Thankful Thursdays 02/21/13

In order to temper the snark a bit, I'm going to try to start a regular feature I like to call "Thankful Thursdays" (oh so witty, I know!). Too many times I find myself going days without giving the Lord a big thank you for all the things He's done for me. Instead I'm always going to Him with my problems. Then when He does answer a prayer, I just give Him a flippant "Thanks, God.", and go on my merry way. Obviously, this is not the right heart attitude to have. It's kinda like that one friend we all have that always seems to be complaining.  They're a Debbie Downer or a Negative Ned. This person never has a positive thing to say, and is basically the equivalent of biting into a mealy, soggy apple.  You all know what that's like....not enjoyable, kinda gross, and just plain "blech". Just as hard as it is for us to be around this person, I think it's kinda the same with God. He doesn't appreciate a soggy apple any more than we do. Thankfully, His patience with us is infinite, and He never throws His soggy apples away. Thank heavens!

So all this intro to say I'm going to try my darndest to have a more thankful heart, and I think this feature will help me quite a bit. My "thankful for's" may be serious, cheesy, silly, sweet, or most likely some combination of all of those. So. Here we go!

1. My Lord's patience. I know I try it daily, hourly, minute by minute, and even second by second sometimes. Thank You, Lord for never leaving my side, or giving up on me.

2. My two cousins named Jennifer. You're both completely different, but I love both of you so dearly.

    Jennifer (Jen) M.: You're the one I grew up with. We share so many fun memories. Sleepovers at Grandma's where we though it was the COOLEST thing ever that she let us sleep on those folding lawn chairs. Giant pancakes and bug juice. Helping Grandma at her job. Our crazy family camping trip (we so need to do another one!) Singing with our moms to scare the bears away on our way to the outhouse. Grandma's and your dad's earth shattering snoring, and the insomnia is caused in all the other family members. Winning push-up pops from your mom when we got the Wheel of Fortune words right. Laughing at our dads' and uncles shenanigans. Your sweet and generous spirit never ceases to amaze me, and I love seeing how much you love your beautiful baby girls and your hubby.

(Oh, the 80's)

Jennifer (Jenni) K.: Even though, we didn't get to spend much time growing up together because over 1,000 miles separated us, we still have some great memories. Listening to Boys II Men on repeat during the infamous '92 family reunion. Yelling at a pair of certain younger male family members. Hot roller curls. Comparing My Little Pony collections. Nannie's Swedish Pancakes and Waldorf Salad. I'm so grateful that now that we're adults we've been able to grow closer than when we were kids (thank you, cheap plane tickets!) I love your fiercely loyal nature especially when it come to your family. I've always said if anyone tried to pull anything with me, my cousin Jenni would probably literally rip them apart. I also love that you're a fun loving goofball, and the way you and your Penguin ;) have so much fun together. I'm so excited that you're going to be a Mommy and can't wait to meet that little munchkin!

(The hair, the socks, the glasses, the flannel pajamas...I don't even know where to start...)

3. Pinterest. I just love you and all the many joys you bring me. Yes, it's probably shallow, and yes, even if all my friends are sick of me saying "Oh my word, I saw this (insert item, meme, recipe, or project here) on Pinterest! It was so great!". I still love you and am thankful for you, you wonderful time waster, you.

As always, I love to hear from my readers. What makes you thankful today?