What a beautiful Thursday we are having in the capital region of NYS.
The sky is a bright, deep blue and the sun feels so nice; the temps have dropped down into the 40's! We are now wearing our autumn/winter clothing and fleece jackets for school and work.
And we all have socks on our feet today....well...actually I wore a skirt to work so wore stockings but it was the first time I haven't had bare legs since the end of April! And my teen daughter has decided that her flip flops will be put away until April. sigh. BUT.....as always there is much to be thankful for.

Here is how God has filled my tank this week with gratitude:

• long-lasting friendships: I had a phone call from a woman friend who is also a mom whom I haven't heard from in 2 years! The last time we spoke we had met up in the Saratoga area for lunch. She lives about 35 min. north of me in a little town where my family likes to swim and camp. We don't get together very often although she does have 2 daughters who are my daughters' ages. She also has 3 other children and is now a grandma!! (as for me, I can't imagine being a grandmother yet...but...her oldest is already 23 years old so.....) We were both in the same church for years and about 4 years before we left our former church, she and her husband left due to their move away from the area. She is now attending my sister's church so that is kinda neat. I am thankful that although a couple of years have gone by, we have a connection because of Christ. Although we have raised our children a bit differently and have different ways of parenting, we have the unity that Christ brings. She has heard some of our trials as a family and I have heard several of her trials. We have prayed for each other and tried to encourage each other. For some reason the Lord has brought her back into my life and for that I am thankful. I am wondering what He is doing in her life as she is facing some new trials but.....I know she has been, and continues to be true to the Lord and for that I give the Lord a huge "thank You!"

• Scriptures: I am very thankful for the Word of God. It is a powerful source. I am thankful that even though I don't have an hour to read the Bible every day, that I have times in the afternoons and evenings to read by my self or with my daughters. The Scriptures we will be discussing tonite is based on Ephesians 3: 16-17....I'll have more on that tomorrow....

• Thursday evenings: Yes, I am thankful for Thursday evenings. Although we are not together as a family for dinner (my hubby goes from work to church youth group as he ministers at the Youth Center each week for JAM (Jesus and Me, the Middle School teen group), the girls and I do ok with just "us girls". I am able to make dinner (usually something fun for them and a huge salad for me) early (5:30) and then after my youngest has an early shower, she practices violin while I finish getting our devotional time ready. My oldest joins us in the living room. I light a candle or 2, we turn on low lights and have some time together. We had tried doing this every nite when we first bought the devotional book (Girlz Rock) but with our life style, that just did not work. Then we tried it on Sunday evenings but this summer we were out so much that we neglected it. It made more sense to choose an evening where Daddy was out doing ministry so it could free me up to "do ministry" with the 2 blessings He gave us. Some Thursday nites we have to miss it due to school events or tests the next day, etc. But, for the most part, we have each Thursday evening to sit and read the Bible together and do the devotional, pray and then discuss the topic. It is a relaxing time for me and it makes my heart jump for joy to hear the Word of God coming from my childrens' lips. It sounds a little corny but....how awesome to see and hear my own children reading Scripture! Do they complain sometimes? of course! They are normal tweens/teens. But...they also know it is important to be studying the Word of God together and I need to be their teacher so they can get to know the greatest Teacher! We only spend about 20 min doing this as we have a pretty tight schedule in the evenings but...it is a 20 minutes I am highly thankful for.

That's my short but sweet list this week.

How about you?

How is God filling up your tank this week with thanks????

OH...and for those of you who noticed the Thanksgiving countdown banner at top of page?
Wait until you read where and how we are spending our Thanksgiving this year........

For more Thanks Tank posts, head over to Pam's. You can find her by going to my sidebar, look for the title Blogs to Browse and click on the blog titled Without Fear.