thirty thankful days- day 30-we made it!

Every day in November I am posting something I'm thankful for, and I would love to have you join me!  Link to your thankful post below, or write about it in the comments.  Let's be thankful together!

Well, we have made it to the last day in November and the last day of our thankful link-ups!  I'm thankful for all of you that have joined in whether it was once or everyday!

What have I gained by doing this exercise in thanks?

I hoped it would get me back in the habit of looking for reasons to be thankful...and it definitely did that.  Most days I had to work hard to choose what to write about from all there is to be thankful for...and some days I had to work a bit to come up with something.  I think our hearts fluctuate like that from day to day, but there is always something to give thanks for, and worth it to look for it.

I hoped it would help me get back into regular blogging.  I love writing and expressing myself, but for whatever reason it's been harder lately.  I can't figure out if I couldn't put two thoughts together meaningfully, or if there were just too many thoughts spinning through my head in this season to select one to write about.  Regardless, I knew thankful posts would be easy to write and could get me back in the swing of it all.  I think it worked...but time will tell!

I hoped to inspire others to be thankful.  To notice what to be thankful for.  To share their thankfulness with us and we in turn would be inspired.  Did that happen?  I know I enjoyed reading all of your posts VERY much.  You reminded me of gifts in my life as well.  Perhaps gratitude is contagious???

So, today, I'm thankful for our thirty day adventure in thanks.  I'm thankful for those who've joined me and I'm thankful for the ways you have challenged and reminded me.  I truly hope this little challenge was a blessing to you as well.

Keep on being thankful!

thirty thankful days-day 29-this season (and I don't mean Christmas this time)

Every day in November I am posting something I'm thankful for, and I would love to have you join me!  Link to your thankful post below, or write about it in the comments.  Let's be thankful together!

Today I thank God for this season I'm in.  It's a season of unsure steps, of new ways of relating, new ways of doing.  It has me a bit off-balance, cause the self-reliance I have chosen in the not-so-far past has fallen short. Thankfully.  God has so much more for me than self-reliance.

It is a season of embracing...embracing the person God has made me to be (as opposed to who I thought I wanted to be); embracing my age and stage of life (I still am shocked I'm middle-aged and have a young woman for my daughter!); embracing that I'm so far from perfect in relationships (but that I'm learning, still); embracing what is ahead (unknown, and ready or not!).

This season of newness, change, introspection, wondering, and trying new ways...it's Good.  I guess I thought (deep down) that I would be well on my way to "arrived" by now.  So I find myself surprised.  I didn't expect for God to bring new things, to call me to deep healing, to make me rethink.  I could get overwhelmed and immobilized (I do that).  But God has called me to keep stepping forward--and realize that the steps only seem unsure when I forget that I can trust.  This season is one best navigated with complete dependence on God and is so out of my control.  I don't always like it--but I'm safe.  And I'm thankful.

I invite you to link up today here with your thankful post as part of thirty thankful days here at theGoodlife, as well as celebrate the everyday gifts with emily at chatting at the sky...I am.

thirty thankful days-day 28-the doc

Every day in November I am posting something I'm thankful for, and I would love to have you join me!  Link to your thankful post below, or write about it in the comments.  Let's be thankful together!

You may remember that my hubby has been dealing with back issues the last few years.  It has been debilitating and depressing and has dominated our hearts and prayers.  Well, one of the biggest things I'm thankful for in 2011 is that God has brought help to Dave.

God had been leading us to consider more natural approaches to healing (like nutrition, etc) since doctors and medicine and countless procedures left Dave still on the couch in pain.  So as we tentatively set out on that path...God brought Dr. Smith into our lives.  We had heard about this holistic chiropractor for years from friends, even before we had our own problems.  Once Dave started suffering, several had recommended he see this doc...but for whatever reason, we never sought his help.  (I now think that in God's timing, Dave needed to be desperate enough to try anything before he would totally buy into this guy's philosophy of healing.)  At a prayer night at church, Dave was working the sound board when a friend approached him and said, "I don't know why, but I feel like I'm supposed to tell you to try my doctor, Dr. Smith."  That was it.  We hear you, God!  Dave decided to give him a try.  Insurance didn't cover any of it.  We didn't care...we were desperate for Dave to rejoin life as we knew it.

Well, "Smitty" as we affectionately call him (not to his face), had been a Godsend.  His approach to holistic healing that has Dave addressing the structural, chemical and emotional/spiritual aspects of his health simultaneously has made a huge difference.  We have learned there is so much more to Dave's condition than just back pain, and we are thankful to have someone addressing the whole thing.  Dave still has a ways to go until he is fully healthy again, but he has made giant strides forward.  One day, not long after Dave started to improve, Pickle looked at me and said, "Dad is back".  And we realized not only that he was back, but how much had had indeed been missing.  We are so thankful.

Since then, I have started seeing Smitty for the problems I've been having with my neck.  His x-rays showed double scoliosis in my back, among other things, and his treatment has been slowly unwinding the torques in my spine.  As my back improves, the neck should as well.  It already is doing better--but has a ways to go yet.  This type of treatment is slow, but at least I feel like I'm heading in the right direction.  I saw him today, and he was pleased with the progress in my back.  He identified scar tissue in my neck that is part of what needs to be address as the healing moves to my neck...and he spent more time then usual on my neck today.  It felt good.

So today I am thankful for dear Smitty--the doc--and the gifts God has given him to point people to healing.  And I so very, VERY, grateful, for the healing God is bringing to Dave.

What are you thankful for today?  Link up or comment!  Let's fill up blogland with thankfulness!

A few simple instructions for the link up:

-please link to your specific thankful post--not just your blog

-please link back to theGoodlife in your post so others can join the fun!
-feel free to grab the 30 thankful days graphic--I haven't figured out how to make it a button. 

thirty thankful days-day 27-puppy

Every day in November I am posting something I'm thankful for, and I would love to have you join me!  Link to your thankful post below, or write about it in the comments.  Let's be thankful together!

Today I'm thankful for my pup, Patch.  God gave Patch to our family several years ago in a way that we knew he was a gift from above.  You can read about our quest for a family pet here--it's the story of my dog conversion.  And click here if you want to see some of my favorite pictures of my little furry friend.  You should...he's really cute.  :0)

Patch is always nearby.  He is usually curled up on whatever piece of furniture I'm sitting on...as long as he can find a way to squish himself in.  If we are relaxing on the couch...he's napping on top of us.  He loves to be pet and scratched and can be a bit pushy when he wants some lovin' but he lets up when we tell him to.  Lately he's been trying to get his head in between my hands and the keyboard when I type.  Other times he paws at it to get my attention.  I think he's trying to type too...there are things in that fuzzy head that apparently need to come out!  He often rests his chin on our legs...and looks up at us with his dark eyes.  He's pretty hard to resist at that point...

love me...

For someone who never wanted a dog, I sure do love this little guy.  He brings me company, warmth, joy and laughter.  And he's a reminder to me of God's abundant love.

What are you thankful for today?  Link up or comment!  Let's fill up blogland with thankfulness!

A few simple instructions for the link up:

-please link to your specific thankful post--not just your blog

-please link back to theGoodlife in your post so others can join the fun!
-feel free to grab the 30 thankful days graphic--I haven't figured out how to make it a button.