Graced with Grace

On some days it is easy to remember how blessed one is and on other days it is hard. Today is one of those days that is easy, but sometimes I don't feel like being thankful for anything at all. Sometimes all I do is grumble and complain and whine and annoy all the people around me. But even on the worst days, there are still many things to be thankful for. The problem with me is that I often close my eyes and refuse to open them so I can see all God's blessings and gifts in life. I want to learn to be just as thankful on the hard days as on the good days. Today I see so many things to be thankful for and I wanted to share a few. 1. I have a wonderful church that has many opportunities to serve God's people. 2. I am attending an amazing school that is really hard, but that pushes me closer to God in it all and where I learn so much. 3. I get the pleasure of volunteering for my school's bookstore and I love it. 4. As of yesterday, I am now volunteering...

"For you have been my help; And in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy." Psalm 63:7 "He will cover you with his pinions. And under his wings you will find refuge; His faithfulness is a shield and buckler." Psalm 91:4 "Keep me as the apple of your eye; Hide me in the shadow of your wings," Psalm 17:8 "How precious is your steadfast love, O God! The children of mankind take refuge in the shadow of your wings." Psalm 36:7 "Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful, For in you my soul takes refuge; In the shadow of your wings I will take refuge, Till the storms of destruction pass by." Psalm 57:1 "Let me dwell in your tent forever! Let me take refuge in the shelter of your wings!" Psalm 61:4 "But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles; They shall run and not be weary; They shall walk and not faint." Isaiah 40:31

Taking a family photo, as most families have experienced, can be a bit challenging. Families will often run into the difficulty of getting even just one picture where everyone in the family looks nice and is smiling. The problem is only made ten times worse when you are one of a large family such as mine.  Well, not only is it difficult for my family to all look nice and smile in the family photo, but it is also difficult to find just the perfect place to take the picture and when that perfect place is found, I can't say that it is always safe, as is the case for this year's photo. I can't say who came up with this brilliant idea, but someone in my family thought it would be a great idea ( I am guessing it was one of my brothers) to take a family (minus my dad who took the picture) photo in a dead tree. So not only are we supposed to smile, but we are suppose to be smiling while standing in a dead tree that could break any moment with all the extra weight. But the p...