Stuff and Things I'm Thankful For

Happy Thanksgiving!

via

I hope you are all able to enjoy this holiday with those you hold near and dear.

Since the election, there has been a lot of whining, complaining, name calling, and general uproar across the country.  It can't be escaped.  It's on TV, Instagram, Facebook, etc.  Today, especially, I hope that we all take the time to reflect on the things for which we are thankful and to appreciate our many blessings.

I am thankful for...

...my husband.  
He works so hard, and he knows how to make me laugh.

...my family.
We are not perfect, but we love each other despite our differences.

...my friends.
I have the most amazing friends who are always there when I need them.  They're around in good times and in bad, and I'm lucky to have them in my life.

...freedom.
People are dissatisfied in this country right now.  But we are incredibly blessed to live in this amazing nation.

...those who serve.
I am beyond grateful to the men and women who serve our country every day to protect our freedom and our rights.

...my job.
Some days I really would rather be anywhere else but at work, but teaching can be so rewarding.  And, of course, it helps to pay the bills allows me to be able to meet my basic needs.

What are you most thankful for this year?

Teacher Thoughts: A Little Thank You

Today's "Teacher Thoughts" is short and sweet.

This year, I was once again blessed with some Christmas gifts from my students.  It's always exciting and touching to receive gifts from them.  It's not something that they are required to do, of course, and at my school, our sixth graders switch classes which means they have multiple teachers.  I'm always especially touched when a student from another homeroom brings me a gift because that can be a lot for families to take on!

In fact, this year, there is one homeroom of students that I don't see for a class at all.  One of the students in this class is a girl that I had when I taught first grade.  On our last day before break, she came across the hall with a card and a gift (a bracelet) for me.  I was very moved because I don't see her more than in passing.  It was incredibly sweet for her (and her family) to include me in their gift-giving this season.

This year, over my Christmas break, I wrote out thank you notes to the twelve students who gave gifts to me.  While I always intend to do this, sometimes it just gets lost in the hustle and bustle of the holidays (or my incredible gift at being able to sleep at the drop of the hat even if I'm not really tired...).  I just think that it's special and important for them to get a little thank you from me to let them know that I truly did appreciate their gifts.

Are all of the gifts things that I love or will use?  No, not necessarily.  But I'm not ungrateful for getting another coffee mug, and I'm more than grateful that they wanted to bless me this Christmas.  The least I can do is take the time in this busy day and age to hand write a thank you to send home with them.

Fellow teachers, do you write out thank you notes to your students?

Stuff & Things: Time for Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope you are all enjoying time today with people you love, good food, and full hearts!

I decided to link up with Kristin and Joey today for Stuff & Things, and I thought it was a perfect day to share some things that I'm thankful for.  BUT rather than the regular, boring, "I'm thankful for my husband, family, etc..." (You all know that I am!), I thought it would be fun to share some other things I'm thankful for this year!

1. My cell phone
Seriously, I don't know how I ever survived in life before I had a cell phone.  It is my endless source of connection to the outside world, entertainment, and boredom buster.  I never leave home without it....and if I do, my whole day is off kilter.

2. My FitBit
I love that this validates my life by proving that my daily steps are actually meaningful and that the endless laps around my classroom really are helping me to burn calories.

3. My blankie
I still sleep with my baby blanket, and I'm so glad that I have it.  That blanket brings me comfort and helps me to sleep at night.

4. Books
In both audio and paper format, I love, love, love books.  I love that I can "read" more than one book at a time because one I can listen to as I go about other things in life (like driving to work) and the other I can curl up with on the couch or in bed.

5. Television
Whether I'm binge watching TV shows on Netflix, watching a movies or other TV shows, doing my PiYo workout, or just need some background noise, I would not be able to survive without my TV.

6. Christmas Music
I think it's pretty special that the Christmas holiday has it's own genre of music.  There is a special quality to Christmas music that other songs just don't have.  I don't care what people say about it being "too early" for Christmas music.  I started listening to my collection on the first of October, and I still haven't gotten through all of it yet!

7. Cheat Days
I am doing my best to keep my food intake within my daily calorie limits each day.  With exercise and watching my calories, I have actually lost about 16 pounds and was able to get back into clothes that had gotten too small.  As proud as I am of this, I also really love food, and I simply refuse to be picky about what or how much I eat on Thanksgiving.  :)

8. Boots
Enough said.

So what things are you thankful for this Thanksgiving??

Thankful in All

Thankfulness.

It's a big thing this time of year.  When Susannah e-mailed me about this month's link-up, I knew that I wanted to reflect on this topic a bit more.  Yesterday, I posted some things I am thankful for...this year and every year.  But what it comes down to is WHO should we be giving thanks to??

For me, the answer to this question is my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  I know that I fail over and over at even taking time to pray some days, but when I do, I try to remember to give thanks for all of my blessings.  Does that mean that I list EVERY single thing that I'm thankful for?  No.  He knows.  It's just important to take the time to express that gratitude to Him.

"Let them give thanks to the Lord for His unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for mankind..."
Psalm 107:15 (NIV)

"Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to Him and praise His name." Psalm 100:4 (NIV)

"Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights..." James 1:17 (NIV)  Does this mean that our lives will be perfect and God will only allow great and wonderful things to happen to us?   Unfortunately, it doesn't.  We're not promised that life will be easy.  Jesus said, "In this world you will have trouble.  But take heart!  I have overcome the world." John 16:33 NIV 

That, my friends, is why we should be thanking Him, and NOT just when things are good, but in ALL things.  "Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." 1 Thessalonians 5:18 (NIV) Emphasis added

It's not easy to give thanks when things aren't going the way you want.  It's not easy to give thanks when you are hurting.  It's not easy to give thanks when things around you are falling apart.  But it is God's will that we do.  There is always something good in our lives.  When times get tough, we need to think of those things and give God thanks for them.  He will bring us through the difficult times.  As stated above from John 16, He has already overcome the world!  We can do all things through Christ who strengthens us!  (Philippians 4:13)

There is a beautiful song by Casting Crowns that really hits on giving thanks in difficult circumstances, and I leave you with the video.  Take a few moments to listen.

Thankful Thanksgiving Thursday

Thanksgiving is such a wonderful time to remember and reflect on the things we are thankful for.  Today, I'm sharing the things that I am thankful for, and tomorrow, I'll be linking up with Susannah from Simple Moments Stick to talk more about thankfulness. 

I am thankful for...

...my husband.

Scott works so hard.  He makes me laugh.  We have so much fun together, and I am so glad that I married him!

...my family.

I am so blessed to have a family that is so close.  My cousins have always been like my brothers and sisters.  Their kids are like MY kids!  We genuinely love (AND LIKE!) each other.  We have had a difficult year this year, but it has just brought us closer and reminded us how special our family is. 

...my furbabies.

Left: Abbie // Right: Allie

I promise, I'm not a crazy cat lady, but these are my babies.  :)  They are sweet and cuddly, and they make me smile.  I often tell Abbie she's my best buddy.  You can often find her curled up on my lap, or sleeping right next to me in bed at night. 

 

...my job.

 

While it can be difficult at times, I ultimately do love teaching.  I am so thankful to have a job in a world where it's not always guaranteed that you'll get a job in the field that you studied in college.

 

...my friends.

 

I may not get to see my friends as often as I would like, as some of them live far away, but I am so blessed to have them in my life.  It's great to know that even after a lot of time goes by without talking or seeing each other that we can pick up right where we left off.  :)