My Thankful List

This blog has been a bit neglected by me in recent weeks, but only because I have been focusing on posting updates on our family and ministry blog. (See side bar for the link.) My dear husband has been gone for three weeks on a missions trip to Quebec with five of our Student Venture students, and I have been posting updates almost every day of their missions experience.

But I am wanting to come back to this blog for more entries, and will start up again with my thankful list for these last three weeks. Before Gary left with his team of students for Quebec, I wondered how it would go being apart for three weeks, the longest that we have not seen each other in all our married years (almost 39 years). These three weeks have gone by much faster than I anticipated, and I have many things to be thankful for.

I'm thankful for:

~ the beautiful flowers in our yard ... a place to relax and enjoy God's beauty of creation. The Black-eyed Susans burst into bloom these past few weeks.

~ fun outings with my children and grandchildren who live close by: a day at Fremont Lakes, out to eat at Panda Express and at Lisa's Cafe, an afternoon at Lauritzen Gardens, fun time at the Children's Museum, meals in each other's homes, walks to the park, etc. (Photos of some of these times are over at our Compelled by Love blog.) So thankful for their love and the connections with them during these three weeks, and always.

~ daily connections with my husband over the past three weeks ... so thankful for cell phones (with international calling plan for these weeks), texting, email, and video chats over iChat.

~ the joy of being able to communicate with others about our Student Venture team's missions experience by posting updates on our blog.

~ our first-ever veggie container garden ... the plants have been flourishing, and the cucumbers, peppers, and tomatoes have been ripening.

~ phone calls from family and friends ... especially good to chat with our daughter in Texas, as she is the one of our six grown children who I didn't get to see during these three weeks.

~ our church - loved seeing friends and worshiping together; so wonderful to be part of Heartland Church in Omaha.

~ a very special meal with a former roommate from college days ... and some hand-picked flowers for our meal together.

~ a son-in-law, and a brother-in-law, who mowed our big yard while Gary was gone.

~ time for many projects, including organizing of some things in storage room, closets, etc., ... I love organizing things.

~ setting up a new recipe organizing system.

~ time for scrapbooking, which I greatly enjoy, but don't get to do very often ... did some spreads from our wedding day!

~ a quiet house ... I love to have quiet, restful times at home.

~ the love of my husband ... I am so blessed by him; even when apart, he is so loving, calling and communicating each day, and always praying for me.

~ our little cafe table looking out over our patio, the perfect place for quiet moments with God.

~ so thankful for God's loving presence throughout each day. I honestly do not know what people do without His love and care. He knows our hearts, hears our prayers, and is reachable every second of the day; no need even for cell phones or iChat. He's always there to hear our praise, and our cries for help during difficult times. Always someone to talk with.


"Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you who belong to Christ Jesus." (I Thess. 5:17)