Serenity

Serenity
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Thursday, November 26, 2009

Thanksgiving 2009

This is a post I sent in to a coupon site who was doing a "I'm thankful for..." blog for Thanksgiving. If you are reading this, I'm thankful for YOU! For what you bring into my life, for the joy of knowing you, and for the friendship I have with you!!


I am so very thankful for my Heavenly Father and the promises that He keeps to His children!! He has held me up through a very, very tough 2009 and has poured out blessings over and over on me. My life fell apart, or so it seemed, in the spring when my husband left me. Through Gods grace and my incredible family and church family, I walked through the tough times this trial has brought me and have seen Gods amazing hand at work over and over and over in every aspect of my life this year. It is only through His grace that I was able to “let go and let God” where my marriage was concerned, where my bills were concerned, where every aspect of life was concerned. I am continually amazed at and thankful for the work He is doing in my life. He has provided income every time it seemed that the bills wouldn’t get paid. He has provided words of comfort, encouragement, strength, peace, and wisdom at every turn through friends, family, His Word, my small group, my church, a song on the radio, a friends blog….so many very different ways He has provided!!

I am so very thankful for the blessings that couponing has afforded me, both for myself and for the people I’ve been able to bless with the coupon system. I am thankful for the money saved and the stocked pantry/freezer. I am forever thankful for the family that I have who has stood beside me and supported me in any way possible. I’m forever grateful for my friends who have stood by me in thick and thin. My church family is just incredibly awesome and I’m thankful for the chaotic events of 2008 that led to the birth of my church today! I am so thankful that God has a plan, and that he makes something good come from something we see as bad.

I am thankful for the little things in my life….a roof over my head, a well-running car, a job, good neighbors, food in my pantry, clothes on my back, friends, my dog, my cats, good health, fall weather, a good book to read, my front porch swing…and so much more!!

Sunday, November 1, 2009

November...a New Month

It is November! A new month with new goals! I have a lot that I want to accomplish and if I write it down it has more of a chance of getting done that if I just say it. So for this first week of November...my biggest goal is to lose 2 lbs. That is a huge goal for me and will include increased exercise and less junk food.



Here is my potential "schedule" for this week:

Monday---day off; run errands; 10 min workout; 2 miles + walk/jog; clean house; find 2 recipes to cook this week

Tues---work; 10 min workout during lunch;

Wed—work; 10 min workout at lunch; class (no walk)

Thurs---work; 2-3 miles in PM (break from 10 min workout)/homework

Friday—day off; chiropractic appointment; potential hour walk with friend; errands; 2 miles+ (if AM walk doesn’t happen)



In the midst of all this I want to cook at least twice this week (got chicken thawing for rolled Italian chicken) which includes a main dish, a veggie, and a potential bread recipe. This week I also want to clean my windows and clean out my fridge/freezer. But I dont want to spend all of my days off doing chores. I'm learning to let some things go so that I can enjoy life, the beautiful weather, friends and family. I'm also learning to continually praise, worship, and seek God! Its amazing the perspective of life you have when your focus is on Him! He makes all things new and He is faithful.



A friend of mine and I are challenging each other to find ways to live frugally, eat better, exercise more and get our houses back in shape (both physically and mentally, spiritually and emotionally). So together hopefully we will encourage and inspire each other to accomplish some of our goals. To have that accountability partner in life makes all the difference sometimes and it's really awesome to have someone to bounce around ideas and thoughts.



My journey this year has been a roller coaster. It has been up and it has been down. I've been on top of the mountain and I've been in the lowest of valleys. But always my God has been right there ...pulling me through and holding me close. Through the trials and tribulations that 2009 has brought my way, God has been pursuing me. He has been molding me and He has been preparing me. I have chosen to praise Him and to serve Him while I'm waiting for His works to unfold. I've chosen to be faithful and to listen to Him ... in return He has blessed me over and over and over. Even when I fall back into my "human" mindset of "this isnt' working; there is no way", etc; God is still faithful; He is still proving Himself over and over and again. I have been drawn so much closer to Him this year than ever before. A lot of sadness has happened and there are some things that I still find myself crying over, but God is making this into something amazing!! I am so excited about the possibilities He has in store for me. I'm excited to find that spot where I'm supposed to be. I'm excited to meet the people He is putting into my life. I'm happy. I'm peaceful and content with what He is doing. I'm content to wait on Him; to learn to depend continually on Him through the good and the bad. I am making changes in my life that I pray will stay with me. I am attempting to get out of debt quickly so that I can be a better steward of my money. I am attempting to find additional sources of income so as to pay off debt, build savings, fix the house, and just in general keep everything up to date.



God is teaching me a tremendous amount of knowledge from His Word. He is continually surrounding me with godly people who are a great encouragement to me. We are studying Romans in small groups at church and it is incredible how much it relates to my own life right now!! Read Chapter 5!!



So this November, as we move into the holiday season, I am thankful for my church, to the people who have wrapped their arms around time and time again to rejoice or to cry with me; who have taught me so incredibly much about life and God. I'm thankful for my family--as crazy as they are ;)--for always being there for me and loving me! I'm thankful for my friends--all of them--each one is special and contributes to my life in ways they may never know. I'm thankful for my God, who is my Rock, my Creator, my Supporter, my Comfort, my Strength, my Wisdom, my Joy!! I'm thankful for a job, to be caught up on bills, to have paid off some debt this year, for the glorious weather, for beautiful music and for good health!!



God is amazing!!