Praise Post #30

I'm  joining Jerralea's Journey blog as we number gifts He's given us during the month of November.  Each day I'll be sharing five things that I am thankful for.  We've been doing this for the last month and we now have 150 things we are grateful for. Some were big, some were small, but all are gifts from God, the Giver of blessings.

I have really enjoyed getting to know the other women participating in Jerralea's writing exercise.  It has made me pause and think about each day and the blessings we can find in it.  

Today I am thankful for:

1. Safe arrival: Our oldest texted us yesterday while we were on our way back to NYS that she had arrived back on campus safely.  And we arrived back at our home here in eastern NY safely, about 3 hours later, and in time for the 5 pm church service!  God is good.  I thank Him for his protection.
2. First Sunday of Advent.  I'm thankful for our new sermon series at church.  Today is the first Sunday of Advent and our small group pastor lit the first candle last evening after a Scripture reading.  And our pastor had a great sermon about why Jesus came to earth.  It is going to be an awesome month of sermons!
3. My bed. I'm so thankful for our bed and mattress.  There's nothing like your own bed after a few days on one that isn't so great.
4. My neighbors Chris and Mike.  They have 2 teens, one of whom is friends with our youngest daughter. They live across the street from us and always want to help in some way...especially since learning of Dave's heart attack. And they are definitely acts of service people.  While we were gone for the holiday, they shoveled our driveway and cleared it of the 6 inches of snow we received!  That was so nice of them and we are very thankful for their kindness.
5. My neighbors Paul and Melissa.  They are  good friends as well as good neighbors...they live right next door and they took in a couple of packages for us while we were gone.  It was a huge relief to know that they were keeping an eye on things!  I'm very thankful for their friendship, too. We always have a good time together.

That wraps up our Praise Posts.

I will be on a blogging break for the next 2 weeks......we have a very busy 2 weeks coming up due to school concerts, a dance recital, an early birthday party with 20 of my daughter's closest friends, (she turns 16 on the 21st but the place we are renting for the party was free on the 6th so.......), plus my own small group preparation and our annual Moms Xmas Brunch.  I also want to start decorating the house today, get the tree up, finish the shopping, begin to wrap, clean, bake, and do some advent reading.

Whatever your plans are, let's remember to focus on the reason for the season:  JESUS!  I plan on blogging again in a couple of weeks and will look forward to catching up with you all.

Enjoy the start of Advent.