Happy Birthday, Dad!!!

So, today is the day my dad was born, 53 years ago! I love him to pieces, I really do! It's a super busy day, so I don't have the time to get into all the details of why right now, but you can check out what I've said about this amazing man in past posts here and here!

I will be going to my parents' house to celebrate as a family tonight. Yay!!!

Thanks & Praise!!!

I am a bit busy at the moment, but I thought I would give a quick update on Sleep. I know many have been praying for me about this for years now, and I am blessed to say that I SLEEP!! Sometimes with meds, and sometimes on my own, but I SLEEP!!! Oh, it is such. a. miracle.
Happy Monday!

No title for this one...

So. Much. Pain.

Today the pain is immeasureable. Truly. Not only that, but my heating pad is broken. Now I realize how trivial that must sound, but my heating pad is seriously just as vital to my existence as air. I always have it with me if I'm away from home for longer than an hour or so. Even at work. It is not only with me, but plugged in and on my tummy or the small of my back. And if not, I am wearing a disposable one. I need heat to function. Well, my heating pad is broken! Yes, broken. I've only had this one for a couple of months and the damn thing won't heat! Soooo irritating!

However, today ended up being quite a blessing. I was the recipient of an extremely kind and thoughtful gesture at work today (by a new patient), and I received wonderful news of God's faithfulness. I heard from someone I love dearly that I have been praying for for a LONG time, that God is answering those prayers! God is so good! Which brings me full circle back to the pain. It's pretty bad, and I'm even quite loopy on pain meds at the moment, and it's still really bad. But at the same time I can {confidently} say that God is faithful. He is always paying attention, and he always has a plan. The illness and pain I am suffering {for over a year now} is certainly not fun. It's extremely difficult, actually. But it is allowing me to see the beauty of God's grace, God's faithfulness, God's abundant love, and the perfection of his timing in a fresh way that I'm not sure would be so apparent if I were feeling better. So ironic but so true. So as I suffer on evenings such as these, I can trust that He has not forgotten me. He has a plan and that plan is *without flaws.* It. Is. Perfect.

Psalm 37:3-7

Trust in the LORD and Do Good.

Then you will live SaFeLy in the land and prosper.

Take delight in the LORD,

and he will give you your HeArT's desires.

Commit EvErYThInG you do to the LORD,

trust him and he will help you.

He will make your innocence RaDiAtE like the dawn,

and the justice of your cause will sHiNe like the noonday sun.

Be still in the PrEsEnCe of the LORD and wait patiently for him to act. Don't worry about evil people who prosper or fret about their wicked schemes.

~Day 30~

Thanksgiving Day!

I know I am a bit late with this post, better late than never, right?!

I am oh, so grateful for my family. They are not perfect, but they are my family. Thanksgiving Day was lots of fun, although we were missing my cousin Whitney {she was with her man's family}, we really had a great time! The turkey was soooo tasty and the time together was awesome.

After dinner we played Family Feud on the Wii. We played guys against ladies, and the guys won every round! Ugh. I must admit that I started to get seriously mad since I'm competetive and I hate losing! :) Then we spent the rest of the night bowling. I love that part of our Thanksgiving tradition! We eat, {some of us} nap, watch football, play games and go bowling! What's better for a night of family fun? We spend the dinner part just us and The Clark's, and at bowling we meet several other families we love. Very fun!

Thank you, Lord, for blessing me with such a fun family!

This "30 Days of Thanksgiving" has been really valuable for me. I didn't just do this for my blog, but I have been really foused, each day, on gratitude. It really changes your outlook on situations in life when you focus on what's positive. In some circumstances it can be hard to find the positive aspects or the blessing, but trust me; it is always there!!