Okay, so I have not been keeping up with my thirty days of giving thanks. The last couple of weeks have been full of work and church that I have not had much free time. For the first time in several weeks, I have had a free weekend. It was nice to have some time at home to get some much needed projects crossed off my list. One of those projects is getting back to my Thirty Days of Giving Thanks.
Day Six I thank God that I live in a country that gives me the freedom to vote for my elected officials and gives me a say in the political issues. In some parts of the world, people are ruled by dictators, tyrants and kings. But here in the United States, we have leaders elected by the people. We may not always agree with the outcome of the election. We may not like the way that the election process works. We may not like the negative campaigning, name calling and lies. But it is a freedom afforded to us by the Constitution, and should never take it for granted.
Day Seven
I thank God that I have freedom to express my own religious views without reservations. In some countries, it is illegal and even punishable with death if you say that you are a Christian. Wow, that is so amazing and hard for me to believe. But as a American, I can freely proclaim my views without looking over my shoulder, fearing some one is coming after me. Or I can read my Bible and not have to hide it when I see a police officer. Sadly this is the true for some people in the world.
Day Eight
I thank God that for this His Grace and Mercy that He provided through His son Jesus Christ. I am in no way perfect. I am still growing in all areas of my life. I make mistakes along the way. But I know that God is molding me, shaping me and helping me to be a better person. It is so awesome to think that when I mess, all I have to do is go to Him and ask Him for the forgiveness. But what is better than that, is that He will forgive me and help me to not do it again.
Day Nine
I thank God that my mother-in-law raised her daughter to be a strong woman. Although I never had the opportunity to meet her, I know that her spirit on lives in my beautiful wife. When my wife tells me stories of her mother, I can see the pride and love that she has for her. The longer that I am married to my wife, I can see how she is becoming more like her mother. She was a great role model and there is not a better person to be want to be like.
Day Ten
I thank God that my father-in-law raised a daddy’s girl. He treated her like a princess and sacrificed his time for her. He worked long hours and sometimes two jobs so that he could provide for the opportunity to go to private school all the way through college. He gave me the inspiration to know how I wanted to treat his daughter, doing everything I can to make sure that life has everything that it needs to be joyful.
Okay, so I was not able to make my post for yesterday. It was a busy day and I just did not get a chance to make the post. So to make up for yesterday, I will be doing both posts today.
Day Four: I thank God for the opportunity to take many wonderful trips with my wife. We so enjoy road trips, traveling on thee open highway and going to such wonderful towns and cities and seeing such beautiful scenes. In the thirteen years we have been married, we have driven to the top of Pikes Peak, walked on the roof of the Biltmore Estate; played with the dolphins on th island of Tortola in the Caribbean, and having dinner on the harbor in Marina del Ray. There are many other places that we have had the pleasure to do together. I cannot wait for the next trip to see where it will take us.
Day Five: I thank God that my mother’s hip replacement surgery went well today. After breaking her hip about five years ago, she had to have pins put into place to allow the hip to heal. Since that time, the pins slipped and she had been dealing with pain and discomfort in her back, her side and her knee. When the pain got to be too much, my mother (on her own) decided that she would have the surgery. The doctor said that everything went well and even better than he had thought. Now, the recovery phase has started. She will be in the hospital until Thursday or Friday; then off to a rehab center. Praise the Lord!
I thank God that has placed me in a church that teaches the uncompromising Word of God with the practical application for me to apply to my own life. Growing up I did not think that Church was for me. I had been going all my life; but I felt like something was missing. What I had found out later was that I had a religion; but I needed was to have a relationship. My Pastor taught me that I what it means to stand in faith, how to pray correctly and how to take what I learn and help other people. The wisdom and knowledge are not just for me and my benefit. But instead they are there for me to use with others to bring out what God has done for me. We must grow in our spiritual work in order to go and help others.
Although I do not know everything and I still make my share of mistakes, I know that God has brought me a long way. I owe that success to my Pastor and my church family and my wonderful wife.
Day Two:
I thank God that He blessed my life with such a wonderful wife to share my life with. We have so much in common and we enjoy doing so many things together: hiking, gardening, blogging, shopping and even church event planning. I never could have imagined my life with any one better. And who would have imagined that I would have met my wife while at work.
Some years back, Michael W. Smith had a song that I really liked, “Place In This World.” This song really spoke to me and I sang it passionately because I was searching for my place in this world. Little did I know that God was listening to me and He helped me find my place in this world by placing my wife into my life.
My wife has taught me so much and helped me grow as a man and as a husband. I am thankful that God has brought her into my life. I love you so much, baby!!!!
Me and my baby, JT, beginning our life together
JT looking so pretty!
JT and me hiking in the mountains of New Mexico
Let us know how you have been blessed by your spouse!
November is upon us and many people are turning their thoughts to Christmas. Shopping lists, family get-togethers and decadent meals are present in their minds. While I love Christmas and its true meaning, I believe many people completely overlook Thanksgiving. I believe that Thanksgiving has become the forgotten holiday, with all the other things happening during the fall and winter. As summer ends, kids are going back to school and even before we make it through September, Christmas planning is in full-swing. Christmas trees can be found in the department stores. Christmas tunes are being played on the radio
Thanksgiving is no longer a day of giving thanks. Instead people think of it as the day before the day after Thanksgiving, when people look to get their Christmas shopping started in full force. I do not succumb to this madness. Instead, I believe that Thanksgiving should be celebrated for what it is. A day when I give thanks to God for all the wonderful things that he has given to me in my life. As I was thinking about it today, I decided that I did not want to limit my thanks to only one day. God is blessing my life every day so I decided that I would take each day in November and give thanks for something in my life. This will be joint effort from the Bubbling team. JT and I will be taking turns writing from our hearts to you. Come back each day for a new post.
Day One: I look around and I see people who are hurting, who are battling sickness and even seeing people who are leaving this Earth too soon. Each day when I wake up, I thank God for being alive and that I am walking in divine health. I am thankful that no sickness or diseases are in my body and that I have full use of all my body.
We are asking you, the Elegant and Graceful readers, to share your thoughts and reasons why you are thankful. Leave a comment below. Or if you have your own blog, create a post and leave us the link and we will read it.
It took me some time to put these pictures up because I was not the weight I would have like to have been. I was dealing with some medical challenges at the time and the medication made me bigger at a time when I wanted to be in the best shape. People told me I looked great; but I did not think so. I so loved my wedding day; but I was not happy with the way I looked. Well Praise the Lord, I am healthier now and I lost over 50 pounds. I have a lot to be thankful for because I married my best friend and we can renew our wedding vows next year and on our 15th wedding anniversary. So here are the pictures.
Jay and I so happy we are officially married.
Happy that I am married to my best friend.
We love Italian food so having the reception at an Italian Restaurant hall was perfect.
My daddy stepped on my train by accident so I am holding it. Jay caught off guard in mid take of picture.
My nails were mega long, I can’t have them that long when I am practicing piano.
My Daddy is with the Lord now so this is even more of a special picture to me. My mother-in-law is so sweet and kind. It is a pleasure to be a part of the family.
Learn More About JT Bubbling with Elegance and Grace is a place for life long learners. The Bubbling With Elegance And Grace team was created 14 years ago. A passion for fashion sparked a lifestyle blog for our Elegant Community to enjoy. We are thankful and in gratitude to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ for those who have been with us from the beginning and those who have just started riding with us on this lovely journey.
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