Blessed!

I am blessed. As I was folding laundry this morning I realized how much we have. More than we need really.

Clothing - we've got more than enough. Time to stop wanting more of it. Much of it is old, but still functional, and with care, still attractive. J has more clothes than he can possible wear thanks to the generosity of hand-me-downs! Andy and I have plenty to keep us warm this winter, in part because we have cared for it, it part because it has been gifted to us from family members. We are covered!

Housing - ours is totally adequate, including extra rooms for guests and activities. Clean water, no leaks in the roof, shelter from the wind and cold. Time to stop feeling like it needs something more. We are considering abandoning the upstairs and moving our sleeping to the basement for the winter because it is warmer down there (the main source of heat for the house is down there). Our bedrooms are beautiful, with wonderful views out walls of windows, but that means they are also cold, and we want to avoid having to heat them. But what a blessing that we have energy saving options.

Transportation - we've got a very reliable new car and a pretty reliable truck. Gasoline is a precious commodity, even with the recent decrease in prices, and we need to be responsible in our use, but never once have we not been able to get it when we needed it.

Relationships - those are probably more important to the things listed above, and we've got those. We have first and foremost relationships with Jesus, bringing assurance that we are loved and cared for and have hope for the future. And through Him we have steady loving relationships with each other and members of our church family and our biological family. Because these relationships are with people they are not always perfect, but because we have relationship with Jesus, there is hope and healing. That is the beauty of life!

And we have so much more!

Times are tough and might be that way for awhile. I don't know the future. I have a tendency to want to know it. I'm learning to let tomorrow take care of itself and to realize that today is working out quite well, and for that I need to be thankful.

Have a great day!