and for my in-laws, but I am also very thankful for my loving and always supportive family :)

We are by no means a perfect family, but who would want that? No, our family is weird, quirky, sarcastic, and everything that is not normal! And I love that.

I’m thankful for my parents who have supported every single choice I have ever made, whether they agreed with it or not. There have been times that I will never forget when they gave me hope when I was feeling hopeless. They taught me the importance of working hard and not just expecting everything to come my way.

And I also have two great siblings who I miss seeing regularly. I remember all the under-the-table forts we used to make together and all the pretend games of school we would play. And even now, I love that we can tease each other about anything and everything (and we do!) :)

I’m very thankful that God has given me the family that I have, and I’m very very excited that I will be seeing them in less than a month for Christmas!!

Wedding

At our wedding 2 years ago :)

30 Days of Thankfulness: Day 22

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thankfulnessToday I am thankful for food!

On Sunday we are having a Thanksgiving dinner with my in-laws and therefore I spent a good couple of hours this afternoon getting all of my recipes in order and creating a shopping list for tomorrow.

I am so thankful that God has provided the food for our Thanksgiving feast, and more importantly that he has always provided food for myself and for my family. I am grateful that I have never had to go hungry, and I pray that God helps me to be more mindful and compassionate to those who do go hungry.

Furthermore, I am thankful that Jesus is our ultimate sustainer:

Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.” [John 6:35]

30 Days of Thankfulness: Days 17 & 18

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thankfulnessI missed yesterday’s post so you get a 2-for-1 today!

The past couple of days I have been thankful for good health and for living in France.

With the weather getting colder each day, several of my friends here have colds and thankfully I don’t! I usually get a cold whenever the weather starts changing, but not this time :) It’s not easy being a teacher while feeling under the weather, especially when you also have a horrible cough and a voice like the Wicked Witch of the West.

So thank You God for good health and well-being. And for any of you readers who are currently battling a cold, know that our God heals:

“Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits—who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion.” [Psalm 103: 2-4]

I am also thankful that I am here living in France. I love this country! Even though I have had difficult times over the last ~2 years adjusting to the culture and the language, I still love living here. This afternoon I was taking a walk around my town (something that isn’t doable where I’m from in Florida), and even though every single shop was closed (just like they are every Monday here), it was still so nice knowing that I can walk to a produce market and then stop at the library I just discovered by the Town Hall before buying bread at the boulangerie on my way back home. I love living in my quaint French village :)

What are you thankful for today?

30 Days of Thankfulness: Days 14 & 15

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thankfulnessYesterday and today I have been thankful for my Bible.

“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” [Psalm 119:105]

I am thankful that I not only have 24/7 access to my Bible, but that I live in a country where it is not illegal to own or read one. I am thankful for all the wisdom, peace, joy, comfort, and guidance I have found from reading God’s Word, and I am thankful for knowing that whenever I open my Bible I can find God there :)

30 Days of Thankfulness: Day 13

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thankfulnessToday I am very thankful for friends. For many of us, our friends are more like family, and I definitely feel that way about my closest friends.

I am so grateful for the friends I have. Many of them have remained my friends through the good times and the hard times, and despite the thousands of miles of ocean that now separate us, I can still rely on them (and I hope they feel the same way about me!!).

“Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor.” [Romans 12:10]

I love this verse because it encourages us to “outdo” one another in service. Friendship is not special because of what we get from it; rather, it is what we give to those we call our friends that truly makes friendship so meaningful.

Did this post bring to mind any of your closest friends? Tell them that you’re grateful for them! That’s what I plan on doing today :)

30 Days of Thankfulness: Days 7 & 8

Posted in Faith, Holidays, Work by

thankfulnessI was a little busy yesterday and I got home too late last night to post, but that is ok since the things I am thankful for yesterday and today, joy and hope, go hand in hand ;)

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.” [Romans 15:13]

There are literally hundreds of examples I could write about to describe my joy, peace, and hope…but I’ll just go with my work experience yesterday. Thursday afternoons are usually one of my hardest times of the week, mainly because I have two classes that overlap for half an hour and that typically includes some crying and not-listening on the kids’ behalf. Yesterday, however, even though there was some intense crying at one point, I left work feeling so joyful and encouraged that I now have so much hope for that class and for myself as a teacher. I know I’ve said this before, but I never imagined I would be a teacher, and now I can tell that the joy I get from teaching children probably means that this is something I should be doing. And I not only love my job, but I have an amazing boss and coworkers who encourage and give me hope me all the time.

What are you feeling joyful and hopeful about today?

30 Days of Thankfulness: Day 6

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thankfulnessToday I am thankful for forgiveness.

Yesterday I did something (or didn’t do something) that I felt really bad about, and this morning started off awfully because of it. I had already apologized, but the problem was that I couldn’t forgive myself. Fortunately, God is always able to forgive.

“In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace.” [Ephesians 1:7]

I can’t think of anything that feels better than forgiveness. Whether we’re forgiving others or being forgiven ourselves, the act of forgiveness feels like a huge weight being lifted off of our shoulders. Which is exactly how I felt after finally forgiving myself today :)

Thank God for forgiveness!

30 Days of Thankfulness: Day 5

Posted in Faith, France, Holidays by

thankfulness

“Always [give] thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” [Ephesians 5:20]

Today I am thankful for community.

The student ministry (Remix) that we’re involved with here really emphasizes community, and we try to spend lots of time with each other to deepen our relationships and strengthen our community. That is why tonight our men’s and women’s small groups went to play laser tag!!! Oh my goodness, we had a blast! Not only was it at the best laser tag center I’ve been to, but we were all able to bond and connect through playing with each other :)

I thank God that He has brought us here; that we are blessed with our friendships here in France and that we have found a wonderful community. And also I’m thankful for laser tag ;)

Is there something you’re feeling thankful for today?

30 Days of Thankfulness: Day 4

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thankfulnessAs I sit here in my apartment on this rainy autumn afternoon, I can’t help but be thankful for all of God’s provision for my family since we moved to France nearly two years ago (which blows my mind to think that we’ve been married and France-dwelling for almost two years now!). God is the ultimate provider, and as I reflect upon all the things He has provided me with, I realize just how blessed I am.

Our apartment, our jobs, food, clothing, and good health–these are just a few of the many, many things my husband and I are blessed with. And I am very thankful that God loves His people and that He provides for our every need.

heart flourish

Psalm 23

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.
He restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness
for his name’s sake.
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord
forever.