10,000 Reasons II

5. Music.
     I love music. And I don't mean these new convoluted "singers" now a days who can't keep a tune without auto tune. (Though there are some singers out there who can really belt it out and sound INCREDIBLE. Exhibit A: Adele.) But I love music. I love classical music, I love music with lyrics, Christian music, secular music, I just really enjoy music. I suppose its no wonder that I feel most connected to God when I am singing worship songs and praise songs. I love music.

6. SNOW (go ahead and gripe and complain. You can read it when you are done.)
    Have you ever looked a snow flake? It is one of the prettiest things that there is. Snow is sparkly and glittery and it shines and shimmers in a way that is incomparable to anything else. I don't like driving in snow, and I don't like how cold it is when it snows, but I love to look at pure white falling snow. To take you back to Sunday school for a few minutes, when snow is on the ground, everything is so white and pure. Thank you Lord for the snow.

7. Birds
     I hate birds. I legitimately am terrified of birds. (I attribute my fear to almost getting eaten by a flamingo at the zoo, grated it was only my finger. Or the fact that I got pooped on at the beach. Or because of the two sparrows that got stuck in my window when I was home alone. and finally because one time a bird flew down our chimney while we were away on vacation and pooped on everything in our house then tried to fly out our back window and died.) Even though I despise birds, I think that big birds are some of the most majestic creatures in the world. I love to see a hawk flying by or any big bird really. I think they are beautiful.

8. Fishing
    I love to fish. I absolutely love it,  Especially when there are no mosquitoes that are trying to kill me (But thank God for those too!) When I was little I caught like a really big fish! Like it was so big it was probably a whale (okay, not really it was a large mouth bass and I was a scrawny little 5 year old). Thus my love of fishing continued  There are few things in life that I enjoy more than fishing with my dad and sister.

9. Light
     Have you ever imagined what the world would be like if there was no light! Imagine a world of total darkness, it wouldn't be very much fun. I am so grateful for light! I like the sun and I like lamps and I like the moon that shines at night! Light is awesome!

10. The first day of Spring
    Though fall is my favorite season, I am always thankful when spring comes about. I love the bright colors of the Earth waking up after the darkness of winter! I love seeing flowers blooming and little baby animals scampering about and trying to avoid getting smashed by cars (one of the down falls to spring). I love the attitude of people! Its like they are just so happy the winter is over. I have a theory that everyone smiles during spring. I also like the fun holidays like St. Patty's day and Easter! Who doesn't get excited about a holiday from Ireland and a celebration of our Risen King.  Yep. Spring is a fun season.

11. My Daddy
      There are very few people in this life that are as great as my father. I just think there really is no one to compare him too! I love my mom a lot, like a lot, but my daddy and I have always had a super special bond. Talk about being a daddy's girl, I am one through and through. I just think that God made my dad extra special. He must have given Him an extra loving heart and an extra dose of humor too! My dad and I are so similar, in fact, I think he understands me better than most people. I am really thankful that I have such a great guy to took up to in my life! He is my favorite!

12. My Mama
     She is literally the greatest woman ever! I think if the Avengers ever need another superhero, they should call her up! She is a wonderful woman of prayer, she always listens t me when I am rambling, and she helps me make sense of my life! She is a great teacher and care taker and housewife and comedian and Jesus lover! I think she can pretty much fix anything. I am so blessed to have such a strong Christian woman to look up to in my life. She is the greatest person!

13. Claire Jo Espresso :)
      Where would I be without a little sister? I probably would have gotten in trouble fewer times, but I wouldn't have had as much fun growing up. We argue a lot. and that is kind of sad. But we have a lot of fun together! I am so thankful for a sister who i can laugh with, and cry with (though we mostly laugh), who I can tease and who can tease me. I am blessed beyond words to have a little sister like Claire!

14. Imagination!
     Where would we be if no one had an imagination! We wouldn't have books, or movies, or television shows or really anything! I think that we as "grown ups" (well if you could even call me that) sometimes forget that imagination is a great thing! It is a gift to have an imagination! So use your imagination today! Maybe while you are driving on the winter wonderland roads you can pretend you are in Alaska and perhaps you'll see a moose of a baby seal (that was for you Joe). Use your imagination today!!

15. God's plan
      I am so thankful that God has already written my book of life for me. I am so glad that before I was born, with a full head of hair I might add, that He already knew exactly what I was going to do, where I was going to go, and who I was going to be. I  love the chapters of this book that I have read, and I can't wait to finish reading it.

16. Fresh Air
      Isn't it so wonderful to step outside and inhale and just get a huge breath of wonderful air! I love this feeling. It may or may not be fresh with all this pollution and stuff floating about!

17. Nice People
      Sometimes people are just plain mean. I really am thankful for nice people who smile at you and talk to you with excitement and such! I like nice people.

18. Duck Dynasty (roll your eyes its cool).
      I am thankful for the classiest show on TV, Duck Dynasty. Actually in all seriousness, I like that a tv show family that is rooted in Christianity is a really big deal right now. I also like Si and his awesome stories. But seriously I am glad that they are so open about their relationships with Christ. Even if the show is a little bit staged, their love for Christ isn't.

What are somethings that you are thankful for? Like that aren't typical answers?

10,000 Reasons

I had posted on Facebook a few weeks that I was going to keep track of 10,000 things that I love about the Lord, and since then I have caught myself being more thankful for the things around me. I could easily type up a list of things that I thank the Lord for, but I am singing ten thousand reasons for my soul to bless the Lord.

I am going to start my list today, and I know that finding 10,000 unique and original things to bless the Lord,  will take some time.

Today I start with....

1. A Child's Laughter  
     Have you ever just stopped what you are doing to listen to a little one laugh? Have you ever noticed the little faces they make when they are laughing really hard? It is seriously one of the cutest things in the world. I work a preschool on Tuesdays and Thursdays and one of the best parts about my job is getting to witness the laughter that comes from their playtime, nap time, even snack time. A laugh is a beautiful thing to thank the Lord for.

2. Stars.
    I attribute my love of stars to the long drives that we used to take between Weeping Water and Omaha or Lincoln. There is no sight greater than a completely darkened sky dotted with pin holes into heaven (I know it's kinda cliche). I love looking at the stars. This fall my friends and I were in the country and the sky was amazing. There were like a million shooting stars, and it was breathtaking. I absolutely loved it. Living in South Bend, I hardly notice the stars anymore.

3. Love
    Love is just an incredible thing. It is in explainable. The church answer is fairly simple and we can say "Jesus is love." That is so true. But how do we define the love that we feel for our friends and family here on earth. I don't think you can compare Love to any inanimate object, or any other feeling that we experience. I think love is something that we can be thankful for.

4.Communication- verbal and written
     God has given us the ability to communicate with others through our word and body language. I think that is a beautiful thing. Communication isn't even limited to one another, God has given us the ability to communicate with him. There is another thing to thank the Lord for.

There are so many other things that I can think of. There are hundreds and thousands and millions of reasons for our hearts to sing a song of Thanksgiving to our creator.

I love you Lord.