Monday Thanksgiving

It's time again for a Monday full of thanks!

1. Football

I'm thankful not only for a weekend full of incredibly entertaining games (War Eagle!), but also for the fact that its a sport that brings the people I love together. I cherished the hours spent this weekend all together cheering on our teams or rooting for fantasy league players. 

2. Reunions

Not only did Thanksgiving allow me to see the family members I've missed, this is the week that so many of my dear friends are returning to campus from studying abroad. 

I CANNOT WAIT TO HUG IT OUT. 

3. Thanksgiving

Particularly since I shipped off to college, thanksgiving has been one of my favorite holidays. Returning home to welcoming arms and second helpings of pumpkin pie always hits the spot. My favorite thing about this holiday, however, is the reminder it gives us in the busyness and stress of life: 

Stop. Think. Praise. 

I have been so incredibly blessed by the people in my life and the constant support of the ones I love, and I praise the Lord for His hand in every bit of my joy. It all stems from Him. I'm thankful for the lessons He has taught me since the last Thanksgiving which have broken me, reshaped me, and built me back up again. And I am thankful for a holiday which reminds us all just how life-giving it can be to truly be thankful.

What are you thankful for?

Thanks Mon

Here's to another day of thankfulness:

Panera Bread

Where do I begin? I frequented Panera on roughly 100% of afternoons in high school. My myPanera card is probably the reason they seemed to cut down on the freebies. I kid you not, and I apologize to all out there who have not received a free bakery treat in MONTHS. When I moved to college and learned of the 20 minute drive to Panera, I came close to tears. But then I realized the actual blessing of that drive and distance from campus. I could go and truly find rest from the hectic days and college environment that still seems to settle around restaurants and coffee shops near campus. When home is a 10 hour drive away, 20 minutes jamming to Ben Rector on the way to a bowl of mac and cheese sounds pretty darn good.

Love

I am thankful to be continuing to grow in my understanding of what love looks like and how to glorify the Lord by loving those around me. I was shown this quote by CS Lewis by a dear friend and thought I would share it here:

"To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything and your heart will be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact you must give it to no one, not even an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements. Lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket, safe, dark, motionless, airless, it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable. To love is to be vulnerable."

-The Four Loves

Officially adding that book to the reading list.

Birthdays

While it was not my birthday, I absolutely love celebrating the days on which my favorite people entered this world and changed my life as I know it. This weekend, I was able to make a quick visit (<48 hours) home in order to celebrate the special day of my favorite boy whom I missed too much for words. It's beautiful to me when being in the presence of someone else is far more restful than any "lazy day" imaginable. I'm thankful to have experienced that restful joy this weekend and to have celebrated the life that the Lord has given him. 

What are you thankful for today?

Monday Funday

Mondays have a bad rap. But any day would be dreaded if it fell after those glorious Sunday mornings, where alarms ring in the day at 9 am, and dresses are waiting to be worn. My Monday alarm for 7:15 has never been left un-snoozed, and today was no exception. 

I typically wake up on Monday morning hoping that one of those little red notifications on my email account has come from my professor announcing that the day is too beautiful to be translating Greek, and that I should leisurely roll out of bed at my convenience and enjoy it in any way imaginable, besides sitting in room 126 panicking that I'll be chosen next to give the proper definition of some unpronounceable verb that has waited 2,000 years to be placed in front of me. 

That would be my kind of Monday.

But since the chances of that are slim to none, I'm proposing a revolutionary way of thinking about this often dreaded day that begins the work week. Now I know that this blog post from a college kiddo who has yet to share this web address with friends or family is bound to be read by roughly zero viewers. (Are you out there, people?) I am aware that I'm too much of a blogging noob to get this thing to catch on. But despite that, I'm starting a revolution, for the sake of Mondays, and if you have eyes that are currently on this post, I hope that you'll join me.

From now on, Mondays will be the days when I give extra thought to all of the things/people/places for which I am thankful. For me, that will likely result in a weekly Monday post listing the genuine and probably quite wacky things that I count myself grateful for at the time. What better way to boost a Monday than by challenging myself to grow in thankfulness? Well, maybe that e-mail I referred to before...but we're going with the challenge, regardless! I am looking forward to the fruit this may bear in my life, and perhaps the challenge it may bring to others. 

Hit it:

1. Toddlers 

"That's a strange way to start," you may say. But stick with me. I recently got a sweet gig as a babysitter for a community group at a local church, and a portion of my week is now spent tending to some of the most precious nuggets of joy you've ever seen in your life. As a college student at a small university, I tend to miss being around humans outside the ages of 18-22. Therefore, this portion of my week I now absolutely cherish. Not only do I get to dance to the "ABC's", build fortresses out of multicolored blocks, and follow the orders to "Draw a purple house!", I get to spend time with sweet families and leave inspired and joyful, thanks to the love expressed by their little ones. Highlight of this week: watching a little boy with curly red hair clumsily sprint, hair bouncing like crazy, in my direction to give me a high five. Precious.

2. Jesus and the Gospels

I can't even express how much I have learned in this course about Scripture and the inspired, and brilliant authors of its various books, as well as the subject of their writings, Jesus. I am blessed constantly by how beautifully these accounts are crafted and the power of their messages, and grow daily in my thankfulness that the Lord revealed Himself to us. He came here. Weary world, rejoice.

3. Chai Tea Lattes
I am a weakling when it comes to coffee. When "grown-ups" (aka coffee drinkers) suggest a meeting or even pit-stop at Starbucks, a little part of me shudders in fear. 

"If I have to order another frappuccino in the winter time, I think I might go crawl in a hole." 

That's the old me, folks. This girl now has a beloved warm beverage, which is bound to be offered at any coffee shop worth visiting. Not to mention, these days, I'm actually seeking them out. That's right. My daily twenty minute walk to an 8:30 AM Greek class has finally taken its toll on me: it seems that  from Monday to Friday at roughly 8:04 AM, a zombie emerges from my apartment, dressed in my clothes: a state which is practically incurable, except for a jacketed cup of foaming Indian deliciousness. Campus dollars have never gone to a more worthy cause.

What are you thankful for today?