giving thanks, post turkeyday

inspired by my roomie, decided to make a list of things i am thankful for:

• i am thankful to know a god who is bigger and better than anything i can imagine, a god who wants to be my friend and know my thoughts and laugh at silly things with me.  i am thankful for true grace and joy that come only through christ.  i am thankful to be able to come to him when i'm angry or mean or want to hide from the world, and find peace.  i am thankful for his word, how it is always true.  i am thankful, too, that he chose me and trusted me to be a character in his perfect story of redemption.
• i am thankful that my life isn't about what i study in college, the job i have over the summer, the career i may or may not someday pursue, the girls who befriend me, how great of a hair day i have, or how well i drive.
• i am thankful for christian community at pc...for friends who come to my room at midnight to listen to me freak out and remind me that god is always good.  i am thankful for friends who love to pray and talk to jesus with me on long car rides.
• i am thankful for the sophomore girls at pc who constantly challenge me to know more of christ and give my life away so that others may know more of him as well.
• i am thankful for a roommate who loves jesus, is always honest, and loves me even when i make our room messy.  ashton has taught me so much this year, including how to eat ice cream the real way: by the gallon.
• i am thankful to be able to live life with girls in my sorority.  i am thankful to walk into their rooms, talk with them about things that are important in our lives, and cry with them on the floor.  i am thankful to be able to study the bible with them and watch say yes to the dress with them and eat with them and giggle with them. 

• i am thankful for a family who makes me laugh a lot.  i am thankful that they love to play scrabble and care for each other greatly.
• i am thankful for other things that make me happy: walking around cities, sleeping with the alarm clock off, danskos on pin attire days, sipping coffee during class, sitting in a beautiful church, having plenty of time to get ready in the morning, a new tube of mascara, hot bubble baths, knowing that the art museum in columbia is free on sundays, and pretty flower bouquets.
• i'm thankful for god's perfect plan, and delighted to know more of it each day.  god extends his faithfulness to me, a fact i consider unreal, but a truth he delivers every morning.  no matter what my future entails, be it pain or suffering or messiness or grunge, it is for him.  that is better than anything else i could live for, or anything else i could be thankful for. 

LOVE Y'ALL.