November - 22 Days of Thanksgiving - 2012

When November rolled around, I noticed people putting something that they were thankful for on Facebook.  This was to be posted each day, up to Thanksgiving.  There has been a lot going on in my life and thought this would be a good exercise for me to do.  At first, I thought, how can I come up with 22 things I am thankful for.  I was not exactly in my positive mode at the time but trying.  Now, that I have completed these days, I found that 22 days were not enough.  The following are the 22 days of posts I put on Facebook.

Day 1: Thankful for my Lord and Savior. He is always with me when I feel alone in this world and loves me unconditionally. He is with me in times of need, gives me grace and is forgiving when others are not. I have needed a lot of this the past 20+ months, especially recently. I have received it only from Him when I am often misunderstood and feel anything but positive.

Day 2: Thankful for my parents and that they are still with us today. They have had some bad times with their health and most days are struggles for them but grateful for each day they are with us. Love you, both!

Day 3: Thankful for my husband. I love my engineer. He might not be a neat freak or get it done now kinda guy, which does not always go over well with me, lol:). But, he loves his Lord and Savior and family. I love that when I moved to the Mt. Pleasant area, he would go to Wal-Mart and walk around to see if I was there:).

 

Day 4: Thankful for an extra hour of sleep.

Day 5: Thankful for pretty Fall days.

Day 6: Thankful for the right to vote. No matter the results, God will still be in charge. Even so, we are always to pray for our country. God bless this country.

Day 7: Thankful that God is still King of kings. He is in control. His ways are beyond my understanding but I trust in Him.

Day 8:  Thankful that my husband has a job that he enjoys.
 

Day 9:  Thankful for sweet nighttime rituals. Daddy and Allison watching Cedarmont Kids.

 

Day 10:  Thankful for weekends.

Day 11:  Thankful to be able to worship in a free country without fear of persecution.

Day 12:  Thankful for the men and women of the military. They bravely serve and protect our country.

Day 13:  Thankful for modern day appliances like the washer and dryer. May sound silly but I spend a lot of time in this area. Can't imagine how much more time I would spend without them.

Day 14:  Thankful for the children's ministry at our church (FBC Lindale).

Day 15:  Thankful for my sister. This summer I thought we were going to lose her to a brain tumor. I did not think at her young age, I would be faced with telling my big sister, my goodbyes from this earth. But grateful to have been given the opportunity, as life does not always afford us that opportunity. Thankful and amazed that everything turned out as it did. Even though we knew we would be together in Heaven again some day, I am joyful we have her with us today.

 

 

Day 16:  Thankful that I can drive a few minutes from my house and buy groceries and necessities. There are places in the world that do not come close to such conveniences.

 

Day 17:  Thankful for my son's teachers, staff, administrators and school district. Glad we live in an area and school district that is not afraid to speak God's name. I remember Aaron's first day of Kindergarten. I went to the Parent's meeting after dropping him off. I was managing to keep it together. The principal then started reading us a story. I lost it and so did most of the other parents. I said I would not go to another one. Not because I did not care but because I could not handle it. I have not gone to another one because it has been as hard or harder than the first day of Kindergarten. The point is, my son's school has caring people taking care of him. Not all school districts are this way.

 

 

Day 18:  Thankful for my husband's family and for them raising him in a christian home.

 

Day 19:  Thankful for my nieces, nephews, brother-in-laws and sister-in-laws. They help make holiday gatherings and other family get togethers more fun.

 

Day 20:  Thankful for my son, Aaron. We were blessed with a fun loving, sweet boy. He kept us on our toes in his toddler/preschool years. God knew we needed an energetic little boy to shake up our quiet lives. He loved dinosaurs and would have loved to be a rock star. Now, he enjoys playing video games and Star Wars. He is growing into a special young man. Can't wait to see the things God has in store for him. My heart is always with him. I am grateful we got to spend so much time with him, as an only child for almost 8 years.

 

 

 

 

Day 21:  Thankful for my daughter, Allison Grace Roden. Little did we know when we picked out baby names in 2002 that we would be blessed with a precious, little girl in 2011. She was 4 1/2 years past our timeline but not in God's timing. I had just about made peace that there would not be another baby in our lives then came along our EXTREMELY STRONG WILLED little girl. She puts a colorful spark in our family. Even though, we have not seen all of her personality, we know we are in for a ride:) We are joyful and blessed that Allison Grace has completed our family and all the heartache and longing for another child has been fulfilled. As a sign in her room reads, "All of God's grace in one little face."

 

 

Day 22:  Happy Thanksgiving! I am thankful for all the blessings in my life. Some of those blessings are no longer with us. I have such fond memories with them. My grandparents would have gotten a kick out of my children. Miss them and love them. One day we will be back together.

 

Some days were simple posts then others I wrote through tears.  Thankful and blessed this Thanksgiving and always.