thankful thursday

so thankful...

1. for screens in every window at my house. We have not had this since we moved here and missed out on a whole spring with no cool breeze. It has been AWESOME having some fresh air blow through this house!!
2. for Josh's brother and his family visiting from PA this weekend!!
3. for clothes that fit. Yeah, I'm running out of those and definitely took them for granted when I had a closet full and could just throw on whatever I felt like. Now it's a 30 minute process of elimination until I go back to one of 3 things that are currently comfortable. How did I forget about these really uncomfortable "not ready for maternity clothes but definitely NOT fitting into those pants" days?
4. for having a lot to look forward to :) Now that September has rolled around, we have a lot of fun things going on this month (family visiting, going to visit family, friends visiting, BSF (bible study) starting,  etc) and with Fall (my favorite season) just around the corner there are just lots of fun things to look forward to!!
5. for feeling pretty good today!! Many women have a much worse first trimester than what I've had but mine has still not been a walk in the park. I'm thankful to be just days away from my second trimester and feeling pretty decent today.
6. for what God is doing in my heart. It's been a rough year for me in some ways but one thing that has been so clear to me is how faithful God is, regardless of what is going on. I feel like in the last couple weeks God has been speaking very clearly to me through His word and through one of my favorite books (My Utmost for His Highest) to show me what steps I need to take to continue to grow and heal and He has been revealing to me the things standing in my way (mostly things I've put in my way) of growth and healing. I'm just so thankful for how God works, for his faithfulness to us, and for His gentle yet firm way of guiding us to what is best.

"Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior" Isaiah 43:1-3