Day Seven: I'm thankful for "my girls"

It's Sunday night and it's been several weeks since I've made it to Fusion (high school ministry at church). I like the summers for the freedom it gives us leaders to come and go and take a break if we need it but I do miss going on Sunday nights when I don't.

Right as I walk in I see one of the high school girls I'm going to Africa with and we start chatting. I hear a shriek to my left and turn my head and here comes Hannah running towards me and gives me the biggest hug ever! And then before I know it both Jenna and Jeanett give me huge hugs as well. Later on I run into several others of "my girls" who all greeted me with the same enthusiasm and one even pulled me to meet her friend who she had told that "you just have to meet Jessica". Aw bless. So, the rest of my night was spent hanging out with these and other high school girls and I loved it! Which is why today....

I'm thankful for "my girls"......

Sometimes I'm not aware and take for granted that I have such a special opportunity and role to play in the lives of these high school girls. They have no idea how blessed by them I am; to feel so loved and wanted as soon as I walk into the room! To be greeted with a run on hug is the best ever!

But it's also a huge responsibility, knowing that these girls look up to me and what I think of them means the world to them. And that is so incredibly humbling because I know any good they see in me is not of my own accord but a testament to God's grace in my life.

God's been challenging me a lot lately about what type of role model I'm being when no one else is looking. There have been several moments when I'm about to make a not so great decisions and the thought that comes to mind is "what would I be telling my girls to do" or "what would they think if they knew I was in this situations"? It brings on a new meaning to being held accountable and they don't even realize they are doing it! Love it!

I'm so thankful for these girls. Thankful that they trust me enough to allow me to be someone of influence in their lives. Thankful for the ways they challenge me. Thankful for the ways I see them love Jesus that put me to shame. Thankful that my life will be forever changed because of them.

I love youth work. LOVE. And thankful that while I can't do it full time God has provided me with a place to serve and girls to love. And girls, if you are reading this and you know who you are.....I do love you guys....more than you will ever know

Day Six: Thankful for the quiet

I've had one of those super lazy and quiet Saturdays. Against my will. I like being with people and I like being busy. I've learned to be more okay alone and try to take advantage of those times. But sometimes it's hard because my brain goes into overdrive and starts to dwell on things that aren't healthy. And it's in those moments that I have to choose. To choose to use those quiet and alone times in a positive way. So, today that's what I'm choosing to be thankful for.

I'm thankful for the quiet and alone moments. 

It's so hard for me sometimes to choose to have the attitude of thankfulness for those moments. And so many time in those moments I don't use that time wisely and instead just waste the day away.

But I know my life won't always allow me to have the time I have to myself now. One day when I'm married and have a family I'm guessing it will be a lot easier to treasure the alone moments.

So, until then I'm going to try to enjoy those moments now and take advantage of the "Jessica time" and be thankful for them.

Day Four: Thankful for education

This weekend 10 years ago I graduated high school. 10 years. Wow. I remember thinking back then that 10 years out of high school seemed like so far away and I'd be so old by then. Oh the naiveness of youth because I sure don't feel old yet.

But it got me thinking about how many years I have spent in some sort of education. After high school I went to two years of community college. I then had a year off as I spent my first year in Northern Ireland but the next two years I would spend doing online classes while I lived there. When I came back to the states I continued with online classes until I went to Moody and then was in school until I graduated in 2009.

It's been two years since I've been out of school and that's the longest I have been out of education since preschool. And I miss it. I really, really miss it. Which brings me to what I am thankful for today.

I am thankful for the education I have received.

So many people in this world don't get the opportunity to have a high school level of education, let alone a four year college degree! I'm so thankful that I've had the opporuntity to achieve both of those things.

Granted, I probably don't remember half of what I learned in my classes but I know so much of that expeirence helped develope me into the person I am today. I love learning and didn't realize how much I did until I was no longer in formal education. I love the classroom setting and the discussions and I miss it!

Which is why I am starting grad school this fall and am also thankful for the opportunity to have more education!

Day Three: Thankful for my car

Driving. It's something we do without thinking. It's something that we probably take for granted all the time. When I went to school in Chicago I didn't have a car and I didn't drive. I was thankful for the great public transportation but I missed the freedom of coming and going that driving provided. When I lived in Northern Ireland I didn't have a car for part of the time and the summer I went back to do my internship I didn't have a car. I missed it then. I hated having to rely on people for rides to EVERYWHERE and hated not being able to come and go. It was like my independance got squashed. But how quickly I forget what that feels like when I do have the ability to drive a car on a regular basis. Which brings me to what I am thankful for today.

I am thankful for my car.

My 2007 Scion TC
 (well this isn't actually my car....but it looks just like it except mine is black)

I love my car. I love that it's a little sporty. I love that it has a sunroof. I love that it has an awesome sound system (and can play DVDs). I love that it's stickshift. I love that while it's not the fastest car in the world my little baby can pick up speed pretty good and has been known to put some macho guys in their place. (specifically in downtown Denver...right Laura?! hahaha). I love driving my little baby.
The only thing my car is missing is a name. I just haven't found the right one and it's been two years. Suggestions?

Day Two: Thankful for a job

This has been the longest day ever. I kept looking at the clock at work and it never seems to change. Sometimes I really enjoy my job and enjoy that I'm comfortable and good at what I do. But then there are other days (like today) that it is slowly killing my soul.

Which brings to me what I choose to be thankful about today.

I am thankful that I have a job. In this country, in this world, in this economy, that is something I should not take for granted. There are hundreds and hundreds of people who would love to be working.

And not only do I have a job. But I work for an amazing organization that my heart and soul can get behind! Now while my particular job sometimes kills my soul. And in those moments I have to remind myself that what I do matters even though I'm not directly doing what makes my heart come alive which is reaching young people for Jesus. But what I do helps make it possible for others to do that. It matters. 

And not only do I have a job but I have job that is letting me take all my vacation days at once to go to Africa. I have a job that encourages health and gives us several hundred dollars a year to help us pursue healthier lifestyles. Not only that but I work for a company that has the most amazing health insurance I have ever come across in my life. And every four years I get a paid vacation to Florida for an all staff conference which just happens to be this January with Frances Chan as a keynote speaker.

Yup, I am beyond blessed in this area. Beyond blessed.

Day One: Thankful for the place I live

A roof over my head, a kitchen to cook in, a bed to sleep in and running hot water are things that I take for granted on a daily basis. Theses are things that many people in the world don't have. These are things that the majority of kids in Swaziland don't have. These are things I don't think twice about.

I'm beyond blessed in this area. Beyond blessed. I live in an amazing condo in a gated community that has the greatest hot tub ever! My place is cute and comfy. I have the most comfortable king sized bed that is all my own. (Which is going to be hard when I get married one day and have to share!) I have a hot shower every morning and a kitchen that is at my disposal to use.

And what blows my mind is how even as I type all this......I'm still taking it for granted and I'm not sure how to make my brain register how blessed I am. Sigh. I'm guessing after Africa and after seeing first hand how others live it won't be as hard.

That still scares me.

30 Days of Thankfulness

In 30 days I'll be in Africa. In 30 days I'll be starting a journey that, I hope, will change my life and turn my world upside. In 30 days I will be face to face with poverty unlike anything I have ever seen with my own eyes.

And it terrifies me.

I don't want to get out of my comfort zone. I don't want to be stretched. I don't want to feel the emotions that I know I will. I don't want to feel sad. I don't want to feel pain. I don't want to broken.

But at the same time I do.

I want my heart to break. I want to feel the depth of love for people that God does. I want to see these African childen with the eyes of the Lord. I want to cry tears over their hearts. I want to be humbled and broken and changed. I want my heart to become one that is overwhelmed with thankfulness. I want to look at my life and not see the things I want to change but see the blessings God has given me. 

And that is where this blog is going to come in. I want to use the next thirty days to prepare my heart for that change. Every day I'm gonna blog about something that I am thankful for in my current life, something that maybe I take for granted on a regular basis. It might be a simple thing one day and it might be a bigger thing the other. I don't know but I invite you to come on this journey with me. This journey of discovering and recognizing how truly blessed by God I am.