Thankful Sunday

It's been...yikes...almost 5 months since my Thankful Thursday, so even though it's not Thursday, I am very thankful and in the mood to write. I also have plenty of time to write tonight since I loaded my Crockpot up with delicious goodness (intended for lunches this week) around 4:00...then set it on low. I looked at the recipe again around 7:30 and realized it was SIX hours on low and FOUR hours for high. Bless it. This is why I can't have nice things. Since I'm sitting up waiting on that to get finished, I felt like writing something. Thus...Thankful Sunday.

Today I am thankful for...

• the wonderful and growing relationship I have with God and my awesome Jesus...we've gone on a wild ride together this past year, and I'm praying that it'll never stop!
• my sweet family and friends and the way they love me
• the feeling of being truly known and loved and thought of and prayed for...gives a girl the warm fuzzies fo sho!
• hard times, because that makes the sweet times even sweeter :)
• Angie and the way she just "gets" me...God knew what He was doing when He brought that precious little goober into my life!
• a great walk and chat with Byrne earlier this week
• my incredible church and the amazing way my life has changed since I started going there
• God's plan for my life, and reminders to trust in that COMPLETELY...sometimes very hard since the sweet little plan I've always had for myself was clearly mine and not God's :) I've gotten a lot of encouragement in this area lately and I appreciate it more than I can put into words!
• 21 Days of Prayer...it's tough to be up and at 'em and at church for a prayer meeting at 6 AM but what an unbelievably awesome way to start the day
• a great reminder at the prayer meeting yesterday to pray relentlessly and shamelessly...I was inspired to put a couple of things I had given up on back on my prayer list
• all the new friends I've made since this time last year...an answered prayer for sure 
• a precious, happy-tear-inducing message from Audry the other day...Audry, I don't know if you'll ever know how much that meant to me!
• a very productive Science planning meeting after school on Friday...yes, we stayed until after 5:00, but we have a KILLER two weeks of Science planned. Thanks for leading us, Dedra! And Melynda, I can't wait to watch you dissect that cow eyeball ;)
• my much-loved, helpful, hard-working coworkers, from one end of the (very, very long) hallway to the other
• a roof over my head, shoes on my feet, clothes in my closet, electricity, clean running water, food in my fridge, enough money to cover my needs, all my appliances and gadgets and doodads
• my job and the opportunity to be a great role model/influence to my students
• the fact that I'm only teaching Math, Science, and Social Studies this year...LOVE! That has made such a huge difference in my emotional well-being :)
• getting to serve with the awesome Hospitality team a few times each month
• adding another item to my "30 by 30" list...I'm praying that 29 is going to be my best year yet!
• this message and this one...I promise you won't regret making some time to watch them!
• this song...great reminder of how I want to live my life
• some exciting opportunities coming up to step out of my comfort zone...praying for bravery!
• my simple little life

HAPPY NEW WEEK, yall! Find something that you can make better, and get after it!

Thankful Thursday

I've taken an intentional and very much needed break from social media the past few months. I'm not sure yet if it's a "right now" thing or a forever thing. I decided to do a Thankful Thursday today because someone anonymously gave me something the other day that meant more to me than they could possibly know.

It's a Wordle, made up entirely of kind words that some coworkers think describe me. On the day this was put in my box, I was feeling discouraged and TOTALLY overwhelmed. I was on the verge of tears wondering how I was possibly going to accomplish everything on my to-do list. This sweet little Wordle totally changed my attitude and the course of my week. Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you to whoever put this sweetness in my box! (And thanks also for being willing to use that much color ink on me!)

I haven't stopped being thankful just because I've stopped posting. I'm more thankful now than I've been in a long time. I'm thankful for a million, bajillion things. I'm most thankful that the good Lord has been working in me to make me a radically different Julie than I was 7 short months ago. I'm not looking back!

{I have a much better quality picture but can't get it to load. This'll have to do, because ain't nobody got time to sit around and wait for a picture to load!}

Thankful first Thursday in 2014!

I can't remember the last time I've been this excited to see a new year roll in. I was more than happy to close the door on 2013 and welcome 2014. I have a feeling this is going to be a fabulous year!

Today I am thankful for...

• the good Lord and what He has in store for me this year
• my family and friends
• my health, and the health of my loved ones
• a roof over my head, clean running water, food in my fridge, shoes on my feet, clothes in my closet, a dependable car, central heat, the doodads and gadgets that make my life easier
• the fact that I didn't give myself a hernia pushing my car out of its spot on Christmas morning, and kind neighbors who took time away from their loved ones to come out in the COLD and help jump off my car 
• the people who used to push ol' Mitzy whenever she would stop working...I didn't realize until having to push Frank on Christmas morning how ridiculously heavy a car is...Uncle Billy, Aunt Dianne, Katie, Sam, and dear, sweet Mikee (who got to push Mitzy at least 1000 times in Auburn)...I feel your pain now...I should've bought yall supper or a pony or a rainbow or something
• the fact that that a dead battery is the first issue I've had with my car since I bought it nearly 3 years ago
• enough money to take care of my needs and some changes in how I've decided to spend the money I have
• my job, job security, my sweet coworkers, and the 27 sweeties that I'm looking forward to spending the day with on Monday
• thoughtful Christmas gifts from my students and their families
• a job that provides me with much-needed, much-appreciated (paid!) breaks during the year
• a work day tomorrow
• my essential oils and the opportunity to put them to the test...praying that they get rid of the little bit of sinus trouble I've got going on
• realizing that I'm going to be able to survive just fine without my satellite radio and cable...I'm excited to break up with Charter...AFTER the National Championship game, of course ;)
• my Auburn Tigers going to their second National Championship game in 3 years...can't wait to see them in action again!
• New Year's resolutions that I'm actually going to be able to keep
• my resolution to get rid of one item every day this year...I want to live a simpler life with less STUFF, and I figured this is a manageable way to do it
• the beautiful view from my windows
• plans for a DIY dining room table...still a work in progress but I think it may turn out to be exactly what I've been looking for
• good lotion, because winter and my skin hate each other
• fun mail
• tasty new recipes, particularly this one...I never would've imagined that split pea soup would be something that I would look forward to, but this one is amazing
• answered and unanswered prayers
• my simple little life, which will hopefully be made even simpler here soon
• peace and contentment
• laughter
• a brand new year with 364 more days to enjoy

HAPPY WEEKEND, yall!