Thankful

You know that verse in Bible that says, " Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep." (Rom. 12:15)? Well, today, that verse has a whole new meaning to me.

Last night I arrived at work to the news that the company I work for was letting 182 people go, 92 of those at the location where I work. I was not expecting this at all. We had been slow at work for awhile, and had just gotten back from a temporary three week layoff, which thankfully only affected me for a week and a half. To come back to the news that people were going to be let go was a shock, to say the least. Everyone was taken by surprise, and, naturally, worried about their job, myself included. The most awful part? Most everyone had heard about it either on the news (http://www.abc6onyourside.com/shared/newsroom/top_stories/videos/wsyx_vid_15974.shtml) or by word of mouth from those who had seen it on the news.

Thankfully, out of the twenty-eight that were let go on my shift, I was not one of the ones let go. Most of my friends were spared as well; however, a few of my friends were let go. I felt a mixture of relief and sadness. Relief at knowing that I still had a job, but sadness for all those who did not.

Our facility is rather small, and the shift that I work on is the smallest. We only had a little over 100 people before last night, so everyone knew each other. Spending ten hours a day, four, and sometimes five or six, days a week, means that you become close to many of the people that you work with. It's very much a family-like atmosphere.

It was very difficult to see people go, even those that I wasn't particularly close to. There were many tears shed last night, both by those who were let go, and by those who remained. It was a difficult, awful, horrible night.

Through it all, I am constantly reminded of the LORD's goodness and grace. I am so very thankful that I still have a job. So many times I've gone into working wishing that I didn't have to be there, but tonite changed my attitude drastically. I am determined to not longer have a bad attitude about work, but rather go in each day and be thankful that I still have a job.

Please be in prayer for all of those who have been, and will be (the weekend shift will find out Friday who stays and who goes), let go.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! I hope that you're enjoying time with family and friends this Thanksgiving. Don't eat too much turkey!!

Thanksgiving is so commercialized now that often we forget the real reason why we celebrate it. It's the one day a year where everyone gathers together and celebrates and remembers what they are thankful. On the very first Thanksgiving the Pilgrims remembered this, even though they'd had a long, hard year, and to all appearances, didn't have much to be thankful for. They'd lost family and friends, both on the voyage over and once they'd arrived and begun to settle. They'd had the struggles of trying to adapt to a new place and build a colony. Yet they still found reasons to be thankful. If they found something to be thankful for, and thought it enough of a reason to celebrate, then shouldn't you and I also be able to find something to be thankful for, and celebrate it?

I have experienced so many blessings this year and have so many reasons to be thankful that it would take forever to list them all, so I'm just going to list a few of the things that I am thankful for.

1. Friends-I am so blessed to have such wonderful friends. I honestly don't know what I would do without them. They are always there for me to encourage and help me. I work with some of my best friends, which makes my job more enjoyable. Although they can be pretty goofy at times, that's what makes them so much fun to be around! I'm also thankful that they are Godly friends who encourage me to do right and and encourage me in the things of God.

2. Family-I love my family. My parents have always provided for me, and helped me out when I needed it. They've given me advice and helped me as I've gotten out on my own. My sister is honestly one of my best friends. Although we fought a lot when we were younger, she is someone that I look up to and admire. Sadly, she lives in North Carolina, so I don't get to see her much, but she's still there for me whenever I need her. My brother-in-law is an awesome guy. I couldn't have asked for a better guy for my sister. Although he can be rather geeky at times, he completely fills his role as a brother by teasing me and giving me a hard time.

3. My job-I love my job. I honestly do. I love what I do, and I love (most of) the people that I work with. I have a great supervisor who is also a Christian, and I love working for her. With so many people out of work these days, I am so thankful that I have a job. I don't have to worry about how I'm going to pay my bills, or where my next meal is going to come from. I am blessed to have such a great job.

4. My salvation-I am so thankful that I have a Savior who came and died on the cross so that I could live forever in Heaven with God. I'm thankful that God saved a sinner like me.

5. God's leading in my life-This past year God has done a great work in my life. He took me from a rebellious girl who was questioning God and didn't want anything to do with God or Christianity to a girl who is "all in" for Him and desires to serve Him and please Him with everything I do. In the past few months especially, I have seen God working in me. I mentioned in my last post that I was thinking about going back to college. Well, after much prayer, I have decided to attend Liberty University Online and major in Psychology. I will be starting classes in the Summer of 2012, and am so excited!

Like I said earlier, these are just a few of the things that I am thankful for. There is so much more that I could list. What are you thankful for this Thanksgiving?

Favorite Friday: Thanksgiving Traditions

Can you believe that Thanksgiving is next week already? I sure can't! It seems like this year has flown by! In honor of Thanksgiving, I chose it as the topic for this favorite Friday.

Thanksgiving hasn't typically been a big deal in my family, so we don't have many traditions. Because of that, I think the traditions we do have mean even more to me.

1. Our longest-standing Thanksgiving tradition would definitely be the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. For as long as I can remember, my sister and I would sit on the couch and watch it. Dad would often watch it with us. Even now that I'm an adult and have my own place, I still plan on watching it this Thanksgiving. It just wouldn't be the same if I didn't.

2. Christmas at Thanksgiving was a tradition in my family for many years. We would have my dad's side of the family over and celebrate Christmas with them on Thanksgiving Day. It was easier to get them all together at Thanksgiving than during the busy month of December. My Granny and PawPaw would come over early in the day, bringing with them presents for all the grand kids under the age of 18 along with lots of food. Throughout the day my aunts and uncles and their families would arrive, each bringing some food to contribute to the meal. We usually ended up with enough food to feed a small army!
While we waited for everyone to arrive, the men and kids would go down to the basement rec room and play pool, ping pong, and foosball while the women stayed upstairs and got everything ready to eat. Once everything was ready, we'd all gather in the dining room where all the food was laid out buffet style on the table. Dad would pray for the food, then everyone dug in.
Once everyone had finished eating, it was tine to open the presents. Granny would hand out the presents, starting with the youngest and ending with the oldest. We always got an ornament and at least one other thing from her and PawPaw. After all the gifts had been handed out and opened and thank you's had been said, everyone scattered to basement, family room, or living room to play and talk.
Sadly, now all of us "first-generation" grandkids (For the longest time it was just nine cousins and my sister and I, but when I was 8 the "second-generation" started coming along, which is made up of my four younger cousins) are over 18 and everyone's scattered across the country, it's no longer possible to get everyone together, so this tradition has come to an end. It will always hold the most special Thanksgiving memories for me.

3. Last year, with my sister and brother-in-law unable to make it home due to work schedules and my mom having to work, my parents and I started a new tradition of going out to eat for Thanksgiving. Last year we went to Tee Jaye's Country Place and this year we're going to Stacey's Hometyle Buffet. It's nice to not have to worry about making (and cleaning up after) a huge dinner, but still enjoy good food.

4. Another tradition that I started last year is Black Friday shopping. I know technically it's an after-Thanksgiving tradition, but close enough. Last year was the first year I'd ever gone, and I loved it. I was able to get all most of my Christmas shopping done in that one day and I got some really good deals. I plan on going again this year, and I can't wait!

5. The final Thanksgiving tradition is another old one. Sometime during the weekend of Thanksgiving, we always watch Miracle on 34th Street (the 1994 version). It was always the movie that we used to officially kick off the Christmas Season. This is a tradition I hope to continue, even once I get my own family.

Well, that's all of my Thanksgiving traditions. What are some of yours? I'd love to hear about them!

31 Days of Thankfulness: Love

Today I chose a song that is about something that I am thankful for rather than a song specifically about thankfulness. I have two reasons for doing this. First, there's only so many songs out there about thankfulness, and, secondly, the emphasis of these posts isn't really about thankfulness itself, but more about what I'm thankful for.

I am thankful for...
94. A God who loves me no matter what I do.
95. Beautiful fall weather
96. Knowing that I have so many things to be thankful for
97. A lazy weekend of laying around and relaxing
98. Chocolate Caramel Mocha

31 Days of Thankfulness: Blessings

Another song for you all. The first time I heard this song I was on my way to work, listening to the local Christian Radio station. When I got home, I looked up the lyrics, then promptly forgot about the song. The next Sunday, someone sang this song at church, bringing it back to my mind. I once again looked up the lyrics, but this I time I really looked at them and read them and thought about what they meant. I encourage you t do the same. Although this song isn't directly about thankfulness, it kind of echoes what I've said about being thankful for the trials in our lives.

I'm thankful for...

87. Knowing that Black Friday is only 6 weeks from today!

88. Finding pictures of my great-grandma's 90th birthday party that i thought had been deleted

89. Two of my friends getting married today (Congrats Jon & Bethany!)

90. Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwiches (yum!)

91., 92., & 93. Coffee, chocolate, and a good book

31 Days of Thankfulness: Thankfulness

I thank God for this day,

For the sun in the sky,

For my mom and my dad,

For my piece of apple pie!

For our home on the ground,

For His love that's all around,

That's why I say thanks every day!

Because a thankful heart is a happy heart!

I'm glad for what I have,

That's an easy way to start!

For the love that He shares,

'Cause He listens to my prayers,

That's why I say thanks every day!

-Thankfulness Song by Veggie Tales

I'm going to post a song about thankfulness every day this week for my 31 Days of Thankfulness series. I will try my best to include a YouTube clip of the song so that you all can hear it, but, unfortunately, I couldn't find a decent video of this song so I just posted the lyrics.

I'm thankful for...

82. Freedom to worship God
83. Praying with my supervisor every day at the beginning of the shift
84. Making plans with my mom for a girls night
85. Finding out what one of my Christmas presents is (no, I didn't peak! I'm just really good at guessing)
86. Knowing that Christmas is only 2 1/2 months away!

31 Days of Thankfulness: Praise You In This Storm

This song is one of my favorites by Casting Crowns, and it fits in so well with the topic of thankfulness. A part of praise is thankfulness, because, after all, things we're thankful for are things that we should be praising God for. As I've mentioned before, we should be thankful even for the trials and storms in our lives, as oftentimes those are the periods in our lives that bring the most blessings and make us even more thankful for what we have.

I'm thankful for...

77. Time spent with friends.

78. Eating some delicious pulled pork, one of my favorite meals which I haven't had since my last visit to NC

79. The Bible training that I was given in college. Though I may not agree with everything I was taught, I am still thankful for the training I received.

80. Being able to watch the Buckeye's game without having to go over to someone's house

81. The Buckeyes winning a Big Ten game for the first time this season!

31 Days of Thankfulness: Unexpected Blessings

"Give thanks for unexpected blessings already on their way." -Native American Saying


Evidently I need to pay a little more attention next time I schedule posts. You see, somehow I scheduled this post for next month, instead of this past Thursday. Same things happened with the posts that were supposed to go up on Friday and Saturday. So, in order to keep from flooding you with four posts in one day, I'm going to put up two posts today (this post & today's post) and just rearrange the rest of the posts to schedule at a later time.

I am thankful for...

72. Getting cable installed so I can watch football and basketball games
73. Getting a big fat paycheck from work overtime last week
74. Being able to leave work early-for-me (same time as everyone else) twice in one week
75. Fulfilled prophecies that show Jesus is truly the Messiah
76. Notes from a friend that make me smile

31 Days of Thankfulness: More Than I Deserve

Source: thegirlwhoworeyellow.tumblr.com via Tammy on Pinterest

I am thankful for...

 67. Forgiveness
68. Payday coming exactly when I need it
69. A God who loves me.
70. A supervisor who encourages me in my walk with the Lord.
71. Breakfast with friends

31 Days of Thankfulness: Richly Blessed

I asked God for strength, that I may achieve,

I was made weak, that I might learn humbly to obey…

I asked for health, that I might do greater things,

I was given infirmary, that I might do happier things…

I asked for riches, that I might be happy,

I was given poverty, that I might be wise…

I asked for power, that I might have the praise of men,

I was given weakness, that I might feel the need of God…

I asked for all things that I may enjoy life,

I was given life, that I may enjoy all things…

I got nothing that I asked for- but everything I had hoped for;

Almost despite myself, my unspoken prayers were answered.

I am among the most richly blessed.

- An Unknown Confederate Solider

This poem isn't necessarily about thankfulness in that the words thankful and grateful aren't mentioned in it, but this poem reminds of something very important. It reminds us that we are richly blessed, and that is something to be thankful for. It also reminds us that although we may not get everything we ask God for, He gives us what He knows we need, and for that we should be grateful.

I am thankful for...

67. Being able to work with other believers

68. Finding out today that one of our new supervisors is a Christian.

69. Seeing the excitement and zeal of a friend for Christ.

70. The encouragement of knowing that unbelievers see something different about me & want to know what it is.

71. Seeing direct answers to specific prayers.

31 Days of Thankfulness: The Greatest Virtue

A thankful heart is not only the greatest virtue, but the parent of all the other virtues. -Marcus Tullius Cicero\

I am thankful for...

61. Allergy medication (my allergies have been driving me nuts the past few days!)

62. Homemade brownies

63. Crazy coworkers who make the night more exciting

64. No overtime this week, which means a 3 day weekend!

65. Facebook posts by friends that seem to be just what we needed to hear.

66. Friends who remind you to be careful what you say about others.

Note: This was supposed to post yesterday afternoon, but I messed up when I scheduled it, so here's yesterday's post today.

31 Days of Thankfulness: In Everything

In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. I Thessalonians 5:18

I'm thankful for...

56. A wonderful church service
57. A good (although short) chat with my mom
58. Extra sleep
59. Afternoon naps
60. Time spent in the Word, both at church and on my own

31 Days of Thankfulness: Thorns & Rosess

Some people are always grumbling because roses have thorns; I am thankful that thorns have roses. - Alphonse Karr

So many times we think of only the good things, the roses, in our life when we're counting what we're thankful for. That's only natural, of course, as those are the first things that pop into our minds when we think of thankfulness. However, we should also be thankful for the bad things, the thorns, in our lives. After all, every thorn has a rose. Every bad thing that happens in our lives happens for a reason. Many times that bad things bring blessings that we never would have experienced otherwise. So next time you're tempted to complain about all the "thorns" in your life, think of the "roses" that those thorns have, and be thankful for them.

I'm thankful for...

69. Weekend that allow for catching up on sleep

70. Finding some cute fall shirts for work

71. Chocolate!

72. Blogs that let me keep up on the lives of friends and family who live far away.

73. Discovering some new Christian bands.

74. Knowing that this the last Saturday I have to miss a Buckeye game because of not having cable

75. Gas prices going down

31 Days of Thankfulness: Without Thankfulness

"Life without thankfulness is devoid of love and passion. Hope without thankfulness is lacking in fine perception. Faith without thankfulness lacks strength and fortitude. Every virtue divorced from thankfulness is maimed and limps along the spiritual road." -John Henry Jowett

The quote that I shared with you all today really made me stop and think. Maybe one of the things we should be thankful for is thankfulness itself. Without thankfulness, what would we have? If we went through life without ever be thankful, it would be a pretty sad and miserable life. We would never realize just how blessed we are to have all that we have. Next time you're having trouble being thankful, think back to this quote, and realize just how much thankfulness brings to your life. 

I'm thankful for...

56. Fall candles that make my apartment smell amazing

57. A good chat over the phone with my dad on the way home this morning

58. Getting off on time!

59. News that more overtime is coming up

60. Waking up to a nice text message

61. A good book (and time to read it!)

62. the weekend!

63. Sleeping in

64. Friends blowing up my phone with goofy texts that make me laugh till I'm crying

65. A cold snap which killed off a lot of allergens, which means I can now open my windows!

66. Knowing that a friend is spending her birthday in heaven even though we miss her here on earth.

67. An opportunity for one of my friends to witness to one of the security guards at work.

68. A new manager at work who means business about putting a stop to some problems that are going on.

31 Days of Thankfulness: "Thankful"

Today in addition to sharing what I'm thankful for, I thought I'd share this song about thankfulness. Josh Groban is one of my favorite artists, his song "Thankful" really sums up what I've realized in just the few days that I've been posting about thankfulness. There really is so much to be thankful for.


I'm thankful for..

47. Running into a friend I hadn't seen in a while.
48. Overtime at work
49. Payday!!!
50. A nice, encouraging talk with my supervisor after work
51. God's forgiveness
52. A change in my job duties which results in me working closely with only my Christian co-workers.
53. Goofy friends that make me laugh
54. Listening to my favorite songs while on my way home from work.
55. Rice Krispies and bananas (one of my all-time favorite breakfasts)