Finishing Friday, aka Thankful Thursday, Part 2

Okay, here I am, a little more rested, ready to finish my 10 Truths from the Bible for which I am eternally grateful! (If you're just tuning in, be sure to read yesterday's "Thankful Thursday" post first, as this is a continuation of that thought, due to the fact that I couldn't keep my eyes open to finish last night!) :)

4) "Being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on until the day of Christ Jesus". Phil. 1:6

5) "He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world." 1 John 2:2

6) "but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strenth. They will soar on wings like eagles: they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint." Isaiah 40:31

7) "In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade- kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time." 1 Peter 1:3-5

8) "God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble." Psalm 46:1

9) "The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever." Isaiah 40:8

And last, and certainly the greatest thing I am thankful for is the birth of our Lord and Saviour, come to save His people from certain death:

10) "For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." Isaiah 9:6

My hope is that these truths encouraged you today, as they have me. I need to rehearse these and more so much more often in my day to day life. It tends to put things back into proper perspective when I get so busy with all the daily activities that are my life. God has blessed me immensely in so many ways, but I would be nothing without the promises listed in these posts. May we always be mindful not just of who we are in Christ, but more importantly who He is in us!

Thankful Thursday

Thankful Thursday seems to be coming around very quickly each week! One thing that I've grown tired of in my weekly posts is the self-centeredness regarding the things for which I'm thankful. So I thought I'd try something a little different this week, and post truths from God's word that make me eternally grateful. Some of them may still seem to focus on myself, but they are things I'm mindful of nonetheless. Here goes:

1)"His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness." 2 Peter 1:3,4

2) "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts." Isaiah 55:9

3) "For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will-" Ephesians 1:4-6


Okay, hold that thought, because I really want to list 10 truths, but to be perfectly honest, I'm falling asleep as I type! So I'm going to go get some much-needed rest, and I'll follow up on this tomorrow... Until then, chew on these first 3 truths, and see if you can come up with some that are special to you! I'd love to hear some...

Goodnight!

Training

I used to run, long before marriage and kids and all that extra baggage I now carry around with me. I never got to the point in my running where I could run a 5K nonstop, but I could go about 2 miles before having to resort back to a walk. I really enjoyed running. It's very fulfilling, and I always felt better after a good run. Since then, every time I see someone jogging down the street, I secretly wish I could be doing that again. Well since I started walking 2 miles a day (since January), I've been telling myself that when I got the rest of my weight off, I'd get back into running. Then I started watching "The Biggest Loser". I never watched it before this year, probably because it made me feel guilty, not realizing how inspiring it would be! I see these people on that show, bigger than I am, running and working out, and of course I think, "If they can do it, there's no reason why I shouldn't!" But still, I was hesitant to jump into it. Then I met a lady at the track where I walk. She was a little overweight, not really possessing what I would consider the build of a runner. She was running when I got there, and I kept waiting for her to slow to a walk, but she never did! She continued to run the whole time I walked my 2 miles. We finished around the same time, so I engaged in a conversation, letting her know how impressed I was. Come to find out, she's lost 104 lbs. since last August! She did a run/walk clinic back in January, and it built up her endurance. She ran SIX miles that day! I went straight home, and Googled Couch to 5K . Since then, I've enlisted my boys to train with me, and we're on our way! Granted, today was only our 2nd day, but I have to say, it was easier today than it was our 1st day! At times I feel a little overwhelmed when I think about it, but I've been talking myself down, and reminding myself to take baby steps (not literally). :) I mean, honestly, we're talking about 30 minutes, 3 days a week. That's a small price to pay, in my opinion. So when I look at it like that, I consider it very doable. And Gage (my 6 yr. old) loves it so much, that was the first thing he said this morning, "Today's Wednesday! We get to go run tonight!" I'm guessing he'll keep me on track!

Stay tuned: I hear there's a 5K coming up in the fall... Hopefully, it will be the first of many for the Mullins family-

Thankful Thursday

Okay, this is going to be hard for me today, since I've had a really crummy day. Hopefully forcing myself to think of things I'm thankful for will help me out of my funk. So here goes:

I am thankful:

1) that my dinner of taco burgers with homemade hamburger buns turned out great! It was only my 2nd time to try the homemade buns, and they were fantastic! For those of you interested, it's just taco-seasoned meat with all the fixings (cheese, shredded lettuce, cilantro, sour cream, green onions, and jalapenos) on a burger bun. Yummy! I've started making buns, dinner rolls, pizza dough, etc. in my bread machine. Very tasty, very easy, and very economical! Here's a pic of the leftover buns- obviously without all the fixings:


2) there are only 5 days of school left!!!

3) my sweet hubby, knowing I had had a rough day, came home tonight and offered to take me to the coffee shop for a little while. I wasn't really dressed to go out, so I politely turned him down, but the sentiment was very sweet, and I was grateful for his concern for my feelings.

4) Speaking of my sweet hubby, I'm so thankful for all the hard work he's put into the garden for our family! I am not a yardwork/gardening kind of girl, so it's all him! Here are a few pics of his "baby":CabbageTomatoes and something else, can't remember what (Remember, I am not a gardener!).

Wheat that Rob grew/harvested to use as mulch. It's a technique called Biodynamic Intensive Gardening, or something organic like that! :) All I know is it prevents weeds from growing, and attracts tons of worms to work the soil and add nutrients.

Back to Thankful Thursday:

5) I was able to squeeze some time in a couple of days ago to mow our yard. It looks so much better, and I'm sure the neighbors appreciate it! :)

6) I have several orders to complete, which means my business is continuing to thrive! I'm very grateful that God has given me favor and a good name.

7) Kris Allen won American Idol last night! So very proud that a good, Christian Arkansan won! His humble attitude and good nature is an excellent example to people worldwide.

8) that Grey, Grant, & Mac are spending the night with my mom tonight (since I'm working at the scrapbook store tomorrow). That means that after I drop off Garrett and Gage at school tomorrow, I'll have a couple of hours by myself at home before I have to go to work! A very rare treat, I must say!

9) for the long weekend coming up! Gotta love a holiday!

10) for this:

'Nuff said.

Okay, I really do feel better now. Thankful Thursday has been very therapeutic for me! Maybe you should try it, too, next time you've had a bad day. :)

Thankful Thursday

Today I am thankful:

1) That Grey, Grant & I were able to see the PTC Showcase (Professional Training Company) & Sr. Recital of Robert, Blakely & Hannah. It was fantastic!

2) That I didn't have to cook tonight, because I had doubled a recipe a couple of weeks ago, and frozen half of it- Something I've been wanting to get in the habit of doing, but hadn't done until now. Sure was nice to just take something from the freezer & stick it in the oven! (Note to self: You must do this more often!)

3) for the orders that continue to come in for my business. God is truly blessing it, and I am grateful.

4) that I received a cool t-shirt and had a great time at Gage's school today for Volunteer Appreciation Day!

5) that I have stayed caught up with laundry for 2 whole days now! :)

6) that Kris Allen made it to the American Idol finals, even though I was super sad to see Danny Gokey go home.

7) for the upcoming weekend with absolutely NO plans!!

8) that I got my sewing room cleaned and organized so that I can spend the weekend working on orders! Okay, so I sort of have plans for the weekend.

9) that my husband has several vacation days that he has to use by the end of June.

10) for my 5 crazy kids that keep our lives very
entertained!

Gage, My Man

Getting 7 people out the door to church on Sunday mornings is always an interesting task. In a perfect world, when this mom has all her stuff together, we all pick out our clothes, socks, shoes and all, on Saturday night, as part of our bedtime routine. Some Saturdays, however, this does not get done, which always makes for an interesting (and rushed) Sunday morning. Last Sunday was one such morning. As I was putting on my make-up, I told the boys to get dressed. "Just pick out some church clothes and get ready," I think were my words. So throughout the morning, I had a chance to glance at each child, to either approve or disapprove of his selection. Each child, that is, except for Gage. As we were walking out the door, this occurred to me, so I decided I'd better take a closer look. This is what I saw:

Gage, my 6 yr. old, had on the following:
Dress pants: Size 10
Dress shirt: Size 12
Jacket: Size 10
Hi-top Nikes were actually his, but not really church attire.
This is what happens when you have 4 boys...and don't prepare for church the night before! Bless his heart, he was so proud of himself, and thought he looked so handsome (which he did). Daddy was no help at all, and said, "I think you should let him wear it!" Sure. On Mother's Day. We compromised, and found the same attire in his size. And some dress shoes. But somehow we didn't have time to take the "after" pic.

Thankful Thursday

This week went by so fast, I almost forgot about Thankful Thursday! Here goes:

I am thankful:

1) that my business is going well, and orders continue to come in!
2) that I was able to save money AND add a 2nd DVR to our house by switching to DishNetwork.
3) that I fought the urge to order out for dinner, and cooked a healthy meal for my fam instead.
4) that my hubby mowed the yard today!!!
5) that the weekend is almost here, and I have precious little on my schedule!
6) that God has helped me stick with my exercise/diet, and I've lost, to date, 38 lbs.
7) that I feel better than I have in years (see #6).
8) that I got a lot accomplished today- orders filled, some major cleaning, laundry, dinner.
9) that there are only 15 days of school left!
10) that I was blessed with a wonderful mom, as well as being blessed to BE a mom. Where would we be without our moms? Even though my mom is aging- sometimes not so gracefully- and the role-reversal thing has begun, I know I would not be the person I am today if not for my mom. She has been my strength, my cheerleader, my right hand, my friend. And for that I am eternally grateful.