Thankful Thursday (or something like it)

Nothing makes a Thursday worse than realizing when you wake up that it's not Friday like you thought it was, but is actually Thursday & there's still one more day left in the week. Yeah, that happened to me this morning. That happy Bubble burst all over my moment and got gross everywhere. So it got me thinking I said I was going to revisit the idea of a Thankful series again, so I knew when the moment of disappointment had passed, that that burst bubble of Thursday was going to direct me to writing this post. So, ladies and gents, Thankful Thursday. 

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Gratitude changes you. It changes you from the inside out. I read somewhere that gratitude makes whatever you have enough. I think it does more than that, I think it is a way of refocusing, changing negative to positive and completely turns everything inside upside down, in the best way possible.

I struggled for many years with how my life wasn't (and still isn't) what I really want - I was frustrated with people, had been hurt too many times to think normal, etc. But in the years since Pastor Ron first said "True Worshippers of God cannot be ungrateful. And Ungrateful people cannot truly worship God.." My thoughts and heart attitude was stopped dead in it's tracks and I started the journey of Thankful Thursday over 7 years ago. It changed me & pointed me in the direction of perspective. All around, I have been more and more thankful of this practice of living out gratitude.

Is it possible to be thankful for thankfulness? Because I am. I truly am thankful for it. I'm thankful for how God used it to change me, to mold me, and to soften my heart. No greater gift has He given me than that moment 7 years ago when I stopped and went...."I am not worshipping God truly because I'm not thankful." - that sledge hammer in my life changed everything for me.

This is why Thankful Thursday happens. It's important to me personally, but even lately I have heard from sweet friends who have been following this journey that it affected them along the way too. So, today I will bring you a small smattering of things  I am thankful for, and hopefully you'll drop in the comments what you are thankful for too.  ~A~

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Today I am Thankful for....

• :: a bubble burst :: I mentioned that I thought it was friday but it is not and that was disappointing. Do you know what I am thankful for? That disappointment, because tomorrow - I won't be disappointed and it will be friday (with a THREE DAY WEEKEND to follow) that I am so excited for. 
• :: a three day weekend :: Even though technically, I have to spend all my spare time off reading a book for class, I'm still thankful for the days off. So thankful to work in a job in retail that gives me these days when I could very well be made to work through them anyway. Not a lot of people get Labor day off anymore. 
• :: homemade chocolate chip cookies :: last night, I had the best cookies that made me so happy. I know Jesus is enough, but let me tell you, that Jesus PLUS homemade chocolate chip cookies is even better. I think even Jesus would have enjoyed these cookies. 
• :: quiet mornings :: this week has been full of quiet mornings when I could relax with a cup of coffee and not have a lot weighing hard on my mind. After a few weeks of difficult mornings, this last week was a treasured set of moments. 
• :: texts from friends :: I get the best texts from my friends and I love to get them. Reminders that I am cared for, prayed for, thought of, etc. When I think about the way our culture has perverted the idea of love to turn it into romantic or sexualized love...I am thankful for real and deep love that is action, affection AND godly. 
• :: accidentally buying a book twice :: In trying to collect my books for the semester and trying to be frugal, I apparently mistakenly ordered TWO of the same book. I felt like a dummy then I remembered to text a friend in the class and ask if she'd like it. She said yes...and the exchange was for Starbucks products (where she works) - I think I came out on the better end of that deal. So I'm thankful for a stupid mistake that resulted in me getting more coffee. That's always a good thing. 
• :: thankful thursdays are back! :: I know I'm not the only one who's thankful for this. But I genuinely am. I'm excited to see how God will use this in the current season of life. 

So...what are you thankful for?