I am thankful for... Protection

We are experiencing some stormy weather here in my neck of the woods today. There are tornado warnings for our area and a few minutes ago I heard the tornado sirens wailing. This kind of made my stomach do a few little flips.

But you know what? It's moments like these that make me grateful that I have a big strong God on my side. :) He is there to shelter and protect his children like me. And I am SO thankful for that.

So, have a nice day. I'm going to get a few flashlights together in case we lose power, and gather up a pillow and blanket in case we have to go into my little half-bath in the middle of the house. But I can do this without any fear in my heart, because My Father is watching over me and hears my prayers. :)

I am thankful for ... Projects!

Today, I am thankful for fun and wildly creative and lovely secret projects. And graphic design. And God's word. But that's all I can tell you. :D

*HINT*
...it has something to do with the beautiful devotional blog I write for. ;)

I am thankful for ... Encouragement! :)

There are some days when I stare out the window at a dripping, dreary scene of melancholy woods and wonder ... "Does anybody really care?"

Once in a while I wonder if anybody enjoys this blog but me. But then something happens that reminds me...

I have friends! I have followers who care. I have people who have been blessed by what I typed with my ten little fingers and then clicked "publish" for with my mouse!

And that is such a huge encouragement. It gives me the energy and the inspiration to keep on blogging.

And today... I have been awarded! By my oh-so-sweet and oh-so-nice fellow friend, author, and blogger... Rachelle!

Ahhhh! This award is so sweet! What a compliment...

I just wuv this little bumblybee...

The Official Blog Award Rules:

the same for both awards.

 

1. Thank and link back to the person who gave you the award.

(Thank you, Rachelle! You have touched my heart today.)

2. Share 7 things about yourself.

3. Give the award to 15 other bloggers.

(ugh. That's a lot. Plus Rachelle already awarded many of my sweet friends... but I'll do it!)

 

So, for 7 things about Julia:

 

1. I cannot go anywhere  now without somebody commenting on my hair, which is so long it falls to the top of my thighs.

 

2. I am currently in love with the Breyers' Blasts Oreo Mint ice cream.

 

3. I can hardly believe that Thanksgiving is NEXT WEEK! Oh my goodness! Where has this year gone? It seems like life gets faster as I get older. (I'm 20 going on 21, if you must know).

 

4. When I swapped out my winter clothes for my summer clothes, I organized them by color, and now my walk-incloset looks like a big rainbow. ;)

 

5. I love mechanical pencils.

 

6. I wear Bath and Body Works fragrance mist almost every day, whether I'm going somewhere or not. ;)

 

7. I prefer warm weather to below freezing weather. 75 degrees is my favorite temperature... and when it's only 29 outside, you will find me in about 7 layers of clothing huddled in front of the woodburning stove in several blankets with a mug of steaming hot chocolate. ;)

 

That was fun! Now, for the bloggers I am going to award.... (I hereby jointly award all the MOHL girls along with Rachelle, by the way!! She got to it first...) :D

 

1. Lindsay

2. Melody

3. Lauren

4. Allison

5. Jennifer from Dear Lillie (love this blog and shop, so creative!)

6. Bailey

7. Polka Dot

8. Madison

9. Charity from Austenitis

10. Sarah T

11. Vicki

12. Disney from Ruffles & Stuff (best craft-y ideas ever!)

13. Shannon

14. Bethany

15. Laney

 

So, today I am thankful for Encouragement!

Don't forget to check out the 30 Days of Thankfulness challenge

at Young Homemakers! :)

This post took me a ridiculously long time to put together! Whew! :D
Have a beautiful day!

I am thankful for... Music

Music!

"Seated one day at the organ,

I was weary and ill at ease,

And my fingers wandered idly

Over the noisy keys

I do not know what I was playing,

Or what I was dreaming then,

But I struck one chord of music

Like the sound of a great Amen."

- Adelaide A. Procter

~*~

Music... among the gifts that God hath sent, one of the most magnificent! - Longfellow

~*~

The man that hath no music in himself,

Nor is moved with concord of sweet sounds,

Is fit for treasons, stratagems and spoils.

-Shakespeare

I had a lovely day today meeting with some friends for praise and worship and a message this morning. We had a yummy lunch and some sweet fellowship.

Mama played the piano and I acted in the part of lead singer to help some of our friends learn some new songs... my head cold is lingering, so I had to be silent for a while after singing to let my voice recover. But at least I didn't croak. :D

Nope, it wasn't perfect. But it was music, and it was joyful, and it was unto the Lord. It was wonderful. I love music! I love the act of singing praises unto God.

I also love fun, bouncy music that you can play while cleaning the house  - to keep your spirits up while you eradicate dust and dirt.

And I love quiet, contemplative, instrumental music to play when I'm in a thoughtful or quiet mood.

I enjoy playing celtic-style music and hymns for energizing background ambience once in a while. (Did you know I have some Irish blood flowing through my veins? I'm mostly Dutch, but the love of an Irish jig did not wholly pass me by!) ;)

Music is so expressive. With it, one can speak out joy, sadness, praise, despair, and any degree of emotion in between... without using a single word.

Today, I am thankful for music!

Don't forget to check out the rest of the 30 Days of Thankfulness
at http://younghomemakers.blogspot.com!

What is your favorite kind of music?

I am Thankful for ... Creature Comforts

Today I am thankful for something I take for granted every single day.

Creature Comforts!

Air Conditioning.

Indoor Plumbing.

Hehe. The last one is the one that sparked this post for today. This morning, one of my brothers discovered that the wellhouse was leaking water. Daddy went and checked it out and realized one of the spigots (or something?) needs a plug (or something) and called the well guys to come and fix it. So... we filled up some jugs and then he turned off the water. Then he left for a job appointment. The well guys had said they would be right out.

11:11 AM, and they still aren't here. *sigh*

Thangs jest move a leetle slow-ah arayound he-ah. ;)

 But usually, we have running water + indoor plumbing + electricity + air conditioning.

And I am thankful for it! :D

Visit Rachel's blog for more info on the 30 Days of Thankfulness! :D

Thanking Him,

I am thankful for... Love

 Today, I am thankful for ...Love!

I wrote a post for Meditations of His Love that I would love for you to read. :)

To find it, click here.

Not to sound redundant, but I really would love it if you would come back and tell me what you thought of the post by leaving me a comment! :D

Find more 30 Days of Thankfulness posts at http://younghomemakers.blogspot.com !

Have a Lovely day! ;)

I'm Thankful for... Books

Today I am thankful for books!

I have always loved books. I learned to read when I was 3. And I am so thankful to be able to read, as well! :D I've been reading as much as I could ever since. :)

 Seriously, the thought of owning a library  makes me drool... :D (Figuratively, of course!)

 I love poring over piles of books at the thrift store... searching for hidden treasures that someone has left for me to find and claim. ;) It's the best of treasure hunts. :D

A good book, and a cup of tea... (Or in my case, some delicious fruit juice of some kind...) :) What a wonderful way to relax from the cares of the day.

I am thankful for good books! :)

Still being blessed by the 30 Days of Thankfulness Challenge! :)

What books are you reading right now? I'm working through a book of short stories by Lori Wick - not too impressive, "Voices from the Titanic" by Jim Walker - exciting, even though it's my 4th or 5th time through the book... and about to re-read "The Centurion's Wife" and "The Hidden Flame" by Janette Oke and T. Davis Bunn. We found them at the thrift store. *score*! :D

Have a lovely day!

I Am Thankful For ....Peace

Today I am thankful for peace.

Peace is such a wonderful thing to have in your heart. Especially instead of the reverse... turmoil, stress, uneasiness.

Peace is so special when you have it despite your circumstances! When many things around you are whirling and tossing and tumbling, having peace in the midst of it all is just amazing. :)

I wrote this post a while ago on the devotional blog, Meditations of His Love, for which I write with several other wonderful, godly girls. It's about how we have a Prince of Peace. :) I would encourage you to check it out, and I would love to hear your thoughts on it. :)

Remember, you can find the other 30 Days of Thankfulness posts at Young Homemakers! :)

Blessings,

I am Thankful...

http://younghomemakers.blogspot.com

Today I am thankful for .... Thankfulness itself!

Wouldn't it be a boring life if we were never thankful for anything? Kind of like rich people with so many things that all those things seem meaningless? I am thankful for the chance to be thankful. :)

Blessings,

I'm Thankful for Forgiveness

Still going on with the challenge that is blessing me every day! :)

http://younghomemakers.blogspot.com

Today I'm thankful for Forgiveness.

Without forgiveness, the world would be a bleak place full of anger and revenge. Granted, parts of it are that way... but "There's a lot of love out there, you know, man?" - sorry, that's one of our favorite quotes from a fun movie we enjoy... :D *Inside joke alert* Ahem. Anyway -

Of course, the biggest, most important, breathtaking example of forgiveness is God. He forgave our sins and sent his only begotten son (Which means the only son that he begat, or came from him...) to die on the cross for our sins. And he did die. But then he rose again on the third day, completely alive and resurrected from the dead.

And while on the cross, he forgave. He took the penalty for us and died in our place. His sacrifice even wiped out sins that had not been committed yet! Our sins that we would sin over 2,000 years later.

But there's one thing we have to do to take part in that gift that he gave us by paying the price for our transgressions.

We have to accept his forgiveness.

We have to confess with our mouth that Jesus Christ is Lord and that we believe in him, and ask for his forgiveness by repenting from our sins (Repent means to do a 180 and completely turn your life around, which he helps us to do) And he already gave before we asked. So it's there, waiting for us to accept. What a wonderful thing!

And once we accept the forgiveness that God is offering, we are saved from a terribly painful and horrible eternal existence.

Then, with the Lord's help, we can become more like Jesus. We can offer our own forgiveness to others who have wronged us. And we're not doing it for them. We do it for us. You can either forgive somebody for a sin they comitted against you, or you can sin yourself by carrying around a black, stinking load of bitterness and unforgiveness in your heart.

I choose to forgive! Even though it's tough. And I am so thankful for the possibility to forgive, because I have been forgiven. :)

I am thankful for forgiveness! Are you?

I'm Thankful for God's Provision

Provision.

What does that mean?

It means something has been provided, which means:

There was a provider.

God is my provider, Jehovah Jirah.

There have been tough times this year for my family and I. Seasons when we were't sure where the next payment for the bills would be coming from. The economy has made life difficult for a lot of people recently.

In fact, this morning we ate leftover pancakes.

 *Amused laughter* (Actually, they were really good, and we ate them just because we didn't want to throw them away) But at least we had something to generate leftovers. We have never gone hungry, even in the leanest times.

 Over and over again, God has provided for me and my family. Whenever we found an amazing deal on boxed pasta or fresh fruit (Like the most AMAZING strawberries this spring for $1.50 a pound - we didn't mind picking them ourselves!) or had a surprising amount of produce pour out from our garden, we gave Him the credit for making it happen, and thanked Him.

We have always had bread to eat, and wheat to grind to make the bread.

We always have fresh, pure water to drink. Our mountain well has never gone dry. Many people around the world do not have this blessing of clean drinking water. I do. And I am thankful for it!

What are you thankful for today?