Hey, this thing actually works! Seven Gratitudes, vol. 4
Round four of "Seven Gratitudes" is already here. Wasn't it just Christmas yesterday? Between Epiphany, snowfall, classes beginning, and things picking up here at For the Birds, January has swiftly flown.
I am thankful, however, for these weekly gratitude check-ins. Four weeks of 2017 seem that much more believable when I can look back on the sparks and crackles of grace--in my life and those of my friends. (This gratitude thing actually works! haha!)
Blessings upon you, gentle reader. May you find yourself graced and strengthened through the practice of gratitude, seven quick thanksgivings at a time.
This week I am grateful for:
1
SCHOOL ADMINISTRATORS WHO HELP ME PLAN, FIGURE, AND SCHEME.
Praise God for people who know how to get things done. And how things ARE done. And how to help ME get things done. :) Blessed are the savvy paperwork-navigators, the inventive proposal-makers, and the adept transcript-auditors--for they shall see equipped ministers into the world!
I made some significant shifts in my degree schedule this week that will help me be best prepared for whatever comes next for the Coyle-Carrs. The administrators--faculty AND staff--at Wake Divinity encircled me with clever ideas, compassionate understanding, and precise directives to help me achieve what I have set out to do.
Extremely thankful for their time, patience, wisdom, and creativity.
2
my lover's arms.
"His left arm is under my head, and his right arm embraces me."
Song of Songs 2:6
There is no other place I feel more at home, more wanted, more cherished, more protected, more seen, more known--
3
free food.
Can I get an amen?! This bunch* is leftover from community lunch today at school. There's Carrot-Parsnip Soup, Quinoa & Rice Blend, ROLLS, and Fresh Arugula Salad.
Thankful for the ways I am nourished through the sharing of abundance.
*A note about those plastic baggies: The amount of leftover food surprised me today. I found myself at school with only a water bottle and a coffee thermos--neither suitable to carry food! When it comes down between being rigidly zero-waste and not wasting food, imma choose NOT WASTING FOOD every time. I have a plan for those baggies now, too. They'll be washed and reused til they can't be. And NEXT community lunch? I'll be taking my own containers--JUST in case, you know?
4
a skype date with my best friend.
Kelli and I got to chat for a hot minute this week, which was so good for my being.
We live just about as far from one another as we possibly could be and still both live in the USA. ha! But when you're friends--best friends, bosom buddies, kindred hearts--distance don't mean a thing. Except airfare.
These pictures throwback to November 2014--before many blessed things, a couple tragic things, and more than a few adventurous things happened to each of us and our beloveds. Thankful to walk with my dearest friend, come what may--2,700 miles aside.
5
mac'n'cheese.
Do I really need to explain this? Prolly not. And, anyway, if I get started listing the comfort-food merits of mac' there may be no end. I mean, it's basically my love language. So. I'm just going to assume that you understand. <3
6
snailmail from granny & poppy.
These are people who have been alive since the 1920s. And they see fit to send us love notes with "a little something to tide you over." If I think too long about them, my life as it stands starts to make less and less sense. Why don't I live next door to G &P? Why am I not at their table everyday, learning wisdom for life over round after round of dominos?
They believe in me, though, these people from a different era. These people who have seen it all. Who worked in a mill their whole lives, World War II and babies excepting. They want me to "get that education" and remember that "there's time, doll"--don't rush or settle.
There is no end to gratitude when it comes to my great-grandparents. Or their mail.
7
New sneakers.
I grew up wearing Keds, be-bopping around. :)
I purchased these (on sale!) out of my school budget this month because I do A LOT of walking around campus. My feeling is that Keds land somewhere nice between the super-serious gym-vibe of the athletic shoe and the toe-pinching fabulous-ness of the ballet flat.
Thankful for the chance to take better care of my feet and feel more pulled together.
Seven Gratitudes Link-Up
If you would like to join in on this weekly practice of gratitude and chicanery, grab yourself a button and link up with us here every Friday morning of 2017.
HOW TO:
- Write a listicle about your seven gratitudes each week.
- Publish your piece with a link back to my blogpost on Friday mornings.
- And then link up with the form at the bottom of the page.