Thankful Thursday!

I realized today that I haven't posted a Thankful Thursday post in a while, and it's definitely time!

Here are a few things I'm thankful for today:

*I am thankful for my husband, who has once again stepped in and picked up my slack during/after a rough week (and on his vacation, no less!), and for my kids, who also jump in and "pitch to the middle", as my mom would say. 

*I am thankful that although nothing has gone as planned during his vacation time, God knew months ago that this week was going to be challenging, and caused Billy to put in a request for some random vacation days.  When he told me he'd taken vacation for this week, I thought, "that's a weird time to take vacation!" (he usually takes vacation time in the spring or fall unless we have somewhere to go) and then wondered why he didn't discuss it with me ahead of time, as he always does.  God knew I would have talked him out of it, and we'd have been up a creek this week!

*I am ever so thankful that my mom wasn't injured any worse than she was in her fall on Saturday, and that she is healing and was able to go back to work today.

*I am thankful for our homeschool group and all the families in it who have blessed and continue to bless me in so many ways. 

*I'm thankful for a fun, educational field trip to CiCi's this morning. Love those times with old and new friends!

*I'm thankful for the answered prayer of Taekwondo for Bayley.  What a blessing that has been and continues to be!

*I'm thankful for friends. A Sonic run earlier this week with one, phone conversations that always bless me (even when we're just chatting about the mundane details of our days) with another, chats at TKD with another, and hilarious memories brought to mind tonight and shared with another.  And many more...God has blessed me beyond measure!

*I'm thankful for the two churches Billy and I have been part of during our marriage.  I said to someone today about our former church of 16 years, "It isn't perfect...no church is...but God led us there 18 years ago and I've never once regretted that."  After I said it, I realized that that is no small thing...there are many, many people who can't say that about churches they've been part of.  It was family, it's still family, and God grew us by leaps and bounds there! 

I also realized during the conversation today something I hadn't really put together in just that way until today.  18+ years ago when Billy and I were looking for a church in which to start our married life, I prayed for some very specific things that I really wasn't sure we'd ever find in a church in this area.  I didn't realize until today's conversation that God answered those very specific prayers 16+ years later when He moved us to Grace.  Wow.  What a God we serve...His ways are surely higher than ours!

*I'm thankful for a fun family putt-putt night tonight.  (And yes, I'm thankful that I beat all four of my children. Ahem. Even though Billy took the actual win, I'm still claiming a victory!)

*I'm thankful that in the midst of all life's craziness, God reassures us of His sovereignty, faithfulness, goodness, and love.  Seems like I hear stories every day lately of marriages in crisis, children hurt by evil people, Christians being persecuted for their faith, and more.  But as Steve Lawson posted on Facebook yesterday, "The sovereignty of God is one of the greatest comforts our soul can ever have."  It is. God used Steve Lawson to help teach me that during the hardest time of my life 8 years ago.  What a gift God has given, to allow us tiny glimpses of His glory and grace! 

What are you thankful for today?  Share with me in the comments (here or on Facebook), please! I'd love to hear!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

If a post or posts on Ponderings of an Elect Exile has been a blessing to you, would you do me a huge favor?  Please share the link to Ponderings with your friends using the social media share buttons below or the "pin it" button above.  Thank you! 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Welcome to Ponderings of an Elect Exile!  Whether you are new here or a faithful friend and regular reader, I'm glad you're here!  If you aren't already following, I'd love to have you join us for the 2014 Ponderings.  It's easy to do, in a variety of ways!  You can follow via  Facebook, Twitter, and/or Pinterest, or  find me on Instagram as Jenbh68. You can also sign up in the sidebar to receive new posts by email.