Thanksgiving All Year: 361-380

Well, after being on a roll for posting regularly in April, I seem to have quickly fallen off the wagon now that May is here! Last weekend ended up being unusually busy. I was hardly home AT ALL. So blogging was the last thing on my mind! This weekend stands in stark contrast, as I currently have NOTHING specific planned other than church on Sunday morning. I must admit, I'm kind of excited about it! I suppose I should start giving thanks now since I have two weeks' worth of it to do today!!

Today I am thankful...

361. For fun times with Ashley when she stayed with me while my parents were out of town a couple weeks ago.

362. For House of Bread, a local bakery Jessie and I recently tried for the first time... Oh. My. Goodness. Their sandwiches are AMAZING!

I LOVE the garlic pesto sauce!

beautiful river, beautiful weather!

363. That the close encounter Jessie and I had with a snake at the river was not any closer than it was... I kind of want to throw up every time I look at the picture and remember turning around and seeing this in real life.

EWWWWWW!!!!!!

364. For my missionary friend Lisa and her recent demonstration of unconditional love toward someone who was not acting loving toward her... This beautiful story convicts me to the core.

365. For green grass, tall trees, sunshine, and good books to refresh me after emotionally draining days.

366. For continued signs of spring.

367. For an evening at the Aces game with our fellowship group.

368. For Trader Joe's Oatmeal and Honey Soap... Smells SO. GOOD.

369. For a day off that involved iced chai and (again) good books ~ ingredients for a most wonderful afternoon.

370. For Reno skies.

371. For a full weekend ~ a sleepover, an afternoon with Cassidy and Erin having lunch and seeing "The Avengers," a movie night with Judy, and more.

Hahaha Caleb wasn't too excited...

enjoying cheese fondue and salad

372. For relationships I still have with some of our youth girls even though I haven't been a youth shepherd in a year and a half...

with Cloe' and Mickayla
a couple months ago

373. ...and that God sometimes uses these young girls to encourage ME.

374. For an especially good time with our fellowship group this past Tuesday night ~ sitting around the picnic table, enjoying the lovely evening, discussing our perspectives of Christian service in the Church/community/workplace, and my favorite part ~ laughing and praying together.

375. For those times when you practically forget what you were laughing at to begin with because you're now simply feeding off of each other's laughter... This was totally Megan and me on Tuesday night! It was the best!

Megan with her husband Scott
at the Aces game

376. That my understanding of God's grace has continued to deepen over the past couple of months, and that the more I understand His grace toward me, the more I long to extend grace to others.

377. For my precious nephew.

Have I mentioned how much I LOVE this little guy???

378. For the book Imaginary Jesus by Matt Mikalatos. If you're looking for something both entertaining and thought-provoking, I'd highly recommend checking this out!

{photo source}

379. For a really great coffee date with Jessie yesterday, for how God continues to work in our hearts and lives, and for our time praying together before we parted ways.

380. For Cassidy's Koosh ball illustration of the Christian worldview that continues to refine my thinking about how I live out my faith. (For those of you who are curious about this, I plan to expound upon it in an upcoming post!)

That'll do it for me today! Have a great weekend, folks! Until next time...