Thanksgiving

"Enter his gates with Thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations." Psalm 100: 4 & 5

I woke up this morning singing the old song "I will enter his gates with Thanksgiving in my heart..." Today, on this day where we all stop to reflect on the things we are thankful for, I am more aware of coming to God with a Thankful heart. I am so thankful for his goodness, love, and faithfulness. Here are just a few things I am Thankful for today...

• Jesus Christ, coming to earth to pay my debt, and for the relationship that allowed me to now have with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. All of my life, thru every season, He has been a faithful God.
• Luke. He is my soul mate. My best friend. My home. What did I do to deserve this amazing man? He is my picture of Grace.
• My parents. My first support system. The people who believed in my from the day I was born.
• My sisters, Elizabeth, Ashleigh, and Emily. My first and best friends. The girls who made me "Aunt April" and gave me the greatest nieces and nephews ever!
• My Gran and Pop. They are another set of parents to me. They have helped ground me in my faith and make me who I am today.
• For my Graham Family. Being born into 1 great family is amazing enough, but being able to marry into another incredible family with an awesome mom, dad, sisters, brothers, nieces, and nephews, is a double blessing.
• Our friends. God has placed us in relationships with some of the greatest people on the planet.
• My ACME staff and coaches. These guys have supported me and believed in me, even when I didn't believe in myself.
• Kristin and Krystle. The 2 best friends a girl could ask for. I can't believe I get to do life, and raise babies, with these incredible girls.
• Bayside. Every day I am amazed and humbled that God has placed me in this church with such amazing people. The fact that I have the opportunity to serve God in full time ministry here is more than I could have ever asked or imagined.

God help me to enter your gates, not just today, but everyday with a heart of Thanksgiving. For "you are good, your love endures forever, and your faithfulness through all generations."

The view from here...

I am going to forewarn you, this post is very sappy. I have no idea why... Maybe it's because my sister is in labor as I type, about to deliver her second little girl. But at any rate I am sappy today. Really sappy!

The pic above is the view from here. It's my view every morning as I walk in my house after my walk. I can't explain why this view means so much to me, but each and every morning the feeling that comes over me when open the front door and step into my house is overwhelming.

I love my house. It is a reflection of me, it is comforting, it is organized, but it is so much more than that.

Proverbs 24:3 says "By wisdom a house is built, and through understanding it is established."

This home is something that Luke and I have built together (and are still building). As I walk thru that red front door I know that some of the most important people in my life are sleeping inside. I know that this house will soon be filled with the smell of coffee brewing and the sound of music playing. I know that a breakfast of eggs and grits and uninterrupted time with my Savior is about to happen. It's a haven. It's a place of safety and love and lots of fun!

This house has made a decision to serve the Lord. To run after Him and to walk in the calling that He has placed on all of our lives. My house is not the structure, it is not the stuff inside of the structure, it is the people within the structure and the filling of the Holy Spirit within. That is what's behind the overwhelming feeling when I walk thru the door. Not the stuff, not the decor, but the love and purpose within the structure.

I am so happy to live in this house, so blessed by what God has given us and done in our lives. So overwhelmed to be a part of what He is doing.

"But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord."

(Sappy... i told you... don't say you weren't warned!)