Thankful Thursday

“Sing praise to the LORD, you saints of His,
And give thanks at the remembrance of His holy name.
For His anger is but for a moment,
His favor is for life;
Weeping may endure for a night,
But joy comes in the morning. ”
Psalm 30:4-5

Today I’m thankful…

• That I was able to send in another paper this morning
• That I had a chance to quilt a bit with my dear friend Joanna (it’s been too long, far too long!)
• That I found a nice little MP3 player for uber-cheap. Now I can listen to sermons and audio lectures and audio books whenever and wherever I want. (I am my father’s daughter.)
• That I had a nice chat with my mom and my brother when we dropped by to see mom’s “mother of the groom” dress
• That I sent in the last grades and am done teaching for the semester.
• That I had such wonderful instructors to work with this semester.
• That I have a gardening and dinner date with my dad this evening.
• That dawn breaks, signaling an end, perhaps, to this dark night

I am so very thankful for the great faithfulness of my Savior. As the hymn says “Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow, Blessings all mine with ten thousand besides.” I have been so blessed with His presence and guidance through the land of shadow–and in Him I have hope for the haze of a thousand tomorrows.

Thank You, my Lord, for the morning.

Today, I’m thankful…

really, I am.

Truth be told, I’m more tired than thankful.

It’s been a whirlwind week, and the busyness will get worse before it gets better.

One particular big decision (not a decision I must make, or even a decision regarding me–but a big decision others must make concerning a friend) weighs upon my heart.

I’m clinging to the word: “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6-7)

And so I choose not to be anxious.

I choose to lift my requests to God.

I choose to be thankful.

And His peace, beyond my understanding, sets a guard over my heart and my mind.

His will will be done.

And for that, I am thankful.

Today I’m thankful…
…for the compliment one of my students unwittingly paid me today
…for two wonderful instructors to TA under
…for the student I was administering a test to this afternoon not showing up to my office hours before I did (I was right on the line and how I HATE to be late. Kind of weird to be thankful that my student WAS late, though!)
…for the decent amount of grading I got done this afternoon while proctoring said exam
…that although the Blackboard course management software eats up large chunks of my life, it is NOT my life.
…that I have a job for next semester (even if I don’t know who it’ll be with–if one of them doesn’t take me, another has already told me I’m her first choice)

Oh, and I just about forgot…

I’m also thankful…
…that I’m leaving on a jet plane
even if I’ll be back again
after a few short days
in sunny Southern Cali
seeing my friend Amy wed
rooming with Veronica
catching up with Sandra
It’s the opposite coast
from where we met
but it’s where we’ll meet again
Another juncture in our lives
as we run this race together

Thankful for….
…breath in my nostrils (and for Lisa reminding me of the blessing it is to breathe.)
…beautiful bicycling weather (and that the ride between campuses is shorter than the drive between campuses)
…black jelly beans (my first bag is now gone, but I’m relishing the thought of finding the second sometime down the road–and enjoying grossing out my mother and my sister-in-law-to-be by raving about how amazing black jelly beans are!)
…bread baking in the oven (leftovers from lab–I couldn’t let my demo doughs go to waste!)
…Becca (my roommate, who blessed me unexpectedly by doing the dishes this afternoon)
…Butter Brickle ice cream (delicious!)
…bountiful blessings freely bestowed by God to me–a bratty, often bitchy Bekah (Thank You, Lord, that You do not base Your actions on my bad moods, but at all times act according to Your nature, Your will, and Your good purposes.)

Today, I’m thankful…

• for the delicious (if somewhat monochromatic meal) I got to enjoy with my big sister Tuesday night.
  
  Anna provided the wine (James Arthur Vineyard’s San Realto–one of my all time favorites) and the roast beef. I provided the jello and made my Honey-Glazed Root Vegetables. Both of us still had water in our water bottles so we chose to just drink out of them instead of dirtying more dishes. Aren’t we just the most practical things?
• for a chance to sleep in yesterday and then veg about with my sister.
• that Anna has found a church that is encouraging her in her walk.
• that I got to meet all of Anna’s Bible study gals at Bible study last night (and that they took it okay when I started bawling in the middle of study–so sorry, Anna, so sorry. I didn’t intend to.)
• that I had another chance to sleep in today at my sister’s house.
• that I’m home again–but that my sister is coming down for the weekend so we can have hard-core family time this weekend (On the agenda? Wedding invitation addressing, quilt-making, birthday dinner having, birthday dinner going, and church attending.)

But most of all, I’m thankful that Jesus is all-sufficient. I’m thankful that when my heart screams in pain, He is my all in all. I’m thankful that when it only aches, He is my all in all. And I’m thankful that the joy of the Lord is my strength–and that He keeps the pain from paralyzing me.

I’m a bit late on this week’s Thankful Thursday–but I am thankful, and I’ve been thanking God all day for…

…nylons without runs
…an unexpected break
…folded laundry
…expository sermons from John Piper
…clean desktops
…fantastic employers
…dinner with my family
…a puzzle put together
…a break coming up

And above all that, I’m thankful that while I was dead in my sins, Christ made me alive. What a glory to be captured by His irresistible grace!

I’m thankful for peanut soup in lab.

I’m thankful for sweater-weather outdoors.

I’m thankful for a ride to my car.

I’m thankful I didn’t lose my purse.

I’m thankful that my teaching went well.

I’m thankful for Sabine’s compliments.

I’m thankful for my students.

I’m thankful that there’s sunshine.

I’m thankful for an interlibrary loan book in today (Why we love the church by DeYoung and Kluck).

I’m thankful for getting some grading done.

I’m thankful for a fundraiser being canceled (sorry for those of you who were really looking forward to it.)

I’m thankful that God is.

I’m thankful that He invites me into relationship with Him.

I’m thankful for rest for my soul (even in turmoil.)

It’s been climbing this week, struggling to the peak. But now I’ve passed the bulk of the climb and it should be downhill from here.

Today I’m thankful for…
…the opportunity to assist in the training of new PA students once a year
…a short lab after long hours of clinical exams
…dinner courtesy of my roommate
…ten hours of sleep last night
…a restful awakening at 6 this morning
…grading completed and entered on time
…a relatively smooth-running lab this morning
…productive time before lunch
…a lovely lunch with my father (our Thursday ritual)
…an even more productive time after lunch
…a painless meeting
…my advisor not getting freaked about the idea of me changing my thesis
…another student at office hours (even if he was just there to make up a test) and some more productive time
…good (I think) conversation with our department chair
…productive thinking time on the way to the class I TA for
…productive time writing questions at the class I TA for
…finally finishing that (dern) Love Month post!
…a chance to sleep again soon.

Today I’m thankful…

…for a productive day of grading/resource writing

…for Anna’s guest post that arrived just when I was thinking I wouldn’t have time or energy to post again today.

…for leftovers I’d almost forgotten I had (but which hit the spot after a long day of work)

…for a package inside my screen door from my bloggy-friend Becky

…for a (slightly) early arrival to the class I TA for (I generally roll in just barely under the clock from my office hour–this time I had 5 minutes to spare)

…for a good conversation with my dad at lunch (lots to think about, lots of perspective, lots to process–but good)

…for another (relatively) successful lab this morning

…for a wake-up call. I almost overslept this morning, but God woke me up with a jolt before it was too late (I even had time to put on makeup!)

…for a good night of sleep. (I haven’t been sleeping that well lately, but last night was heavenly.)

…for the grace and mercy of God, poured out on one such as I–faithless except that He grants me faith, hard-hearted except that He changes my heart, utterly self-centered except that He reveals Himself. I am overwhelmed by His goodness and captivated by His love.