Tay Time

Today I am so very thankful for an afternoon visit from my friend Taylor. She is such an amazing woman of God and we always have such a great time with one another. We have walked through life with each other at Moody and now at BFA. And one of our four year old friends wonders why were not sisters. She tends to get us confused. Anyways, thanks Tay for being such a great friend! And thank you Father for a community of friends :)

Sitting outside on a warm, sunny balcony sipping coffee. 

Gilmore Girls

Yesterday, I was so thankful for Gilmore Girls. So thankful, in fact,  that I watched it instead of posting about it. From the witty humor and fast dialogue to the quirky characters and relationship between Luke and Lorelai that is always on the brink of beginning. So good!! Especially when you're watching them with someone who has never seen them...thanks Roomie :) I always want to eat and drink coffee while watching Gilmore. But, if I had a cup of coffee every time they did in an episode...I would have a complete coffee buzz. Not sure if that's the right terminology. But, you get my drift!

If you haven't watched them, check em out. Well maybe not if your a guy. They usually don't like them!

Spring Fragrances

Today I am thankful for the fragrances of Spring. From the fresh, dainty flowers to the misty smell after a Spring rain. Not to mention the bonfire smell in the air. They feed my soul :)

Grandma's Letters

        I didn't have the opportunity to post yesterday. Even though I was thankful for moments in the day, I couldn't bring myself to write. It had just been such a hard day. But on Monday I truly was thankful for a card from my Grandma. After receiving bad mail, aka medical bills, I opened a card from my Grandma. Dorothy Jana, G-ma, is a prayer warrior for all of her grandchildren. She is always encouraging me and of course keeping me updated on all the events happening in our large family! Since I came to Germany, I have received a letter from her every month, talk about faithful :) This letter could not have come at a better time. In her letter, she told me the Pastor at her church prayed for me on Sunday. Tears started streaming down my face as I read those words and realized I am not alone. I draw so much strength from knowing her church and many others are praying for me. I am so very thankful for my grandma, my family, and my ministry partners. Thanks Grandma for your letters :)

Hopscotch

               Today, I am thankful for kids. How creative and bold they are. On Saturday, my roomie and I, along with our downstairs neighbor family, were invited to a German open house grill out. This is pretty unusual for several reasons. Germans do not usually invite you to their home unless you know them very well. They are very private people. It is also unusual because all of us our American and our neighbors are all German. Hence, a potential language barrier. But my roommate Emily and I decided we shouldn't miss out on this opportunity. We walk up the road, nervously knock on their door. He swings it open wide with a "Come in, come in, welcome!" Not expected! It turns out he studied English in University and works for an American company here in Germany. Very unexpected! We were actually able to communicate with many of the neighbors. Not due to my own smarts but theirs. I was so thankful they spoke English :)

               The best part about the night was watching our neighbor girls play with the German kids. They all played with a parachute, jumped on the trampoline, climbed trees together. They just made interacting look so simple when they don't speak the same language. They played with them for over 3 hours! And my favorite part is this!

They created a 200 square hopscotch from our German neighbor's house to ours! So cute :)

Here is the back gate to our house.

 
     Thank you Jesus for children and hopscotch and cross-cultural relationships!

Coffee, Scones, and Strawberries

          Today, I am thankful for warm, strong coffee. I am thankful for the buttery vanilla goodness of homemade scones. Made all the more delicious by making them with my roomie at 11 pm the night before! I am thankful for strawberries so good you can actually smell the flavor. The sweetest strawberries I have had yet this season. Enjoying them all with the bright sunlight streaming through the window on a Saturday morning. Thank you Jesus for these small blessings. Small blessings that begin a day well and show me more of you :)

Fresh scones baking in the oven. Oh, we didn't have enough flour. So we TRIED to alter the recipe. Let's just say the scones were huge and not quite so fluffy. But with all that butter and fresh vanilla bean how could they not be delicious!

Coffee, Scones, and Strawberries

Inspiration for Project Thankfulness

            Lately, I have been quite discouraged. To speak honestly, this past year has been hard for me emotionally.  But I was beginning to experience Spring in my life. A rebirth of joy and gratefulness and just plain happiness. But I'm back in a slight funk as my physical health has demanded rest from me and little movement. Don't get me wrong I'm not dying and I'm not alone. Friends and co-workers have been so caring and gracious to me here. But not being able to go to work this past week has put a damper on my ministry and interactions with high school students. Which saddens me more knowing I only have 5 weeks left with them.

             Needless to say, I have a lot of time on my hands. This always gets me thinking. Sometimes I'm too analytical for my own good. About a month ago I began reading a book "One Thousand Gifts" by Ann Voskamp. It is a story of her own personal journey. I'm still only 60 pages in, I read too many books at one time. And working at the library doesn't help my already bad habit of starting new books before I finish old ones. Whoops. My dear friend Taylor loaned me the book. I was instantly interested in reading it because of the aesthetically pleasing cover design! As I began reading, many aspects of the book drew me in. A significant one being that she is a farmer's wife. I'm no farmer's wife but I am a farmer's daughter. I'm sure from the outside, this woman looks like she has it all. A husband, 6 children who adore her, oh and she home schools them. Pretty impressive. Not to mention her amazing writing skills. But she still experiences sadness and the daily drone of life.

             While studying the Word one day, she stumbles across the word 'eucharisteo' meaning 'he gave thanks.' 'Eucharisteo' translating to thankfulness with grace and joy caught up in it. Jesus was constantly giving thanks to His Father. 1 Corinthians 11:23-24; Matthew 11:25; 1 Corinthians 10:16; John 11:41; Psalm 50:23. As her story unfolds, she is challenged by a friend in her life to name one thousand blessings. Or gifts-- hence the title of the book. One thousand things she is thankful for.

              Sometimes when I go to pray I feel as though my mouth is glued shut. There is so much I want to share with God but nothing comes out. So I just go on living life without really engaging in prayer. I was having one of those times yesterday. Reasons why I journal. God always seems to at least unstick my mind when I have a pen in hand. Which usually leads to my lips unsticking and a conversation.

This time it has led me to this blog post.

"And give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ" (Ephesians 5:20).

"When we lay the soil of our hard lives open to the rain of grace and let joy penetrate our cracked and dry places, let joy soak into our broken skin and deep crevices, life grows" (58).

"And when I give thanks for the seemingly microscopic, I make a place for God to grow within me" (59).

A..."Dare to write down one thousand things I love. It really is a dare to name all the ways that God loves me" (p. 59).

             My mind began reeling as I read these statements. What would it be like to capture my thankfulness? My heart literally began quickening its pace as I considered. A rush of joy and hope. To practice thankfulness and experience richer relationship with My Father through thankfulness.

            Project Thankfulness: take a photo each day that captures my thankfulness, for the remainder of my time in Germany. An experiment to connect more deeply with God, notice his blessings, see his goodness. And an opportunity to share thankfulness.

Perhaps if you look VERY closely you will see what I wanted to capture. Floating all about this beautiful tree in my backyard are tiny white dandelion fluffs. They looked so free and dainty floating all about the yard. Thank you Jesus for dandelion fluffs!

Feel free to keep checking out Project Thankfulness :)

Warmly,
Amy