Top Ten Tuesday – Thankful

Hello my reader friends. Welcome to Top Ten Tuesday, hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. Today’s topic is Thankful/Thanksgiving Freebie. Would you believe this was a hard one to figure out for me? There’s not a lot of Thanksgiving books that I’ve read. There’s a lot of books with food in them, but I didn’t want to go there either. And so, on this TTT, I’m simply going to list ten things I’m thankful for. I think sometimes it’s ok to step away from the bookish stuff and insert real life. 🥰

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10 Things I’m Thankful For

1. Jesus – without Him I would have no life. I would have no hope. He has done so much for me over the years, listened to every prayer, dried my eyes, and oh so much more. Words will never be enough to convey how thankful I am that He died on the cross for me – I don’t deserve it and yet He did it anyways.
2. My family – Growing up my dream was to be a wife and mother. I wanted lots of kids running around, and of course I wanted a happily ever after. And while reality doesn’t always match your dream – I do have a husband that I love dearly and a daughter that I simply adore. She’s my best friend other than my husband. When the three of us are together (which is hard now that my daughter lives in Virginia), my heart is full.
3. Church – I don’t just mean my local church, though I am thankful for it. I mean the entire body of believers. The Christ followers I meet online and have discussions with. Pray with and for. The missionaries that are sharing the gospel around the world. The church body as a whole is amazing and I’m so thankful to be a part of it.
4. Books – Like I could make a list without including books hehe. Honestly though – I just am so thankful for all the books out there, which in turn means I’m thankful for the authors that write them. They are an escape for me. But they also teach, convict, encourage, and oh so much more.
5. The Bookish Community – I have made so many friends in the bookish community and I cannot tell you how much that means to me. I live in small town America. There are no clean book clubs, not a lot of people I can chat with about books (the area I live in is pretty liberal and the reading choices are not stuff I would read). And so this online community has really helped my bookish soul.
6. Peanut butter – Those who know me well knew this would make the list. Gosh I love peanut butter. Like just grab a spoon and eat it (crunchy only guys) love. Favorite candy – peanut butter cup. Though I love the holiday version better, there’s more peanut butter in them. Ha!
7. Christmas – I love all things Christmas and I am so thankful that I get to enjoy it. The lights, the songs, the movies, the everything. Of course, the most important is celebrating the birth of Jesus. But I also like seeing men and women becoming a little more warm and welcoming, more giving in nature. I love love love doing for others this time of year. This year we really can’t do much because of finances, and it’s really affecting me. But I’m trying to focus on the true meaning of it all – a little baby who would one day become the man who sacrifices it all for us.
8. My cats – We have three cats – a black girl, orange boy, and a grey/white boy. They can sometimes be annoying, but so can I so I think that’s fair lol. They just bring so much laughter into our home. So much joy. And my grey/white one is a snuggle bug, and that’s my favorite thing to do.
9. Music – I am a HUGE music person. I love all kinds of music too. I love to sing, play my clarinet, worship, dance, everything. Music helps my soul. It can cheer me up, cry with me, encourage me, draw me closer to the Lord, and yes even convict me. Music is a big part of my life.
10. The Country Life – I mentioned before I live in small town America. I’m technically outside of town. My house sits back aways from the road and is surrounded by trees, a swamp, and there’s a river a little ways down the road. I only have one neighbor – my sister in law and her family – and our houses have a pretty big space in between them that’s divided by a row of giant pine trees. We have privacy here, and lots of nature. Birds of all kinds, rabbits, butterflies, bobcats, coyotes, fox, deer, possums, skunks. We had a wolf on our property once. It was absolutely gorgeous. Whenever I see a wild animal I just sit there and stare at it for the longest time. Always wishing I had my camera to snap a good pic. But I’ve got a mental pic and that’s ok. I love seeing all the animals God created. Except snakes. Our cats like to pick them up and fling them around and it makes me cry out like a little girl lol. But other than that, I enjoy looking at all the amazing wildlife we get to see living in the country.

So what about you? What are you thankful for?