30 Thankful Days #6 and #7: Mom and Fellowship

Don't have too much time tonight but still wanted to link up with Dawn over at theGoodlife with 30 Thankful Days.

Thankful day #6:

I spent most of the day playing soccer (we lost in the finals but definitely had an INCREDIBLE season) and ended the day traveling back to good ole Laradise (aka Laramie, WY). Though I had so many things to be thankful for like my team, my coaches, my Kay Arthur study, the one thing that just made my day 1000 times better was talking on the phone with my mom. We didn't talk that long but, man, do I love that women! It was great to hear some encouraging words from someone who has made it very clear that she cares more about my well-being than my grades, athletic success, or flaws. Mom, I can't even explain how much I love you and how much you mean to me.

My mom and little B (one of the kids she watches during the school week)

Thankful #7

Today I just want to simply say I am thankful for fellowship! I spent my afternoon taking a Statistics exam (yuck) but I got through it by thinking about the people I'd get to see when I finished the test. I went straight to an FCA outreach dinner --families in the community host a dinner and all varsity athletes are invited— where a good friend shared about her walk with God. Then I went to a Bible Study where we were studying 2 Peter but had to leave early to go to a prayer date :) where a small group of friends spent devoted their time to pray for me. I definitely felt the love in the room.

30 Thankful Days #4 and #5: Blessings

It has been such a blessing to be a part of 30 Thankful Days, as I know first hand how hard life is when I fail to find things to praise Him for. Go check out theGoodlife for more information on how to get involved. I promise you won't regret it.

So I missed yesterday but I feel that I have a good reason. Wyoming Women's soccer beat SDSU to advance to the finals and our day here in New Mexico was full of excitement and energy. Needless to say I  had a hard time slowing down even to write a few lines though I definitely was thankful for many things yesterday.

So on my fourth day of thankful days, though soccer was definitely the highlight, I was/am thankful for my phone :) Well actually I'm thankful for all the friends that I can dial up on a moment's notice just to hear them say "you're going to be ok." Yesterday, despite all the excitement that winning brought me, I had a mental breakdown about school and where my grades are at. It's humbling to admit how poorly I'm doing in school but I think that is a part of God's plan in this... to humble myself so that I see Him as my everything. In the midst of my tears and regret I had plenty of friends to remind me that no matter if I drop out of school or if I'm the top of my class I have people (and a God) who love me just the same. I'm so thankful that I have people to remind me that I am "justified by faith" alone like I mentioned in day 3.

Day 5 I'm thankful for something that happened yesterday but I didn't realize it until today (I don't know if that counts but I'm doing it). I'm thankful for the song "Times" by Tenth Avenue North. It was such a blessing to me yesterday in calming my nerves about soccer and in reminding me where my value is when I was stressing out about school. Through these lyrics I've felt God's love and mercies wash over me. He knows all of my sins and loves me the same. His love never ends
Times by Tenth Avenue North

Her are some of the lyrics from the song Times (I've bolded a few of the lines that have been a blessing to me)
Well my love is over
It's underneath
It's inside
It's in between

The times that you're healing
And when your heart breaks
The times that you feel like you've fallen from grace 

The times you're hurting
The times that you heal
The times you go hungry and are tempted to steal

In times of confusion
In chaos and pain
I'm there in your sorrow under the weight of your shame 

I'm there through your heart-ache
I'm there in the storm
My love I will keep you by my power alone 

I don't care where you've fallen or where you have been
I'll never forsake you
My love never ends

30 Thankful Days #3: Beloved

Once again, I'm linking up with Dawn over at theGoodlife and sharing what I'm thankful for today!

Today I'm thankful for the Kay Arthur study that a friend and I are going through. We're only on week two but it's INCREDIBLE. Every word and verse mentioned in this week's study spoke right to my heart... Have you ever felt like you can feel God changing your heart the very moment your read or hear something?... All I have time to say about it now is that being called "My beloved" by the Creator of the Heavens and Earth is quite possibly the best feeling in the world and knowing that I am simply "justified in faith" has made me feel of worth for the first time in a while. God is so good!!

30 Thankful Days #1 and #2

Today I'm linking up with Dawn over at theGoodlife and couldn't be more excited about the idea of thirty days of being thankful. What a fantastic idea!

It reminds me of a time when I was having a hard time finding joy (which is a total understatement) and a friend and I came up with a way to change my focus from the negatives to the positives of life. Everyday she'd ask me to name five things I was thankful for and though it was a struggle at first, it became a natural part of my day and I looked forward to sharing them with her. I found myself thinking throughout the day, "this could be one of the things I'm thankful for today." And it was amazing to look back at what i was thankful for that week. The list went from food items like toaster strudels (a definite weakness of mine) all the way to being thankful for having free laundry (a blessing after paying for laundry in the dorms). After only a few days I had 25 little things I was thankful for and I realized that those little things were actually the things that make my life worth living.

So for day #1 (yesterday) I'm thankful for my team and the growing relationships that I with some of the girls. We spent the day traveling to the Mountain West Conference Tournament in New Mexico and I was blessed by all the conversations and laughter! LET'S GO POKES!!!... We beat TCU today and are advancing to the semifinals (first time ever in Wyoming history). wish us luck as we play San Diego Friday so we can advance to the finals.

And for day #2 I'm thankful for hotel pillows!!! Every time I'm in a hotel I consider stealing the super soft ones to take home with me. I just love having a ton of pillows on an oversized bed just for me :)