Thanks.

Random story: you know that song, "Windy"? It's from probably the 60s or 70s and part of it says, "Everyone knows it's Windy! And Windy has stormy eyes..." etc. Anyway, at camp we used to sing grace at every meal, and one of my favorites was the windy grace, sung to the same tune as that song. It goes like this:

Thanks be to God, the Father Almighty.

Thanks, be to God, who gives us this bread.

Thanks be to God, the Father Eternal.

Thanks be to God forever.

That song just ran through my head and I thought I should share, because I haven't heard or sung it in forever, but I think it's wonderful. So if you're looking for something new to teach your kiddos or a new way to say grace, there you go. :)

At church tonight, I was thinking about how God is so much bigger than our struggles. Over and over we're told not to worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow will take care of itself. We should just live in today. Two weeks ago they were talking about how we all have saints in our lives who step in when we most need them, who are there to lift us up when we're struggling. These are all just random thoughts, but it leads me to my next thankfulness piece.

15. Faith. For so many reasons I can't even put into words. Tonight we sang part of Psalm 139, which is a psalm we've been using at one of the retreats I run. The basic gist is that God knows us from the very beginning, knows us better than anyone ever will, and God has everything under control. If you haven't read it in awhile, check it out--it's quite beautiful, and very reassuring. So I know God has all this under control. Even when it's hard to see or understand what His reasons are.

And on that note, I have a little sidenote since I just realized that yesterday I sort of used one I had already used for my thankfulness posts. Here's my addendum (okay, just an extra one thrown in): I am thankful for Erik. Despite that fact that things are really tough right now, we have been best friends for 6 years and I know we both love each other a lot. I have learned so much from him, and he has definitely had a major influence on the person I have become today. He is a wonderful person, and I know this is hard on both of us. Please pray that we will both figure out what God wants from and for us, and that we can follow His will, whatever that might be.