Thankfulness Over Bitterness

To say the weather in Kansas City has been cold for the past week is an understatement.  I have never experienced this kind of weather in my entire life and although I'm making an effort I really can't say that I like it yet.  On Monday, I drove in snow for the first time.  After the two hour trip to work with snow all over the interstate I was not in the best mood.  Long story short, I was so traumatized that I didn't attempt to make the drive again until Thursday morning.  *Thank you to my sweet friend at work who lives nearby and offered to drive me to and from work most of the week.*
So, Thursday morning I realized that I was not the only one who doesn't like this weather...my car battery apparently couldn't stand it either.  I went outside and got in my car ready to face the roads and head in to work when I was met with a D.E.A.D. battery.  After sitting in my car and thinking that if I sat there long enough it would decide to crank, I called Jared.  He was asleep in our warm bed and came downstairs without question to help me out-he is the best!  After a few minutes we surrendered to the fact that my car wouldn't crank and he drove me to work (about an hour, round-trip).  He was so sweet and never complained or had a negative thing to say.  I, on the other hand, had nothing but negative things to say.  All I could think was that I hated the weather and I wasn't built for this kind of cold, and anything else I could find to whine about I did.  I let this get me down ALL day.  It wasn't until we were getting a new battery later that night that I realized how terrible my attitude had been. I was missing out on God using this situation to show me how blessed we are.  Once I stopped being a brat I realized the things God was showing me throughout the day.  Here is my "thank you" list, and it continues to grow as I think about the day...

1. Thank you for a coat that kept me warm while I was trying to make my car crank.
2. Thank you for a husband who is my helper and doesn't complain or ask questions when I wake him up out of a warm bed.
3. Thank you for a job where my coworkers care about me and help me out without me even asking.
4. Thank you for blessing Jared and I with the means to buy a new car battery without stressing out over the cost.
5. Thank you for a husband who knows how to fix things on cars so that we didn't have to pay a repairman to replace my battery.
6. Thank you for bringing us to Kansas City and showing us new things that we probably would not have experienced where we were.
7. Thank you for the memories You are giving us.

It's always easy to be bitter when your day starts off differently than the way you expected, but if you try to find the blessings and silver linings you will.
Have a great week everyone!!

Blessings beyond measure

...That is exactly what our new life together has been.  From finding a wonderful church to finding jobs and beyond.  Since the day we moved to Kansas City, God has done nothing but show us His abundant love and His hand over our lives and I can't stay quiet about it any longer.  I have to tell everyone!  We serve such a wonderful God who gives us more than we could ever ask or want for.  Please don't get me wrong, I'm not naive about the world and I definitely don't claim to have a perfect life, but the imperfections and obstacles that life can throw at us are made perfect through the hope that we find in Christ. 

I want to use this blog to share our lives with our friends who can't be here with us to see it happening...and I want to keep up with my writing since all I do is look at numbers all day long.  We are having such a blast in Kansas City and even though we miss home we are just loving every minute of being together.  Thank you for keeping us in your prayers, we can feel them every single day!!  Stay tuned for more...trust me, I have lots to tell!