I missed day 10. We got home at almost midnight last night; that's my excuse. After church, we went over to the house of some friends of ours from church. When we got back home afterwards, we came to the realization that we had seen them three days in a row. I love my church family!

Today, I am thankful for my church. I am so blessed to go to a church that teaches the Bible. I am so blessed to go to a church where I feel at home. I am so blessed to go to a church where I've made great friends that I enjoy fellowshipping with.

Thank You, Lord, for my church. Thank You for the people in it and thank You for allowing me to live in a country where we can study the Bible freely.

Today I am thankful for my bed and for the roof over my head.

Yesterday, my husband and some of our friends stayed late at church recording music and working on some music videos. I was with them as well. We were there until about 4:00 a.m. so I pulled several chairs together and made myself a bed and slept while they worked. I kept waking up because I was cold and because the edges of the chair were jamming into my sides. It wasn't the most comfortable sleeping arrangement. When we got home afterwards, my bed felt heavenly to me. It was such a sweet relief! It made me realize, once again, how blessed I am. I have a nice, warm home and a comfy bed. There are people all over the world who don't have homes or places to sleep.

Thank You, Lord, for always providing. Thanks for blessing me with a bed and a home. Please help me to be appreciative and not complain and help me to be continually thankful that I am better off than many. Amen.

I'm allowed to be superficial occasionally, right?

Today, I am thankful for fleece-lined leggings. Need I say more?

Lord, thank You for blessing me with way more clothes than I actually need. I know I don't deserve it and I am truly thankful!

Today I am thankful for my husband, my very best friend.

Today, I am thankful for clean water.

We take it for granted all the time. It's as if God owes it to us. But He doesn't. In fact, there are many many people around the world who don't have easy access to clean water. People die every day because of the lack of it.

Thank You, Lord, for allowing me to live in privileged countries that have clean water. Please help me to not take it for granted and cause me to be reminded to pray for my fellow believers around the world who have to live with the lack. 



If you feel so inclined, check out http://bloodwatermission.com to find out more information about countries lacking clean water and what you can do to help.

Today, I am thankful for the English language.

Why?—might you ask. Several months ago, at Missions Day at Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa, there was a pastor from the Calvary Chapel in Luxembourg. He spoke a lot about their country and how modernized it is and how clean it is, and after a few minutes I found myself wanting to be there. But before he finished and walked off the stage, he mentioned something that left me completely dumbfounded. The people of Luxembourg still do not have a Bible translation in their own language. This isn't a third world country in the middle of nowhere. This is a wealthy, modernized country, yet they still don't have a Bible! This pastor, along with some friends of his, is working on translating the Bible into Luxembourgish.

Lord, please help me not to take the Bible for granted. Help me to cherish it constantly. And please be with the men who are working on the Bible translation. Shower them with strength and diligence each and every day. Amen.

Today, I am thankful for good health.

These past several weeks, I've been a bit of a complainer. The cold wind has caused my lips to be really chapped and crack....It hurts to open my mouth when I eat. And on top of that, I've had some pretty painful toothaches. After fighting the pain of opening my mouth, the right side of my mouth hurts because of temperature sensitivity and the left side hurts because of a probably cavity. Eating seems like such a chore the days! And naturally, since I love eating, I've been in a complaining mood.

Now that I've vented, I will explain my reason for my thanks. Verbalizing my "health problems," I realize how minor they truly are. I wake up each morning with no major concerns. I know God holds my life in His hands and I am so thankful that He chooses to give me the breath of life each morning. He doesn't have to keep me healthy. He doesn't even have to keep me alive. Oh the riches of His grace!

Clearly I'm blessed. I missed days 1 and 2 because of that. Too busy to get on a computer—having too much fun to even want to get on a computer.

Today, I am thankful for the loving people around me—my husband, his family, my church family and friends. When life is full of love, social networking feels more like a distraction than anything positive. (Oh the irony! Blogging isn't considered social networking, is it?) Many people feel homesick when they move far away....I moved to a completely different continent and I still feel at home. Though I miss my friends and family back in California, I couldn't be more thankful for the family I've been grafted into here and for the friends I've made along the way.

Thank You, Lord, for placing so many loving people into my life. Please help me to spread that love to those I meet from here on out so that they can see You through me! In Jesus' name, Amen.

I've never been a fan of mixes—pancake mix, cake mix, etc. I don't do them. I prefer to make things on my own. Yes, they take a little longer, but they always taste better.

One thing I'm infamous for doing the hard way is pumpkin. Canned pumpkin is quite pricey (roughly £2 per can here in the UK) and it doesn't even keep as long as frozen pumpkin keeps! Every year, I buy a couple pumpkins, cut them, bake them, purée them, bag them, and freeze them.