25 Things I'm Thankful For

On my 25th birthday I felt it only appropriate to list 25 things I’m thankful for on this sweet day.

1) I said it before and I’ll say it again and again and again, I’m thankful (which is the least I can say) for my Savior. The more I grow in knowledge of Him and His love for me, the more I realize my absolute need and dependence on Him. He is life!

2) A family that loves me. And makes sure I know it.

3) Roommates that sacrifice plans and their time to eat dinner with me and that decorated my bathroom with words, streamers, flowers and cards when I woke up. So fun!

4) Best friends that call, text and email to make sure I've had the best day.

5) Co-workers that take me to lunch and make me laugh so incredibly hard. I work with some of the funniest people!

6) Facebook. Seriously, y'all! I think having a birthday on facebook is one of the funnest things ever. From the second I woke up, until present time, my email inbox has been flooded with facebook notifications. There are too many to even try to count and I feel extremely loved and blessed.

7) This goes along with facebook, but I'm a words girl so every tweet, email, text, phone call and comment blessed my heart beyond measure. I'm not just saying that! Words are my number one love language, which explains why I feel so very loved. Thank you to EVERY single person who blessed me with their words today. I cherish every last one of them.

8) A good hair day. (Hey, a girl's gotta have good hair on her birthday, duh!)

9) Lots of laughter. It is so good for my soul. And for yours. You should try it sometime. :)

10) Co-workers, again, that decorated my office with random King Dollar treasures. We keep them in business monthly. The best? Bob Harper made yet another appearance. He's so sweet like that to make birthday calls.

11) YOU! My blog friends! How can I ever thank you for your constant encouragement and kind words? I'm so thankful for each and every one of you. I mean it.

12) Funny waiters at dinner that give me stickers that say, "Don't hate me because I'm beautiful." And that also smash my face in whip cream. No lie. Thank you for making my 25th birthday dinner a memorable one.

13) Sweet friends that allow me to believe it's my birthday month. Or at least week. ;)

14) Today was the last day of school for most folks. Can we get some praise? It's officially summer and I'm excited and thankful. Summer means more time with our students! And camp! And mission trips! And fun outings! A lot of folks were celebrating today.

15) Prayer warriors. People that say they pray for me, then actually do it and tell me. Is there anything sweeter? I long to be more like them.

16) BFF's that I've had for life. That know me inside and out and care about me. Is there anything sweeter?

17) Food. I'm pretty sure I ate my way through my birthday but should I expect less?!

18) A God that knows my heart and desires.

19) A God that is always working things out behind the scenes, even if I feel sometimes He's forgotten about me. And not just working things out, but working them out for good.

20) My sweet young girls that I have the opportunity of serving and loving. They keep me constantly on my toes and challenge me to love Jesus better and pursue Him with everything I have. My prayer is that my love for Jesus would be contagious and that they would catch it and run with it for His namesake.

21) A mother, who 25 years ago, endured pain I can't imagine (she went au natural) and still loves me despite it. ;) And even loves me when I'm not the most loving person to be with.

22) A dad who constantly encourages me and makes me feel beautiful and worthy of love and desires only the best for his only daughter.

23) Two brothers that love and protect me and make me laugh until I toot. It's true. Just being honest! (I feel so sorry for my future husband and the grilling that will, not might, occur.)

24) My health! I'm so thankful for 25 years the Lord has spared me from any huge illnesses. That's a blessing in itself!

25) Today. Another day to pursue after Christ. A fresh perspective. He's not finished with me yet and I don't want to miss what He does have for me. It's so great I know I can't imagine it, even though I try to every minute of every day. Our God is so great and merciful. I'm thankful for that.