Thankful Friday!

My last two posts have been such downers that I'm going to post some things I'm thankful for tonight - in no particular order but rather just how they come to mind.

I am thankful that I've sorted through a shelf full of books and have whittled it down to half what it was before. I am thankful that I'm blessed with the ability to read and an abundance of reading material (some of it is higher quality than the rest of it but it's the fact that it's available to be read). I am thankful that both my boys now enjoy reading to some extent at least. I am thankful for the freedom to read and study Scripture in this country.

I am thankful for healthy strong boys who love each other.

I am thankful for the blackberries and black raspberries that grow wild in the woods behind my house. I am thankful for the flowers - purple coneflowers, black-eyed susans, white coneflowers, daylilies, roses - that grow around my house. I am thankful for the fruit trees and the shade trees that help to keep the house cooler. I am thankful for the beauty that God has put around me in this natural world - sunsets, deer, flowers, streams, butterflies...that list could go on.

I am thankful that God loved me enough to send His Son to die on the cross to save me from my sins. I am thankful that He has a plan for my life - even though I don't necessarily understand it.

I am thankful for a comfortable bed in a nice house in a safe location.

And I think I am going to head towards that bed now. I know there's many other things to be thankful for but for now that's enough to list.