Thankful

Have I ever expressed how much I love Thanksgiving? I really REALLY LOVE IT! Not because of the turkey- I actually would prefer a lot of other foods to turkey... Not because of the stuffing or the green bean casserole or even the pumpkin and french silk pies (GASP!). I love that, at Thanksgiving, anyone and everyone gathers around and shares in the awareness of all that we are blessed with in life. There are so SO many things that each of us have or receive that we could spend literally hours on end talking about them and being grateful. And the THINGS are really so insignificant in comparison to the PEOPLE and the relationships that we are blessed with throughout our lives. And the promise that we will always be satisfied in our Lord- is there enough thankfulness to even begin to cover that?

This year my Thanksgiving break was spent with two of my favorite groups of people. Trey and I ventured down to Yankton on Thursday to spend the day with his family. We were supposed to bring cheesy potatoes and I (or my Crockpot) somehow managed to ruin those... Luckily for us, the turkey wasn't done on time; we made some impromptu mashed potatoes upon arrival and everything was fine (WHOOFTA!). We got to sit around the table with the family and tell fun stories and reminisce on holidays of the past. Eventually, after the table was cleared and dishes were done, everyone made it to their respective sleeping spaces to take naps. When we all were up again some more quality time was spent in conversation while we sat on the couches in the upstairs family room before we had to head back to Sioux Falls for the night. It was a GOOD day. 

Friday morning we hit the road by 6:15 to head for Elk River. Trey and I traded off driving and napping on the way up, so the lack of sleep didn't seem so bad by the time we actually arrived. My family's second Thanksgiving was on Saturday. We got up early to stand outside by the trashcan (which is where dad cooks the turkey), with hoods up and coffee mugs in hand (not necessarily with coffee in them...). A hilarious home video was shared, along with some other comical YouTube videos, while the final touches of the meal were prepared by all. Gourds of all shapes, colors and sizes held name tags on the table for each person to know their chair. After the meal a card game commenced, with many comical moments throughout. Getting to enjoy food, games and much needed conversation with family is such a blessing in my life. The rest of the evening was spent playing games/watching movies with my nephew and returning to the table for another round of cards. To top it all off, I got to snuggle with Trey on the couch while we watched Dexter with the family. Perfect.

I like the definition of "thankful." 

thank·ful

1. Aware and appreciative of a benefit; grateful.

2. Expressive of gratitude: a thankful smile.

I like that the word aware is there. Because I think, too often, we do not spend time being aware of what we have, so we forget to be thankful for it. I guess, the way I interpret it, to increase our thankfulness throughout the year, we should increase our awareness. And then I love how the second definition includes expressive. We should not hide that we are grateful for life's blessings. We should share it in outward expression that we have been blessed beyond what we deserve. The fact that we know that we have the greatest blessing of all, the unwavering love and forgiveness of our God, is more than enough reason to give "a thankful smile." We should dance and sing and shout in gratefulness of all that we are given, not only this past week that surrounds Thanksgiving day, but always.

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend filled with celebration and reflection on all of your blessings. 

"Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for mankind, for he satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things." Psalm 107: 8-9

.hme.

Something for a wall

A few weeks ago, I was sitting, staring at a blank wall in the apartment. I began to feel a couple of things: 1. frustrated that the wall was completely bare, lacking a feeling of "home;" 2. inspired because I knew that I could come up with something to help the wall and make the living room more inviting. So, rather than stick with the frustrated feeling, I began brainstorming. Originally, I had no idea what I was going to do. I decided to run to Goodwill and see what I could find to re-purpose there. I wandered through the clutter and giggled to myself at some of the "stuff" around me. Then, I came across this board (I wish I took a picture of it before I did anything to it, because it was quite comical what was on it). The background was white, but it had a poem of some sort written on it in bright flourecent colors with goofy pictures titled "Love is Like Chocolate," (or something like that). Luckily, I chose not to be deterred by what was written on it. I knew that this board could be painted and turned into a wall hanging of some sort, so I splurged, spent the $6 to get it, and brought it home, very excited! I quickly picked up some dark brown paint and covered the silly poem. ;)

 

The blank canvas.

Once it was covered, I had a million and one ideas rushing through my brain of what this board could be. I decided to go with inspiration from a favorite Bible verse, Psalm 37:4, "Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart." Initially, the plan was to simply write this across the board, hang it on the wall and call it decoration. Simple, yet beautiful. I began playing with fonts on the computer adding and subtracting from the list of favorites. I debated between a horizontal and a vertical layout of my board... But I got bored with this idea. Instead, I decided to take it to the next level. This is what I came up with:
   



I decided to hand write the verse, using a paint pen, rather than printing it off the computer and using a perfect computerized font. Sometimes, I think that it is more fun to do things by hand. :) Also, rather than write the verse in a straight line (which definitely would have sufficed), I thought that I could add some energy to the board by varying text and location. I know that this is not a professional project by any means, but I am satisfied with how it turned out. The frames are some 50cent frames from Goodwill that I spray-painted gold. The pictures that are currently in the frames are all pictures of the sky that I or someone I know has taken.



Final product hanging in its place.



 

I hope to make many more of these, whether as gifts or for my own enjoyment. Who knows, maybe this one will be taken down and altered again someday, but for now, it will hang happily on the wall.

 

 

 

 

 

 Supplies List:

• 1 board- any size will do, dependent on the space you're working with.
• 1 2oz. bottle paint- used for the main color. Spray paint would also work. More or less may be necessary depending on the size of your board.
• 1 paint pen- choose a color that works well in your space and coordinates with the background color.
• a few small frames- I ended up using 4 of the 5 frames I got from Goodwill. Depending on the pictures you plan to display and the size of the board you may not be able to use as many.
• 1 can spray paint- I used gold to match the writing, but it would be fun to use a different color or even multiple colors for the frames.
• 1 bottle tacky glue- apply directly to the frames to ensure it is placed in the right spot.
• Pictures- various sizes depending upon your frames.

 

Happy creating! :-D