Thanksgiving All Year: 491-520

Wow. So much for staying caught up, eh? Well I've decided, since I've fallen so far behind on this for the past two months, that I am going to stop at 520 (which marks one year's worth of Thanks-giving) for the time being. I may revive the tradition at some point or alter it to a monthly list, but honestly my blog has been on the back burner for pretty much the entire summer (just in case you hadn't noticed, haha) and I have so much going on right now it just isn't a priority for me currently. This doesn't mean I'll stop posting, but I am going to relieve myself from my weekly (in theory) posts!

With that said, over the past few weeks, I have been thankful...

491. For solo coffee dates spent reading.

492. For good books (such as Donald Miller's Through Painted Deserts)...

493. ...and for great songs (such as U2's "With or Without You")...

494. ...and for delightful moments when I get to enjoy both simultaneously.

"With or Without You" came on the radio while I was reading at the
coffee shop. It was such a perfect moment I had to take a picture!

495. For surprise birthday parties and for friends with whom to celebrate. (Alina and Alona are twins, born on August 11, and Patricia and I were both born on August 18!)

Left: Birthday Girls (me, Patricia, Alona, and Alina) Right: My winning teammates from the first game!

496. For a friend who shares my heart to get together and pray for our church each Sunday morning.

497. For our church family's willingness to step outside its comfort zone by holding Church in the Park.

worship team warming up at Wingfield Park in downtown Reno

498. That God sometimes provides great encouragement to me through people I barely even know.

499. For the new Mumford and Sons single, "I Will Wait."

500. For my recently reestablished weekly coffee dates with Jessie...

501. ...and that our favorite coffee shop recently reopened after being closed for almost three years!

It's in a different location now but we'll take it!

502. For my new lotion dispenser that says "Restore" on it ~ a memorial of how God has captured my heart in a whole new way this past year with the concept of Restoration.

503. For fun "blingy" jeans and "Life is Good" pajama pants purchased during my first thrift store excursion.

504. For Mimi's Cafe's chicken tenders.

505. For Sunday afternoons hanging out with the girls.

506. For a relaxing birthday celebration with my family, some of my best friends, my favorite pizza, and a good movie.

507. For laughing so hard I cried twice in one day watching Caleb bounce in his bouncy seat. SO. FUNNY.

You should see the video!

508. For the incredible beauty of God's creation at Yosemite National Park...

Yosemite Valley and Half Dome as seen from Glacier Point

509. ...and for the joy of being with people who are seeing it for the first time. (I think I tear up every time I hear someone's first expression of awe!)

At least half of our group had never been before!

510. For friends who I, as an introvert, am comfortable having in my "hamster ball" with me...

511. ...and that I got to spend the many hours of drive-time during our Yosemite trip surrounded by such friends.

Alex was in there, too, you just can't see him!

512. For a hike through a beautiful forest to see incredible views of Yosemite I'd never seen before.

513. For my ridiculously adorable nephew.

514. For the nearly perfect ending to my birthday: lying on the floor of Yosemite Valley, next to some of my best friends, spotting TWO shooting stars while star gazing. James 1:17

515. For the transforming work God has done in me since my last birthday.

516. For an evening with the beautiful (inside and out) Balkenbush, Steinhardt, and Bain girls.

517. For a deeper understanding of how God designed me through the Myers-Briggs personality assessment
(I'm an INFJ in case you're curious)...

518. ...and for the resulting increase in confidence to follow the direction I sense Him giving me.

519. For the discovery of great music. (Currently LOVING Amy Stroup, Josh Garrels, and The Autumn Film.)

520. For a year's worth of weekly (well...sort of) thanks-giving.

Thanks for joining me in giving thanks for the many beautiful things God has done in my life over the past year! Rest assured the thankfulness will not stop even though the weekly list is going away! Have a great weekend and a lovely start to your September!

Thanksgiving All Year: 451-490

Holy cow. July has been a whirlwind of a month, and it's been both awesome and challenging! But since I am FOUR WEEKS BEHIND on my thanks-giving lists, I'm going to cut to the chase and let my list speak for itself about what I've been up to, then maybe I'll compose another blog later to elaborate on some of it. (Or maybe not, who knows!)

This MONTH I have been thankful...

451. For my Nana and Gramps, and for the joy of having them visit for the first time in five years.

452. For the beauty of witnessing Nana and Gramps meeting Caleb for the first time.

453. For my sweet nephew.

454. For family dinners.

455. For beautiful downtown Reno.

456. For the opportunity to enjoy ice cream and fireworks with our young adults group.

457. For the freedom we have in America.

458. For waffles containing oats and walnuts, topped with blueberries and real maple syrup.

459. For my "worldview group" that's going through Chuck Colson's How Now Shall We Live? together. I grow SO MUCH through our discussions!

460. For family picnics in beautiful places (in this case, Donner Lake).

461. For inside jokes that never die ~ FREE LEONARD! (Sorry, you had to be there...)

462. For beautiful days at Lake Tahoe with friends and family.

463. For volleyball.

464. That so many of my closest friends got to meet Nana and Gramps (and vice versa) during their visit.

465. For family birthday celebrations.

466. For homemade grilled pizza. YUM.

467. For having four generations in one picture.

468. For fresh fruit, vegetables, and bread from the Sparks Farmers Market.

469. For a friend so thoughtful as to show up at the church before 7 am to bring me Starbucks the day of a youth trip... Thanks, Judy!

470. For our youth group's annual camping trip to Santa Cruz.

471. For Chick-fil-A. (Disclaimer: This has absolutely NOTHING to do with the recent controversy. Consider me a neutral party, please. I simply love their chicken and have incredibly fond memories of working for this company.)

472. For the excitement of saying "WE'RE HERE!" after hours on the road!

473. For spending time in closer-than-usual proximity to God's creation.

474. For my girls (that is to say, those who were in my discipleship group in Santa Cruz).

475. For Tristan and Jacob ~ such GREAT guys who make me laugh so much!

476. That I got to be with Cloe' the first time she saw the ocean!

477. For Manresa State Beach... I have sooooo many treasured memories of this place.

478. For these HILARIOUS pictures of Griffin having people throw bread at him to make the seagulls flock around him. Our youth are crazy!

479. For "Beach Day" at Santa Cruz, where we have the whole afternoon to nap, read, swim, build sandcastles, play volleyball, etc. on the beach. So. Relaxing.

480. For time with Caleb during the Santa Cruz trip.

481. For laughter.

482. For great teaching by Cassidy and Eric in Santa Cruz.

483. For our youth group. I truly love these kids.

484. For the girl in the Starbucks drive-thru the other day who immediately told me how beautiful my hair was when I pulled up... Amazing how one simple compliment from a stranger can make your day when you're feeling down!

485. For the song "Learn Me Right" by Birdy and Mumford and Sons.

486. For my bestie, who was a part of so many of my good memories from this month.

487. For our young adults planning team and the encouragement I receive from meeting with them.

488. For time spent recently with new friends and with old friends I haven't gotten to spend time with in a while.

489. For glimpses of continued healing, restoration, and growth in various relationships.

490. For an ever-deepening understanding of the Gospel and Christ's call to find real life by dying to self and submitting to His good and loving rule.

Wow, I feel like this was even longer than my Seven Years in Reno blog... Yikes! I trust my next one will be MUCH shorter! Until then...