30 days of thankfulness | day one

Back on my old blog, I spent a couple of Novembers blogging almost every day, listing the things I was thankful for. I love this tradition! But if it wasn't for this sweet friend's reminder yesterday, I would have completely forgotten to start this year's list- life has just been so insanely busy around here lately!

I am not sure if I am going to be able to keep this up every single day, but I am going to try! Some days I might have a long list of thankfuls, other days I might just list one thing. And to keep it super simple, I am probably going to mostly use instagram pictures from my phone. 

I am so thankful for my Tuesday/Thursday mornings + time at my favorite coffee shop with the Lord.

Twice a week my kids are at school in the mornings- Audrey goes to a homeschool enrichment center through our local public school district and Elliot goes to preschool. They love their classes and I can't help but admit that I love the few hours to myself. Sometimes I use the time to run errands or visit with friends, but the majority of the time I use it to spend time in my Bible, sipping coffee, and journaling. 

Last spring we enrolled our kids in preschool. One of these days I hope to get around to blogging about why we chose preschool for that season. And why we are choosing to mostly homeschool again now. 

But for today, I will just share that I feel like one of the number one reasons God had us put the kids in preschool is so that I could have that time with Him. I am a stay-at-home mama. I have been for over six years now. I run a small photography business on the side. I love the Lord with all my heart, but to be honest it is a daily struggle to make time to spend with Him. 

For three months last spring I had two whole mornings a week with the Lord. And it completely rocked my world. I have been a Christian for a long time. I was involved with missions (mostly through YWAM), I went to Bible college, etc. etc. But I have honestly never felt as close to the God as I did during those months this last spring when I studied His Word in such an in-depth way. I used this study by Kay Arthur to inductively study the book of 1 John and it was seriously amazing. And I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that the Lord was preparing my heart for all that we would go through as a family this last summer. My heart broke, but I have been able to trust God completely through this valley because I know Him and I know that He is good. And that knowledge came through spending time with Him and in His Word. I will always look back on last spring and those mornings as such a gift from God. I felt so completely pursued by Him.

Fast-forward three months. After a long, emotionally exhausting summer, once again, God has gifted me with time. I know that it will not always be this way. I will not always have the luxury of two whole mornings a week, just me + God, in fact, it will most likely only be for the next month and a half. So I refuse to feel guilty about it. I am embracing it and soaking it up as much as I can. Right I am studying the book of Philippians (using this study) with a group of dear friends; we are doing the work on our own and meeting one evening a week to discuss it. I am so excited to see all that He has in store for this season.

I am so thankful for the gift of time to spend studying God's Word. 

What are you thankful for today?