Choosing Gratitude.

Today, I am choosing gratitude. I am choosing to look at the life God has chosen to bless me with. Being that it is November, and a celebrated time of thankfulness... Here are a few things I am thankful for~

I'm thankful for blue-sky Sundays, rainy days where I can sleep in, stars splattered across the heavens, snowflakes, and rows and rows of mountains. I'm thankful for city skylines, breathtaking paintings, and friends who love Jesus and look out for me. I'm thankful for strong hugs hello and passionate hugs goodbye.
I'm thankful for the long teary nights when I write so much I see the first glimpse of sunrise. I'm thankful for music~ endless, magnificent, poignant music to match every mood. Life deserves a soundtrack, don't you think? I'm thankful for the fun, most wacky family a girl could have. I have parents who love each other and desire to please God, a talented brother who is such a gentleman, and a "sister" that lets me talk about the same things over and over.
I'm thankful for cell phones and emails, for calls and notes, and mixed CD's, even when life gets busy. I'm thankful for inside jokes I have with my best friends. I'm thankful for great plays, for my car, and the way Jillian yells at me JUST when I'm about to give up on the crunches.
I'm thankful I live in a place with such amazing doctors, wonderful education, and the freedom to worship the way I want. I'm thankful for my scars and freckles. I'm thankful for touching novels that I think about for weeks after I've turned the last page, movies with a purpose, and sweet poetry.
I'm thankful for random mall trips with my bff in the nursing program, old home movies, glasses and contact lenses. I'm thankful for water droplets that gather on the leaves, study breaks that end in a dance-off, and umbrellas and rainboots.
I'm thankful for singleness and the blessing that it brings. I'm thankful for Nate Edwardson, and his desire to let Jesus flow through his words every Sunday. I'm thankful for The Stirring, and how God is working in my sinful heart.
I'm thankful for people who challenge my thinking, people who inspire creativity, and people who make me laugh from my gut.
I'm grateful for democracy and freedom and for men and women who defend those rights. I'm thankful for green tea, cold days, and blasting music. I'm thankful for sleepy eyes, and the words "I Love You." I'm thankful for boys.
I'm thankful for sweatshirts and pea coats, leggings and stilettos. I'm thankful for soap and toothpaste, candles and nail polish.
I'm thankful for neon notecards, study buddies, and fleece blankets.

If thankfulness were a fireworks show, this would be the grand finale. I'm thankful for the indescribable love of a Sovereign God who is so involved in the lives of His girls. THAT'S the relationship that sets my heart and imagination on fire, that sets my feet to dancin, that shines a light on all my darkness, that fills me up with purpose, promise, and worth.
When change happens, He holds on to me. When tragedy comes out of nowhere, He holds onto me. In my most wonderful moments and in my most tragic moments, I'm safe in the arms of a God who will never let me go.
Because of Him, every moment matters. On this side of heaven, we'll have to swim through used cliches and adjectives to try and explain God's glory. Maybe that's for the best. Where words fail, we can can love, serve, and live lives that resonate that crazy beautiful love.
I can't think of a better way to explain what He means to me than by living a life sold out for Him. The way we impact the world will never be through having the most amazing car, the most gorgeous dress, or the most celebrity-packed party the world has ever seen. The way we impact the world will come from the time we spend with Him~ in His Word, in worship, in prayer~ and how we allow His all-consuming love to change our hearts. The way we love and serve other people (especially those who can do absolutely nothing for us in return) changes everything.

Paul writes about Thankfulness in several places. In Colossians 2:7, he instructs the church to be "overflowing with thankfulness." Paul had as much reason as anybody to find something to complain about, but he seemed to find true freedom and closeness with God when he acknowledged how God was working in his life.
I don't think God is put off when we wrestle with disappointment and frustration. True gratefulness doesn't have to be an obnoxious, over-the-top optimism. It doesn't mean we won't grieve through legitimate heartbreaks and hard times. Living in gratefulness does make us more keenly aware of how God is working.

Being grateful people helps us to get over ourselves and get caught up in what He's doing all around us.

I am choosing gratitude.