A Thankful Heart

At last... we have come upon Thanksgiving! I have literally been counting down the weeks and days until my favorite holiday for at least a month. Finally we're here, and tomorrow is the big day. I absolutely love Thanksgiving. Not only is there a lot of food and relaxation all day, I love that it is a relationship-centered holiday. It brings families home together and reminds everyone of how blessed they are. It's a holiday that is focused on the people you love, not on material things. I have always loved family gatherings since I was young... Perhaps that's why I love Thanksgiving so much! 

Naturally, tomorrow being Thanksgiving caused me to take a look at my own life, and count my blessings, recalling the many people and aspects of my life that cause me much joy and thankfulness. I decided to sum up these blessings in a list of things I am thankful for. So, without further ado, my list of thankfulness...

1) I am thankful for my immediate family, that they love me and love Jesus, and that they know how to be such goobers. I am thankful that my parents raised me to love God and love others, that they taught me how to love and treat your spouse well, and what qualities to look for in a future husband. I am thankful for a brother who I get along with well, who can make me laugh, who is fun to hang out with, for his many talents, caring heart, amazing voice, and all the silly things we've done together. I am thankful for a family that is crazy, awesome, and for all the memories we've made, our many road trips and adventures, life lessons learned, mission trips we've gone on, and traditions we've started. 

2) I am thankful for my extended family, that they also love Jesus, that they value family time with everyone together, and that they stay connected, even though many miles separate some of us. I am thankful for many family trips, get-togethers, memories, stories, laughter, jokes, and the family bond that cannot be broken.

3) I am thankful for Noah, my loving boyfriend, who strives to be more and more like Jesus everyday, who is a great example and role model for me, who knows how to make me laugh and smile more than anyone else, who lets me be a goober and willingly goobs it up with me, and who is so patient, sweet, encouraging, and is a prayer warrior. I am thankful for his heart for others, his integrity and genuine character, respect, sense of humor, and for being my silly partner in crime.

4) I am thankful for some of the best friends a girl could ask for... 

For Ashley, my thankful partner, the girl who knows me so incredibly well and shares so many laughs, memories, jokes, and irrational love for turtles with me, whose love for Jesus is encouraging, and who is such a blessing to me.

For Kayla, who's practically been my big sister all my life, for her advice, girl talks, honesty, encouragement, leadership, love for Jesus, and for always being there for me.

For Lindsey, who is always there to talk to, who has a passion for Jesus, for the many memories we've made, good talks, countless laughs, mini road trips, vacations, and for always being there to zip my zipper when I have wet nails. 

For Diane, my Haitian, for her love for her Savior and for sweet little kiddos, her leadership and influence, her heart for others, strength, courage, perseverance, her outgoing personality, the many laughs, good talks, advice, and memories we've shared. 

And also, for countless other friends that have influenced me and added excitement to my life :)

5) I am thankful for my church family, for the leadership in our church, and for the opportunity to get involved and serve others. I am thankful for the worship team, my youth group, my small group, and everyone I've gotten to know that I otherwise may have never met or gotten to know. I am thankful for the way everyone genuinely loves and cares for one another, enjoys spending time together, and the spiritual growth that we've experienced over the past few years.

6) I am thankful for my boyfriend's family, for the blessing they are to me, their relationships with God and with each other, and the way it's so obvious how much they love each other. I am thankful for the way they make me feel at home with them, I am free to be myself around them, for their wonderful senses of humor, and the many laughs we always have when we are together.

7) I am thankful for my Kentucky kiddos. I am so thankful for the opportunity to go back each summer and keep building on the relationships we've made and get to know these kids better. They are such a blessing to me and I love them dearly. 

8) I am thankful for the location and time period God has placed me in. I am thankful for our small, close-knit community, for the beautiful views from my house, and for the opportunity to experience all four seasons.

9) I am thankful for many little things in life that I so often forget about and take for granted...

Electricity

Good neighbors

A working brain

A warm home

A school district and community that accepts Christianity

Living within a close distance to many places

Living in the country

Music

The ability to remember, to think, to imagine

Technology

Fleece blankets and fluffy pillows

Parents who love each other

Good teachers that are easy to get along with

Life lessons

Role models

Laughter

Vehicles and the ability to drive

The freedom to worship and read my Bible whenever I want

Living in America

Being born into a God-loving family

Having a great relationship with and growing up knowing all of my grandparents

Close extended families

Face Time 

Journals

Falling snowflakes

Beautiful sunsets

Acquaintances that I don't know super well, yet we still greet each other

Personal growth

Clean, running water

Nice roads to drive on

Back roads

My senior class

Getting to know people better

Adventures

Diversity

And so much more.

10) Lastly, but certainly not least of all, I am thankful for my loving Savior, Who has blessed me beyond anything I could have ever imagined. I am thankful beyond words for his unending love, compassion, mercy, goodness, faithfulness, indescribable joy and peace, patience with me, for the way He always works everything out, connects the dots, works miracles, and is always with me. 

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above... James 1:17

Have a blessed Thanksgiving, enjoy the food and the gatherings, and be sure to tell the ones you love that you're thankful for them :)

~MM

Worth the Wait

Sometimes God uses the little things to teach big lessons. 

Last night my boyfriend and I went to a neat little Italian pizza house for dinner. We'd never been there before, but we had heard a lot of good things about it and decided to try it. We got there, and as we entered the rustic old building, we were puzzled by the confusing and chaotic order of business taking place inside. There were people making pizzas behind a counter right inside the door, the place was packed with people (who all seemed to be waiting in some sort of unorganized line), and we could see a room of tables and booths in the back of the building. It didn't make sense.

Noah and I looked at each other and just kind of laughed.

"What are we supposed to do?" we asked each other. 

Thankfully we saw some acquaintances waiting nearby, so we asked them and got the rundown of how the place worked. We put in our name, and began to wait. After twenty or so minutes of waiting, we got seated at a booth near the back of the restaurant. We took a little time deciding what we were hungry for; the menu informed us that their pizzas were made fresh, and because of that, "they take extra time to make, but they are definitely worth the wait." We were in no hurry and decided on pizza, since that's what the restaurant was known for. We didn't really know what we were getting ourselves into.

We waited a while for our waitress to come back and take our order, and then we sat back and began waiting for our dinner. The time continued to pass, and we talked and laughed and enjoyed ourselves. One of my favorite things about my time with Noah is just being ourselves, talking, laughing, and being silly together. We definitely had plenty of time to talk and laugh. After waiting for probably fifteen minutes, our waitress brought us some bread. We ate it and continued talking and patiently waiting. After another twenty minutes or so our waitress brought our plates, and we started getting even more eager to delve in to this pizza we'd been long awaiting. If you haven't caught on yet, we spent quite a bit of our time last night simply waiting.

We joked about the possibility of them bringing out the plates halfway through the pizza making process to make people think their pizza was almost ready. I think that might have actually been the case (haha). We kept waiting, and began to realize just how hungry we were. We started getting a little restless and slightly impatient, and Noah apologized, saying he didn't realize how long it was going to be when he suggested the restaurant. I assured him it was no big deal, and that I was enjoying our time together talking and laughing. 

"At least this is a memory," I told him, and we laughed.

Meanwhile, another couple we know came in, sat down, ordered something other than pizza, got their meals, ate it, and left... And we still hadn't gotten our food.

We kept eyeing the front of the restaurant where the pizza was made, hoping ours would soon be brought around the corner. Finally, after at least an hour of waiting patiently, telling stories, laughing hysterically, playing twenty questions, singing, and talking about food, our pizza came. We looked upon the sizzling, cheesy, sausage and pepperoni pizza that sat before our watering mouths and exchanged a happy glance. Needless to say, we were excited for this food. 

After our first bites, we just looked at each other and grinned. It was delicious.

Noah chuckled and shook his head. "I think this pizza definitely was worth the wait."

I know it's a silly story, but it taught me a truth about patience. Personally, I don't like to wait. I would rather have what I want the moment I want it. But most of the time, that's not what's best for me. And in the end, I'd rather have what's best for me, no matter how frustrating or inconvenient the wait it.

Going with the pizza analogy, if, after thirty minutes of waiting, we had pulled our waitress aside and demanded our pizza right then and there, it would have been gross--half baked, cold, the cheese wouldn't have been perfectly melted, and the crust wouldn't have been baked just right. We would have been disappointed and left hungry and wanting more. 

In life, sometimes I find myself wishing I didn't have to wait for the future or answers or for God to show me what's next. Sometimes I get ahead of Him and wish I could rush forward, quite blindly, and have everything I want. I don't want to wait, I want the future to come now, and I get jealous of others who have what I want or are where I want to be. But demanding to have things my way without being patient would be like getting a half-baked pizza and expecting it to be the best I've ever had. No half-baked pizza could ever come close to the deliciousness of a fresh, fully prepared, complete, sizzling hot pizza. Likewise, nothing I think I can do or figure out or rush ahead and do in my own way, in my own strength, without being patient and waiting on God and His perfect timing, could ever compare with all the wonderful rewards of waiting on Him. And that's enough for me to want to be patient, to wait for the best, to endure the long wait for the best pizza I could ever imagine.

It was worth the wait with this guy :)

"Wait for the LORD; be strong, and let your heart take courage; 

wait for the LORD!" Psalm 27:14

"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts." Isaiah 55:8-9

"And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose." Romans 8:28

~MM

O Christmas Tree

I'll be honest. Today was not my day. It started out great... Prayer Meeting was amazing, and I didn't even have any homework. But as calculus rolled around eighth period, I wasn't really following the lesson (what's new there?), and I began thinking about all I had to do... A stress headache formed quite quickly. 

After school I was home for maybe five minutes before running out the door for a haircut appointment. Once in the car, I spilled everything out to my mom, listing everything I have going on and my long to do list...

First, there's the youth small group fundraiser, so as our team leader, I am constantly trying to communicate ideas and information between my youth sponsors, my team, and Justin Masterson's wife (which is another awesome story in itself). Then there's all the food I have to make this weekend for upcoming fundraisers. I have to be at school early tomorrow for a meeting on our Veteran's Day assembly next week, which I'm also in charge of orchestrating with several others. Our government class won the mock election, so we're in charge of fulfilling all our promises, and we're providing a date night for teachers and staff next week, which means more planning, and, most likely, more food. I have to co-write an informational history page for a local business' website sometime this week. I finally scheduled my job shadow date for next week. On top of all that, I have little to no idea what I'm doing when it comes to calculus. 

Needless to say, I'm feeling slightly overwhelmed. 

My head hurt, I was beyond stressed just thinking about all I had to do, and it was raining. All I wanted was a hot shower, a massage, and my bed. 

The last thing I wanted to do was make a thirty minute drive to a warehouse in the middle of nowhere and spend my night setting up Christmas trees. Tonight was our monthly small group night, and for weeks we'd planned on helping a local thrift store assemble Christmas trees to make sure all the pieces were there and the lights worked. 

On a rainy, dreary evening like tonight, I admit, I was reluctant about going. I complained (which I noticed I've been doing a lot lately; I feel like I need to re-implement the "What's good about this situation?" strategy in my life) to my mom about how I just really didn't wanna go, and she told me to try to make the most of it. 

After running a few errands, picking up some groceries, and eating a quick supper in the car, we rushed home, filled my car with youth groupies, and rushed to meet the rest of my group. On the way out to the warehouse where we were going to be working, I commented on my day, complaining about something or other. I caught myself, and apologized for my poor attitude.

I said a silent prayer for a changed attitude, and decided to try to enjoy my evening.

We arrived at the warehouse, walked inside, and when the lead volunteer from the thrift shop gave us a tour, I froze when we got to the Christmas room. There were trees everywhere. We're going to assemble all these trees? Oh boy...

We got started, and as we worked in pairs to put the trees together, my attitude shifted, and I began enjoying myself. My tree-assembling partner and I laughed and joked when we opened our tree box to find it wrapped in hundreds of silvery strands of tinsel. As a group, we managed to set up 12-15 trees, and I soon realized they didn't expect us to finish all of them, which was a relief. But as we did it, I continued to realize how much I was enjoying myself when I chose to make the most of the task at hand and realize we were helping these people. We laughed, we had fun, and afterward we snacked on some of the most amazing soft pretzels I've ever eaten in my life. If I hadn't gone tonight, one, I would have missed out on an awesome night, and two, I would have most likely sat at home dreading all I have to do in the next few weeks. 

I'm thankful for the incredible people in my life who encourage and pray for me when I am stressed, who listen and let me vent, and who help me remember that "it'll all get done." And I'm thankful for a God who doesn't tune me out when I complain, but reminds me to cast my cares on Him instead, because He cares for me, and that I can get it all done with His strength, not my own. 

Our small group modeling one of the Christmas trees we put together.

Trick or Treat?

"Hi! We're from the youth group at the church at the top of the hill, and this year, instead of going trick or treating, we decided to go reverse trick or treating. So we're bringing you candy!"

That's how we greeted the people of our town as we walked around the little village the night before Halloween, knocking on doors, dressed as various characters and carrying bags of candy. I was blessed by the responses we got. 

Many were grateful and seemed impressed by what we were doing. After giving away as much candy as kids could cram into their hands, we asked "we're also taking prayer requests... Is there anything you'd like us to pray for?"

Responses varied. Some nodded, willingly opening up and sharing a request for a sick friend, a pregnant wife, or just prayer in general. Others responded with "no thanks, I'm good."

But the response we got at one house stood out to me. We'd walked up to the porch and I'd knocked on the door. We could tell young kids lived here because of the stroller and kids toys sitting out in front of the house. A man in little shorts and a tank top came to the door and opened it just a crack. I saw a few young children running around in the background, and (ignoring the fact that he wasn't wearing much clothing) I gave him the shpeel. 

"Hi! We're from the youth group at the church at the top of the hill, and this year, instead of going trick or treating, we decided to go reverse trick or treating. So we're bringing you candy!"

"Hold on a second," he paused, shutting the door for a moment. I turned to the rest of the group behind me and shrugged. Assuming he went back inside to change, I silently mouthed, he's barely wearing any clothes! Several youth groupies giggled and I turned back toward the front door. The man opened the door again, and, much to my surprise, was still wearing short little shorts and a tank top. Oh, well, I thought. This is no time to judge. I continued explaining what we were doing, and he seemed interested. He called for his young children (who were super duper cute), and they came and gladly reached into our abundant candy bags, picking out some sugary treats.

The father asked us a little more about what we were all about. We told him why we were doing what we were doing. 

"That's really cool," he said. "You know, so many people in churches nowadays seem to be so against everything about Halloween, but I think any opportunity to get people out in the community like this, where they can interact with each other, is great. I feel like God can use anything, even something like Halloween, for good and to bring people together."

We talked another minute or so with him, and got the chance to pray with him, which was awesome. But even after we left, something he said stuck with me. 

God can use anything for good.

I feel like many times, we forget how true this is. We get so caught up in the appearance of everything, that we don't see how it could possibly be an opportunity. Halloween. That's evil, right? When blood and gore and spooky costumes and evil things are the focus, not God. Definitely not God. Right? But He's still there, even in the midst of the candy, the costumes, and the creepiness.

He was there with the man in short shorts and a tank top on a chilly Halloween Eve, reminding me one, not to judge people by their appearances, and two, to pay attention, to look for the opportunities in all circumstances.

No matter the situation, instead of automatically deeming it entirely pointless, I think it's time we look for the opportunities set before us, right under our noses, and to remember that God can use anything, even a "dark holiday", for good.

-MM

Our group of reverse trick-or-treaters :)