In Everything Give Thanks 6-11-16

 1. This week, I am especially thankful that I was offered two part time jobs. Neither one is my dream job and I am not sure that logistically I can do both, but either way I am now employed, and that is a huge answer to prayer. 

2. I am also excited that my sister and I will have a long weekend by ourselves while our parents are away. We are going to have so much fun! We made spanakopita for dinner last night and it tasted so good.

3. Finally, I am thankful for my journaling Bible that I finally made my first notes in from last week's sermon. 

Dear Twenty-Three Year Old Me

 Dear Twenty-Three Year Old Me,

  I don't know where you're living exactly one year from today. Maybe you'll be on your own in an apartment. Maybe you'll still be living at home. I don't know what you're doing for a job or who your friends are. I hope our friends stay the same, but maybe there will have a mix of both new and old friends.

 I don't think I need to remind you how much stress my current unanswered questions are causing right now. Do you remember? Where should I live? Can I go back to Michigan? Maybe I should live at home longer to save money. Where will I work? How can I afford a car? Should I go to grad school? How can I afford grad school?

 Or maybe I do need to remind you.

 Maybe, now that a whole year has passed and I'm twenty-three, maybe you don't remember all of the questions and uncertainty. Maybe you have settled somewhere and are happy and content. 

 I hope so.

 But even if there is still all of the uncertainty and questions then that there are in my life now, there are some things I know for sure.

 I know I am reading when I am twenty three. I am reading fiction and non-fiction. I am scouring the library for something I haven't read that is decent and good quality.

 I know I am writing when I am twenty-three. I'll probably still be working on my novel, but I will be closer.

 I know I am still a child of God when I am twenty-three, for no one is able to snatch me out of my Father's hands.

 I know that God's promises to me are the same now and will be the same in a year, five years, and until He comes back to earth.

 So twenty-three year old me, in these unanswered questions and uncertainties that I may still have a year from now, there is nothing to fear. 

In Everything Give Thanks

 

I'm trying something new, and every Friday or Saturday, I'm going to share some things that I am thankful for. Though feeling discontent is nothing new for me, it has become a bad habit as well as a bigger pattern in my life recently, and I want to fight it with recognizing things God has given me today.

 So today, these are things I am thankful for.

 1. The first hike of the summer. Last weekend, my dad and I did an easy hike to ease our way into more challenging hikes later this summer. Except for a bug getting caught in my eye and all the other little gnats that were freakishly attracted to me, it was so much fun. Plus, I am excited to be finally wearing my Christmas present, these new hiking boots. 

2. The smash book my mom made for me. It's a personalized journal that is filled with fun pockets, envelopes, and tags. My sister loves them because instead of writing her memories, she can put in airplane tickets, notes from friends, lists, movie tickets, and other things that she collects. I am planning on making mine a special memory book from my freshman year of college. 

  3. Thank you letters. I sent out quite a few thank you letters this week, and of course you can't write thank you letters without having something to be thankful for.