Rainy days and Beautiful Sunsets

It rained tonight after I got back from school today.  Torrential rain.  We were under a tornado watch too, but the clouds weren't dark enough for a tornado.  Anyways...I got out after the rains and swept all of the leaves off our porch so they wouldn't get tracked into the house. I also took a few pictures.

I don't know why I like this picture so much.  Maybe it's the rain drops continuing to cling to the fragile petals or how the colors turned out.

Here's the top part of the sunset.  I can't see the bottom half from our place, but oh well.

And tonight I am thankful for:
80) God's glory streaming through the clouds this morning on the way to school and keeping me awake!  Amazing!
81) Around 10 deer in the road ditch this morning
82) The deer stayed in the ditch and didn't meet my car. Yay! (I was trying to figure out how I could stop, pick it up, and butcher it if they did decide to meet my car though.  *grin*)
83) Not having to drive through the rain storm
84) Nice weather so I can open the windows
85) No deadlines tomorrow!

*You can see the pictures big if you click on them...or you should be able to.

Gift

Time is a gift.  I need to learn how to slow down and enjoy every moment I have.  Life is such a haze of deadlines, classes, tests, and homework right now.  I still need to slow down and wake up and see what God has given to me every day and thank Him for giving me this life to live.  I want to have lived well...not rushed through life as though it were a race.

So thank you, God, for giving me this life and time to live and enjoy this world that You created!

And tonight I am thankful for:

72) Time

73) Tommy doing dishes so I could do my homework

74) Large living room windows

75) My pansies blooming!

76) Stories of other people who are willing to share

77) Listening

Hope

 

Colors about to burst from their shell.

The promise of the harvest.

Beauty.

Rain to nurture the crops and promises yet to come.

Thankful for:

40)  Shoots of green breaking through the brown earth to receive the sun's kisses.

41) Dirt underneath fingernails

42) Praising the Father

43) Popcorn :)

44) Words

45) Learning new lessons

Eucharisteo

Charis. Grace.
Chara. Joy.
Eucharisteo. Thanksgiving.
~One Thousand Gifts


Joy comes from giving Thanks.  Thankfulness comes from recognizing the Grace that God grants us in everyday life.  Not only the good times, but also the hard times.  God has a purpose and a Season for every thing under Heaven.

Thankful for:
7) Friends and walks
8) A loving God who grants us Grace that we might have Joy
9) Cherries picked and seeded with love
10) Stew and bread
11) Long talks with friends under the moonlit skies.
12) Tall glasses of fresh water.
13) Books
14) Talented piano players who seem to play my heartstrings with their notes.

Epiphanies

Sometimes we grip what’s meant to be released, neglect what’s meant to be cherished and wonder why we stand in sawdust. ~Ann Voskamp

  

And so I must learn how to cherish what is meant to be cherished, what has been given to me to cherish.  I must learn to release that which needs releasing.  An open hand can do much good, but a closed hand (or heart) can cause much suffering, both to the ones who surround the owner and to the owner itself.

This is what I have learned this week: to be thankful for all things.  For God is with us all of the time and He is Good all of the time.  Even when it seems like the world is falling apart, He is still with us.  Holding our hands.  Carrying us through our trials, our darkest days.  

Also, I have learned that thankfulness brings joy.  Real lasting joy to bear us up through the dark days and weeks.  The days when I'm overwhelmed with everything that I need to get done.  The other source of energy that I cannot, should not replace is spending time with God.  Prayers, sent heavenward while driving down the highways.  Learning to listen for the answers.  Learning that the answers are not always what I want to hear.  Remembering to spend time in the Word, the Book of Life.  It is my lifeline to learning how God works in lives.  His people's from the very beginning, and mine since before I was ever thought of or born.  The Word holds the answers to my questions, thoughts, yearnings.  

"And give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ" ~Ephesians 5:20

 And tonight I am thankful for:

1) A husband who cooked me dinner

2) The full moon

3) Laughter

4) The irises coming up, little bits of green from the dirt soon to be flowers

5) Fingers and hearts intertwined

6) Older women who are willing to share their young love stories that other young lovers may benefit from their wisdom and advice which has grown over years of experience.

Sunsets

Had the chance to see some rather glorious sunsets over Christmas break and thought that I would share them. :-)  I didn't think that the pics turned out too bad considering we were driving.