Thank You, Thank You, Thank you....

I am thankful year round, but it is nice to have a time of year where you can marinate on the things you are thankful for and let those individuals know who have touched your life, just how Thankful you are for them! So on this Thanksgiving Eve, here are the things I am so thankful for:

• I am thankful that Jesus died on a cross to save me and others, and that he loves me enough to keep putting up with me. :)
• I am thankful that my Dad has been sober for 5 years, and that he has a relationship with God, and has become such a wonderful Man that I admire so much.
• I am thankful for my Mom, who listened and didn't give up on my Dad when she had every reason too. If she would have given up we would have never seen such a sweet Victory of Gods grace and love!
• I am thankful for my Husband, who without knowing it, has brought me closer to Jesus and is helping me become the helpmeet and woman that God intended me to be.
• I am thankful for my dearest friend, Niina Maher. Niina, if you read this, I am so blessed to have you in my life. We have been through so many trials together and individually. You have listened to me my whole life, given advice when needed, and loved me unconditionally. God had a plan from the beginning for us to be friends and I am one lucky girl to have you in my life. Thank you for being my friend. I love you!
• Pastor Andy Roberts, I have said this before, but I want to say it again... Thank you for leading our Church. God used you to save my family and I am ever so greatful. You are real, with real hurts, real feelings, and real love for Jesus. Thank you for sharing that love with so many. You will be blessed for all of the sacrifices you have made on this earth. Thank you for listening to your heart and following Jesus.
• DJ, you are such a blessing to me. Thank you for listening to me and giving me Godly advice whenever I need it. You sacrifice your time anytime I need help with singing and I appreciate you so much. Thank you for opening my eyes to a whole new world of Christian music. I am so thankful to call you my friend. I love you!
• I am thankful for my Church Family; Carol, Kathy, Khayla, Kristi, thank you for your friendships, for your advice and listening, and for sharing your testimonys. I love you gals!
• I am thankful for my home, my job, my wonderful Manager who doesn't know how truly great she is and what a blessing she has been in my life.
• I am thankful to work for a company that has allowed me the flexibility to work from home near my family and church.
• I am thankful for my Aunt Marla who prays for me, and spends hours at a time on the phone with me to teach me about Jesus and his unconditional love. I see Jesus in her, and she amazes me.
• I am thankful for my Grandma Jackson, who is as close to perfect as I have ever seen in any one human being. She puts up with my Grandpa, even when he's cranky and she never argues :) she keeps an imaculate home, she eats meals at the exact same time every day, she is on a schedule always, she has never spoken badly about anyone in the 30 yrs. that I have known her, she just NEVER gossips, now or ever before. She is strong in so many ways and I hope that one day I can be just like her!

Wow, the list could truly go on and on, but the trend that I see is that I am thankful for Jesus for all of the many blessings he has given me in my life. And I hope that he will use me to be a blessing in others lives.

Have a Happy THANKSGIVING!!!!

Reno Here I Come- NOT!

LOL, tonight my husband and I played on our bowling league, it's really a sad sad site to see. Most weeks I do 'okay' but tonight I was AWFUL!!! These are the nights that I am okay with the fact that I am the youngest person there by about 20 years, some even 40! :) It is nights like tonight that I wish they would come up with a 'Cosmic' bowling league where the regular lights are out, black lights are on, disco ball in motion and the music blaring. We often play on Friday nights with 'our age group' (lol) during Cosmic bowl and it is much more fun and I bowl SO MUCH BETTER! League night is just too stressful! Dan even does better on Cosmic Bowl night, although I do have to give him credit for tonight because the poor guy bowled with stitches in his hand and didn't do all that bad. Anyway, I think we should start a Cosmic Bowling League, I think everyone involved would enjoy it more. So Khayla if your reading this, lets make it happen, hahaha! (I should of had you sub for me tonight!) Oh well, at least I have fabulous hot pink and black glow in the dark bowling shoes to make me feel better! I am now off to watch tonight's episode of 'The Biggest Loser.' - Which I am WAY too much invested in, I act like I know these people and I am totally rooting for Vicky to GO HOME and if anyone watches they will know exactly what I mean. (What would I do with out a DVR?- I LOVE THAT INVENTION which could be a whole nother topic all in itself.)

Sunday with a cherry on top!

Some days really are wonderful.

Today, my husband surprised me at church and met me in the parking lot to take me to lunch. We went to the Cannery Cafe here in Astoria. I love there Bumble Bee tuna sandwich, grilled with Tillamook Cheddar Cheese. So good! The weather is awesome today, the sun is shining and as I looked out over the Columbia River I just thought of how beautiful Astoria really is. I take it for granted so often and it was nice just to take it all in today.

Then we headed to Home Depot and looked at wood, which doesn't sound exciting but it was so much fun. Dan is making me a Media Cabinet for our living room (anniversary present) so we looked at all of the different molding pieces and router bits for wood tools. It got me very excited for him to start building it. Hopefully in the next few weeks after his hand heals. For those of you who don't know, he about chopped off his middle finger at work last week. And I FINALLY figured out why he doesn't like doctors or hospitals........ He is deathly afraid of needles. I wish I would have had a camera to take a picture of his face in the doctors office, the nurse and I were laughing so hard!

Anyway, now I am off to the only decent clothing store in town to try and find some tops! That is one of the main things I miss about the city, the convenience of the shopping and the ethnic food choices. Thank goodness for on-line shopping! :)

Beautiful Christian Sister, by: Maya Angelou

So I have joined the Blogging Bandwagon! :) I thought I'd start off by posting a message that I received today. It is so right on and beautiful and instead of forwarding it as a chain email (which I loathe) I thought I would post it here. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

'A woman's heart should be so hidden in Christthat a man should have to seek Him first to find her.'When I say... 'I am a Christian' I'm not shouting 'I'm clean livin''I'm whispering 'I was lost, Now I'm found and forgiven.'When I say... 'I am a Christian' I don't speak of this with pride.I'm confessing that I stumble and need Christ to be my guide.When I say... 'I am a Christian' I'm not trying to be strong.I'm professing that I'm weak and need His strength to carry on.When I say.. 'I am a Christian' I'm not bragging of success.I'm admitting I have failed and need God to clean my mess.When I say... 'I am a Christian' I'm not claiming to be perfect,My flaws are far too visible but, God believes I am worth it.When I say... 'I am a Christian' I still feel the sting of pain..I have my share of heartaches, so I call upon His name.When I say... 'I am a Christian' I'm not holier than thou,I'm just a simple sinner Who received God's good grace, somehow!Pretty is as Pretty does... but beautiful is just plain beautiful!