Thankful.

       

I love this time of the of the year, the hustle and bustle of getting ready for the holidays, the time with family, the food, playing games with cousins and maybe even a football game or two. And this year for the first time in awhile I get to go black friday shopping with my mom and sisters. For the last several years I've always had to work and have never been able to join the mobs. 

This year I am thankful for so much and yet my heart is also sad.

 I can't help but think about my dear friend who just lost her mother this week. 

I can't help but feel sad for all the families who lost their job this year and cant afford turkey and all the fixen's

I can't help but think about all the homeless people freezing in this cold winter weather.

There is so much brokenness in this world and sometimes I find it really hard to deal with all of that! Anyone else feel like that? 

Enjoy the holiday. 

ps. this is a great read for your thanksgiving. 

 he brought me out into a broad place; he rescued me, because he delighted in me. 

2 Samuel 22:20 

Cara Box Reveal

 For the first time I did the Cara Box exchange this fall hosted by Kaitlyn at wifessionals.  The theme for Cara Box was fall and since I am somewhat crazy about all things fall I knew it wouldn't be very hard to have some fun with this exchange.

 I was paired up with the beautiful Ashley and Lauren and I really enjoyed getting to know both of them over emails and through their blog posts. 

To see what I sent Ashley you can go here. 

 This was the amazing box I received from Lauren.  I adore Trader Joes, but rarely get to go since the closest one is 2 hours away, so when Lauren sent me all these lovely items from TJ I was just delighted. The pumpkin spice tea is simply amazing and I've been using the Vitamin E oil almost daily since getting it. I am waiting for just the perfect time to try the Pumpkin Muffins. Maybe this weekend?!  And check out that cute owl plate! So darling! 

 One of my favorite things about blog world is all the wonderful women you get to 'meet' and the relationships that are formed through blogging. I was so reminded of that again and felt so blessed and encouraged by these lovely new women I had the pleasure of getting to know. 

If you haven't ever signed up for the cara box and want to give it a try, the next sigh up period is December 2-4! For more information on how it works, Kaitlyn explains it all over here. 

The Thankful Project | Day 14

  Linking up with Chasing Happy  for day 14 of the Thankful Project. 

So in my last post I talked about how grateful I am to be able to work from home and the flexibility that brings for saying yes to opportunity's in the community and church.  Well I am still really thankful for that, but somehow I've found myself in a place to where I've said yes to one to many things and I am feeling a little overwhelmed. Things have been just a little on the crazy side for me this week and there have been moments of panic wondering if I can get all these projects done in a timely manner. 

I asked myself if there was anything I could say no to this week and I found its so hard to say no to things that you really enjoy doing and really feel passionate about. Anyone else struggle with that? 

So today I am grateful for the blessing of being able to serve and say yes to dreams and passions!

Speaking of passions.  I and a group of women from the area are working to bring something really exciting to the community early next year. Its a cause that I feel so passionate about and its so exciting to be able to join forces with other women who are just as excited as I am to bring awareness to this cause. Stay tuned for details coming on that! 

What blessing are you most grateful for today? 

The Thankful Project | Day 7

                           Linking up with Chasing Happy  for day 7 of the Thankful Project. 

I've had my fair share of jobs, some I really loved and some I really hated. The most recent job I had was one of my favorites, I adored the company I was working for and what their mission was  as a company. I had tons of opportunity to grow and move on up in management. But after getting married and quickly realizing that if my marriage was going to be priority I would need
 to quite my job. It just wasn't going to work for both of us to work 50+ hours a week and still have a life. I also have aspirations of having my own business someday and I saw that if I invested my time and talents into helping my husbands business be successful  it would be much easier for us to start a second business. 

It was a really hard decision at the time, but looking back I am so grateful I made the choice I did and I am so grateful for the job I have now. 
I work out of our home for our business + I do a bit of volunteer work for our Church.
I love the flexibility I have now. If I want to take time off to travel or schedule coffee dates or other appointments isn't hard to arrange that in my schedule.  

While there are many perks to working from home, there are also some downsides. I struggle with being self motivated and its so easy for me to get side tracked. Just this morning I read a really great blog about staying organized and getting things done.  Go check it out- regardless if you work from home or outside the home its just good practical stuff. 


Do you work from home? Would you like to? What tips do you have to stay motivated and on task? I would love to hear your thoughts!  

Happy Thursday Friends! 

The Thankful Project : Day 5

I am back for day 5 of The Thankful Project. I fell off the boat for day 3 & 4. But no guilt, I had real life stuff happening :)

Today's prompt is "a talent you have" and well I'll be honest I thought about just skipping day 5 as well. Because often I feel like I don't have a lot of talents. But one thing that came back to me numerous times was my passion to be creative and create beauty around me. I grew up in a home where creativity was encouraged and so I attribute my love for creating beauty to that. For as long as I can remember my mom has been a collector of items that many would call junk, but with a little love she often would turn it into something beautiful. Also growing up my mother made almost all of our clothes and I remember she would pick out fabric with a little extra edge and add a little ruffle here and there to bring a little beauty to our somewhat plain and boring clothes. (we were in a church that had rules on how to dress) She told me once that she had been accused of being to fancy ;)

Our bridal table from our wedding, that I had so much fun creating.

In the past few years I've been busy pursuing a career and have not always had the resources to pursue my creative side, but since getting married I've been blessed to have the ability to embrace that more and the more in touch I become with my creative side the more alive I feel as a women. I really believe God created us as women to not only feel beautiful but also to create beauty around us in our homes, our clothing choices and in so many other areas of life.

So today I am grateful for creativity and the ability to create beauty in this world!

The Thankful Project : Day 2

Linking up with Chasing Happy today for day 2 of the Thankful Project. 

As the firstborn I played the role of older sister to 5 siblings, 1 deceased. 

And I am really grateful for that role, while it was full of challenges growing up, I learned how to be responsible and care for my younger siblings. It also taught me how to be a leader and role model for those around me. 

I am so proud and thankful for each one of my siblings and my prayer for all of them is that they could truly be all that God has created to them to be and live out his purpose in there lives. 

The Thankful Project : Day 1.

                      

   So I recently stumbled upon the blog Chasing Happy and Kenzi put together The Thankful Project for the next 28 days. Its all about intentional gratitude and community. 

Kenzi had this to say about The Thankful Project 

"The motivation behind The Thankful Project is this: an attitude of thankfulness can help us push through and overcome just about anything. It can keep us afloat when our world crashes down around our shoulders. It can help us be content with who and what we are right now, at this very moment. It can boost our self-esteem, strengthen our relationships, give us motivation to persevere through tough stuff, and give us perspective when we're so busy we can't stop our heads from spinning. Being thankful, and taking the time to express that gratitude, makes us happier, healthier individuals. And by sharing our gratitude, we have the power to encourage and build each other up. We even have the potential to change lives. It might sound hokey or idealistic, but it's true. Intentionally cultivating an attitude of gratitude will change your life." 

And I so connected with that statement. I am fighting some tough battles right now and it would be so easy to really discouraged. But I want to chose gratefulness. I have so much to be grateful for! 

So today I am so grateful for my husband.  I love and adore many things about him, but the biggest thing that I am so grateful for is how he lives in grace and is able to love and shower my life with so much grace. From his example I've learned what it means to love on others even when its hard to love at times.   I am also grateful that he encourages me to pursue my dreams and explore my creative side as a women. 

And let me just throw this in for whatever its worth. If your single- Do not settle, for anything less then a man that will love you and shower you with grace like Christ loves his bride. It isn't worth it! 

be blessed!