Thankful Thursday

Continuing in my counting and numbering of the amazing blessings God bestows upon us each day...from the great to the seemingly insignificant.

825.  The opportunity to participate in conversations at church about the future of Family Ministry.

826.  Bright red nail polish.

827.  Playtime at My Gym with the little man.

828.  Being back on Fuller's campus once a week grading papers for Chap again.

829.  Our new Keurig that actually makes full cups of coffee (definitely NOT an insignificant thing!)

830.  Rachel Held Evan's book A Year of Biblical Womanhood--it has made me absolutely crack up laughing so many times & has brought me to a screeching halt with the insights she shares.  A must read.

831.  The opportunity to be given a free copy of Shauna Niequist's upcoming book Bread & Wine 2 months before it's released to read and blog about it.  Super excited about this chance to participate in the promotion of this much anticipated book!

832.  Homemade chocolate chip cookie dough in my fridge.

833.  The upcoming season of Lent and the challenges and changes it will mean for our family.

834.  FIVE new babies expected in my life late this spring/early summer!  For healthy little ones growing inside dear friends.

835.  Playdates and conversations with other moms who get when you have to cancel because of messed up nap schedules.

How about you friends?  What are you grateful for on this beautiful Thursday?

Thankful Thursday

Continuing the counting of blessings large and small...all the way to 1000 and beyond....

781.  Safe and uneventual travels to South Carolina

782.  A baby who is sllooooooooowly starting to increase his napping time past 30 minutes--an hour and 20 minutes today!  Maybe it's the jet lag, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed that this is the start of something good!

783.  Cousins to help entertain him

784.  Food truck Fridays--a great summer evening activity

785.  Getting to sleep in while the husband cares for the little one

786.  Skype, what an amazing invention

787.  Quiet

788.  The amazing athletic feats the olympic athletes are able to do

789.  The amazing ministry of Father Greg Boyle that he describes in his book Tattoos on the Heart--the way that book changed my perspective on gang members.

790.  Two wonderful sermons back to back at church these past 2 weeks--the ways Kyle and Jenn brought pieces of 1 John to life

791.  Wonderful couple in the church who give us free baby sitting and rides to the airport

792.  A midday visit from two fantastic recent college grads who just wanted to come by and say hi

793.  Swimming pools for little ones

A Full Heart (and Belly...)

This week's list of things I am grateful for definitely has a common theme.  It's been a week of wonderful food that we've prepared together here at my parent's home--of course there are other things on this list, but I did notice food was a common denominator!

760.  BBQ'ed hot dogs (the only way to eat a hot dog, especially in summer!)

761.  Rootbeer floats

762.  Watermelon with every meal

763.  Skype time with my far away husband

764.  Triaminic for nights my poor baby is so congested he cant breathe well

765.  A new cousin!  Hadley Josephine!

766.  Crock pot chicken and black bean burrito filling

767.  Pork satay shish ke bobs.  One of the best things I have ever tasted

768.  Watching my little one go crazy with excitement over certain foods (Papa's rootbeer float that he was sharing)

769.  Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet--a beautiful book

770.  Getting to go grocery shopping all by myself!

771.  Watching clouds

772.  Playing in the sprinkler with my little one

773.  Swimming in a wading pool

774.  Thunder storms

775.  Seeing green all around me

776.  Skyping with nieces

777.  Sleeping in my own bed--not sharing it with anyone--such a treat after months of such poor sleep!

778.  Teriyaki burgers with grilled pineapple

779.  Quiet time to get work done without my munchkin around

780.  Watching my parents play with my little one and love him so well

Counting to 1000

Continuing with the challenge I took up a long time ago from Ann Voskamp's amazingly beautiful book One Thousand Gifts, I've spent a few minutes each night before falling asleep jotting down things throughout the day that I was thankful for.  Here are some of this week's additions to the list.

721.  Little fingers examining my nose and mouth--checking each morning to be sure they are still attached!

724.  Fresh out of the bath baby smell

725.  Making chocolate cake in a coffee mug in my microwave

732.  Visiting a friend's new home

736.  A midday 4th of July walk for Frozen Yogurt with my 2 sweet guys :)

738.  Bonfires and Smores--watching my son see a fire for the first time

743. The beauty of the symmetry in the palm trees planted in the Ralph's parking lot

745.  Baby tylenol and teething tablets to alleviate teething pain.

747.  Molokai by Alan Brennert (a beautiful book)

753.  People who want to watch our son for free so we can go on dates

754.  A safe flight to Minneapolis with few melt downs!

755.  Watching Aidan take his first sips of juice--the wonder on his face as he tried to figure out what this was all about!

756. This little dancing fool who can't wait to go to another wedding so she can dance all night again!  (Watch out Christopher & Jennifer, your wedding is next and Lily is ready!)

757.  Good Mexican food at El Queso Grande with my hubby the night before we left for 3 weeks.

758.  40 minute naps from the babe instead of 30!

759.  The chance to play with new recipes here at my parent's house--while I have people to entertain my little one--grateful for getting to cook which is so fun and relaxing for me.

Every good and perfect gift comes from above, from the Father of heavenly lights...

1,000 Gifts

It's been a long time since I last posted my list of things I'm thankful for--so I thought I'd take this lazy Saturday to catch up a bit! A friend of mine is posting hers monthly, that may be my new plan :)

Thank you, Jesus, for...

300. A delightful evening watching and mocking the second Twilight movie, New Moon with my husband.

304. Getting all my candidacy paperwork written and turned in.

310. The incredible support and feedback we have each received from our respective small groups during a difficult ministry situation that arose.

311. Getting to spend a delightful morning on the beach with Jenn Moore and the rest of her bridesmaids, picnicking, praying, chatting and enjoying God's creation.

313. Watching Jenn and Josh get married, such a great day!

316. The engagement of THREE good friends all in 1 week! Jenn, Megan and Becca--lots of weddings coming up!

317. An incredibly encouraging session meeting with the elders at my home church.

322. Coffee, dinner and conversation with Seattle friends.

325. The movie Oceans, such amazing sea creatures exist!

333. Getting to teach students about the sacraments in Confirmation.

335. Sunday afternoon naps.

340. God provides work for us!

341. Video chatting with Lily

344. GPC has a new pastor! He starts in August.

345. Homemade peanut butter brownies

346. I am officially a candidate for ordination!

349. Getting an hour of 1 on 1 time with my head pastor from Seattle.

350. Coffee with Dianne, one of my mentors and role models from Seattle

354. Moleskine journals

355. My new haircut :)

362. Sipping coffee in the sunshine

362. Giftcards to restaurants

367. I finally made it through Pride and Prejudice!

369. Birds singing in the background as I write this

371. Clarity in my desire and call to be a pastor.

379. Ice cream sandwiches

385. Piles of clean laundry

388. Skype date with my nieces and nephew in Japan

397. A clean house

406. A delicious meal with a professor of ours and his wife

408. Vanilla ice cream with fresh cut peaches and strawberries on top

409. A quiet, lazy Saturday morning.

417. Watching Confirmation kids wrestle with their faith

1,000 Gifts

These past couple weeks I've been praising God for...

271. Our marriage group

274. Our homiletics weekly TA meetings--such fun conversations about preaching

276. My Thursday night women's small group--LOVE these ladies & the chance to share our lives while breaking bread together every week.

277. All the amazing Spring Retreat events that went so well!

283. A fabulous relaxing Sunday afternoon post-spring retreat: a long nap, dinner out, TV watching with my husband

284. Getting to teach youth group these past couple weeks

285. Bluegrass Sunday (the week after Easter worship is always led by a visiting blue grass band. It's fabulous!)

289. Seeing a friend I hadn't talked to in a long time last week, and seeing the incredible work God is doing in her, the amazing transformation that has happened in her life

290. Jodi Picoult's new novel

291. Re-reading The Great Divorce by CS Lewis with our college group of guys

295. Video chatting for quite awhile with baby Lily :)

296. Great girl talk conversations with the high school girls on the retreat--lots of questions/conversations about boys, sex, parents, God, and how they all go together....

1,000 Gifts

I am still really enjoying listing things each week I am thankful for, it's been such a fun discipline to get in the habit of! This Resurrection week I am thankful for:

245. A long-overdue phone date to catch up with two different friends this week

247. A great car ride to Simi Valley and back with my friend Tera, she listened to me vent and spoke truth, which I needed!

249. Breakfast burritos for dinner with my small group

251. A beautiful Maundy Thursday worship service that allowed me to enter into the pain of Holy Week, which was kind of where I was emotionally.

253. A great prayer time with my husband last week in the midst of a difficult situation.

254. The book Boundaries

255. Walks around Old Town Pasadena.

256. Seeing How to Train Your Dragon for the 2nd time!

257. Eating Pinkberry three times in one week.

258. An impromptu date night with Dave & Tera to Olvera Street

261. Decorating with Becca for Jenn's party

262. Delicious cheese fondue

263. Fun times with the girls for Jenn's party!

264. Playing the "lets encourage each other" game driving home from Beverly Hills with the girls

266. A beautiful Easter worship service

267. Great lunch with friends afterward.

268. Eating fondue and watching TV with my husband Easter evening.

270. Reading Love & Respect with my husband.

1,000 Gifts

This week I'm thankful for...

227. A drum line to begin Palm Sunday in worship

228. My new Simply in Season cookbook

229. Baking Oat Bran Muffins Saturday night

230. DELICIOUS pesto pasta with homemade pesto and LOTS of veggies--SUCH a great meal!

231. Jamie Oliver's new TV show Food Revolution--an extremely important message

233. Time with Jenn dress fitting

236. Time away for our anniversary

237. The prayers and encouragement of a friend from church during a stressful weekend

238. Dinner at The Melting Pot to celebrate our anniversary (thanks for the gift card Mom and Dad!)

239. My husband baking brownies :)

240. Meetings to plan the confirmation retreat coming up--it's gonna be awesome!

241. Gorgeous central California coastline--cliffs, waves, rocks, stunning beauty

242. A great meal out in Cambria for our anniversary (thanks Ed & Audrey!)

243. Hiking in Central California

244. Finding out we're going to be an aunt and uncle again! Chuck's sister is due in October!

1,000 Gifts

It has been an incredible week! I am thankful for so many things! Here are just a few:

201. A great small group conversation with high school girls last Sunday about relationships, dating, and the like.

205. We found out three different couples in our lives are pregnant--so many new babies showing up all around!

207. A great Sabbath last Sunday where I was able to "unplug" (turn off the computer) for 24 hours--instead I read a book, walked in the sunshine, talked to a friend, and cooked dinner.

208. We got a brand new oven/stove which was SO needed and is SUCH a blessing!

212. Watching The Sound of Music with my husband.

215. Walking on the beach with my husband and seeing dolphins.

216. Baking cookies.

217. Watching the NCAA tournament with my husband creating brackets with him.

218. Anniversary flowers
219. Grandma and Papa both turned 80!

221. A girls' sleepover with the high school girls on Saturday night--dancing, eating, laughing, talking a LOT about boys, and watching 10 Things I Hate About You with them.

222. New photos of Lily (the cutest child on the planet!)
223. Seeing the premiere of How to Train Your Dragon

224. Excellent lunch and conversation with Jenn and Josh on our anniversary

225. Dinner at California Pizza Kitchen for our anniversary thanks to a gift card from Chuck's sister and brother in law! (Thanks Rodd and Carroll, we LOVED it!)

1,000 Gifts

Things large and small I am thankful for these past couple weeks...

163. "Jesus Wants to Save Christians" by Rob Bell--a book that has made me think a LOT!

164. Getting to babysit for my toddler neighbor, remembering how much I adore 1 year olds!

165. Our church's Wednesday evening Lenten Eve worship times, such a great community event.

167. Lily's latest giggling video which you can see here on Megan's blog

170. Playing with music as I got to make CDs for my niece's 12th birthday.

173. Being part of my dear friend Ryan's life for another yet, getting to celebrate another birthday with him.

176. Getting to rest while recovering from a cold last week.

178. Fun times playing Settlers of Catan with friends.

179. Delicious early morning coffee made for me by my husband

181. The beautiful, amazing bulk foods aisle at Whole Foods--SO many delicious types of grains, rice, beans, lentils, oats, dried fruits and a few treats. New favorite shopping spot!
182. Spontaneous date night Sunday night to watch the Oscars.

185. My statement of faith is done!

186. A gorgeous sweet 16 party last night to celebrate a special young lady in our youth groupThat would be a daisy painted on my face, all the girls got them upon arrival :)
188. Trader Joe's daffodils

191. Great girl time putting together Josh & Jenn's wedding invitations!

193. A fun conversation about boys with a high school freshman last night at the party.

194. Delicious Trader Joes' salad for lunch the other day--tomato, mozzarella, spinach, pine nuts, balsamic vinaigrette. YUM!

199. Booking a romantic room in a great hotel for our anniversary next week

200. New pairs of Gap jeans--first new jeans in about 4 years, SO excited!

1,000 Gifts week 7 & 8

With winter camp last Friday I never got a chance to post things I was thankful for last week, so this week the list is a bit longer since I'm covering two weeks at once! I've been at this for two months now, and am at 160 things I'm thankful for this year, which has been so fun! Here are just a few from my thankfulness journal:

123. Getting to enjoy delicious salmon burgers made by my good friend Ryan.

125. Playing Settlers of Catan with Ryan and Alethia

126. Getting to preach on Ash Wednesday

132. Dancing with high school kids at winter camp.

137. Watching the freshmen girls go deeper in their relationships with each other and God.

140. Singing the GLEE sound track loudly with the girls in the car on the way to (and from!) camp.

141. A great meeting with my Presbytery folks Monday

142. SPU has a res life job posted that I applied for! (So does Whitworth, Westmont, and Fresno Pacific--I'm working on applications a lot these days!)

144. Megan's funny Lily stories on her facebook status that make me laugh :)

147. Sharing lunch with Alethia

150. Delicious vegetarian meals

152. Watching Harry Potter with my husband as it rains outside.

155. Having lunch with Jenn to catch up!

159. Beautiful Trader Joe's tulips :)

1,000 Gifts Week 6 (Plus some photos to illustrate!)

I wasn't able to post last Friday, so here's last week's list of some of the things I wrote down in my thankfulness journal that I am thankful for. Honestly, many of them have to do with my little munchkin of a niece. So photos to illustrate my thankfulness points are included :)

101. Safe travel to and from Providence.

102. Even though I had to miss Dave & Tera's wedding, I got to watch the whole thing on line because they had a live webcast of it! It was a beautiful celebration of their relationship!

103. Coming home to my love :) He showed up at the train station with a red rose, and it was so great to sleep snuggled up next to him again!

104. The way Lily has learned how to clasp her hands together, and now plays with her fingers and gets them to her mouth to suck on them. Precious!

105. Smiles that are as precious as anything I have ever seen.
106. The way Lily giggles and coos when you sing to her, as if she's trying to sing along.
109. The facebook comments my hubby left for me while I was gone to remind me how much I am loved.

110. Watching my mom be a grandma. She loves to cuddle with Lily, sing her lots of songs, read her stories, take her for walks--she's absolutely amazing with her granddaughter! (Which is no surprise, it's how she was with us!) (Here she is reading nursery rhymes)
112. Getting to video chat with Grandma and Papa Friday night from Megan's house.(Trying to get Lily to smile for them!)

114. Getting to read for so many hours on the plane. I went through 2 1/2 books this weekend! I read Sarah's Key, The Art of Racing in the Rain, and am about 40% finished with a book called The Help. So relaxing!

117. Watching my dad be a Papa. He dotes on this little girl and absolutely adores her. She's had him wrapped around her little finger since she opened her eyes. She loves him too, he's almost always able to get great smiles out of her! My favorite moment of the weekend was listening to him whisper to her over and over as he rocked her to sleep that Lily was "such a precious little girl, and Papa loved her so much, she is beautiful, she is so so precious." Yes, I cried watching this.Dad helped feed Lily her first taste of oatmeal--she loved it, wailed when it was gone, and managed to slime him and his shirt with gooey oatmeal in the process which just made everyone laugh! The video of it is hysterical, she LOVED eating "real" food!
119. Getting to spend time with my sister. I've seen her SO much in the past year and a 1/2--way more than I had seen her in the past ten years since not living at home! I adore Megan, she is a phenomenal little sister, and is an incredible mom!
120. Watching little Lily be welcomed as a precious child of God!

1,000 Gifts Week 5

This week, some of the things I am thanking God for are...

81. Getting to support a student at her big cheer leading competition.

83. Getting to eat pad thai at my favorite thai restaurant on Monday with a friend from church.

85. Finishing the Twilight series this week.

87. Fun play time at the bowling alley with the youth.

88. A great LONG email from a friend in Seattle.

92. Fun reminisicing with Jenn about all the ridiculous adventures that have happened to us throughout seminary.

93. Bridesmaid dress shopping with Jenn and her maid of honor, Kristen.

96. Celebrating Becca's ordination with fun out of town guests.

98. Chuck doing all our laundry yesterday!

1,000 Gifts Week 4

This week I am thankful for...

61. Playing "Epic Musical Chairs" at youth group on Wednesday (NOT just a game for a 4 year old's birthday party!)

63. Dinner with Jenn and Becca on Tuesday evening. Yummy soup, bread, wine and salad.

67. Coffee dates with two great high school freshmen.

70. Getting to see The Blind Side last weekend--a terrific movie!

72. Getting to video chat with my smiling, giggling little Lily yesterday :)

75. A sweet text message from my honey this morning while he was at the beach.

76. Getting to talk to Papa on the phone for about a half hour Monday (I never get to talk to him!)

79. Time spent laying in the grass in a park watching the clouds while on my jog the other day. (Yes I got exercise too, the cloud watching came while doing sit ups in the grass!)

How bout you? What are you giving thanks for this week?

1,000 Gifts week 3

This week I am thanking God for...

41. The rain that is providing LA with much needed water (even if it's a bit of an over-load in places!)

47. A two day Company of New Pastors retreat in Malibu Monday-Wed. (more about that in another post)

49. Celebrating 10 months of marriage this week

50. Making homemade French Onion Soup last night (something I'd always wanted to try) which turned out delicious!

53. Watching The Power of One last night-a beautiful, tragic and inspiring movie about apartheid in South Africa.

60. A fun trivia night at youth group on Wednesday. I ended up on the all boys team which turned out to be a blast :)

Jesus, thank you for these and the many other gifts--great and small--that you provide for us.

1,000 Gifts

I recently came across the blogs of two members of my Seattle church that have been so inspiring and encouraging for me to read. Both Susan and Kimberlee wrote this past month about cultivating and practicing thankfulness in our lives, and I thought I'd share those with you. As I read, I realized they were both talking about a community of people and bloggers out there who are intentional about practicing the spiritual discipline of gratitude. They explained that the practice was simple--it was all about making a list of things you are thankful for and actually thanking God for them. I have done bits and pieces of this in the past, but usually fairly sporadic. What I like about this practice, however, is that it forces us to be aware of and recognize the tiny things in life that are so simple and so beautiful. It forces us to remember to thank God for the laughter of a child wafting through the open window, or the sight of a neighbor's beautifully kept rose garden. Susan wrote that "intentional looking leads to seeing more and more of what would have been unnoticed." I decided a few weeks that one of my disciplines for 2010 was to participate in this Gratitude Community. You can do this in a number of ways--by listing a few items each day, or creating space to make a longer list once a week. Several people who have done this have taken the time to create beautiful gratitude journals that are truly pieces of art, however I simply picked up my gratitude journal a friend gave me years ago and started a new page. Each week I'll share a few of the things I listed that week with all of you. In a season where there is so much chaos, confusion, and pain on the nightly news, I wonder what would happen if we all stopped for a few minutes and attended more deeply to the small delights around us?

My list with the actual numbers on it is at home but here are a few of the small gifts I am thanking God for this month:

Time this week to catch up on so many unfinished projects

My beautiful new baby niece is now 3 months old and perfectly healthy

Savoring a mocha in a Portland coffee shop with my best friend

Getting completely lost in Dan Brown's latest book--a book that was purely fluff and entertainment!

Seeing Christmas card photos of friends and family members who I only get to hear from once a year.

A friend's courage and honesty with me.

My husband ignoring his alarm clock today in order to spend an extra hour snuggled up next to me

The fun and ridiculousness that is the TV show Glee

The opportunity to share my testimony with the youth in a few weeks.

A chance to interview with and hear about the children's ministry program at a church here in this area.

My new 2010 day planner that I am kind of in love with.

Jesus, thank you for these gifts, and the many more we are unaware of in our lives.