Thankful.

My heart is thankful tonight.

Thankful for community.

I loved the time we had in our home this afternoon with our church family. We were able to open up and I can't wait to grow in the Lord along these incredible people in the upcoming weeks and months that we'll meet as a village. I probably mention my gratitude for community a lot on this blog, but I'm just so thankful that after lacking friends in Chicago, we know have them in abundance here in Tennessee. God has flooded us with people who love us and people we love in this season of life.

Thankful for stability.

For now, being financially stable is a breath of fresh air. We know that it's never a guarantee - tomorrow, we could both lose our income and we'd be back where we have often been, asking God to provide for today. But as Shawn is working and putting me through school, it is so refreshing to know we'll be able to pay all of our bills from his income, even if there's just a little left over each month.

Thankful for progress.

I'm taking classes and pushing toward a nursing degree and I love the feeling of purposefully moving toward a goal. Even when I'm staying up late writing papers, I am motivated by the light at the end of the tunnel and thankful that my husband supports me 110% in this.

Thankful for creative time.

This morning, our pastor mentioned that in many parts of the world (and most of history), you didn't get to just choose how you'd spend your time, but it was dictated by survival. People hunted, cooked, worked the fields. They didn't have time for things like making jewelry, blogging, or chatting with friends on the phone. The time that's available for these things is a blessing, and I don't want to take it for granted.

Thankful for health.

I seriously do not take this one for granted. I spent 8 months of last year feeling incapacitated in many ways by symptoms that no one understood. After discovering a gluten intolerance, I am so thankful to be 100% better. Praise God!