Gratitude

I'm nearly caught up - a post this morning & a post this evening and I will be back on track with Reverb.  I love yesterday's prompt: Appreciate. What's the one thing you have come to appreciate most in the past year? How do you express gratitude for it?


I have had SO much to be grateful for during the year 2010, but I think what I have "come to appreciate most" this year is the beautiful part of the body of Christ that I am blessed to belong to.  I have always loved my church - I've attended Fellowship since I was in 4th grade (except for the four years I lived in Kansas City) - but this year I have especially come to appreciate the specific people who are part of our lives because of our church.

I love these sweet girls (now in 7th grade, this was taken last year when I was pregnant) whose small group I've led for the past 3 years.  They would always tell me I was a 'cute pregnant lady' and now are so sweet with Liam. (My co-leader was headed to prom ... she didn't generally wear formals to church.)

I SO appreciate these sweet friends from church.  They threw a shower a few weeks before Liam was born, organized meals for us so I didn't have to cook for OVER A MONTH after he was born, and just recently gave me an amazing gift card to a local spa for my birthday!  Such precious generous girls!

I appreciated sweet friends like Becky & Martha ...

and Ginny & Matt, who came to hang out with us at the hospital and have been steady, constant friends and encouragers over the past several years.

I appreciate friends like the Benningtons, who had a baby close to the same time we did - it was so fun to have a friend to share pregnancy and new mommyhood with.  It helps so much to have someone else in your life who cares about things like a sleep schedules and feedings and making baby food.

I appreciate our community group (whom I apparently haven't done a good job of photographing - this pic of Alex w/Liam is the only one I have of anyone in our group.  Whoops.)  Our group has been so sweet to pray for us, encourage us, love on our boy, and be patient with us when he's fussing or stealing the show with his giggles and squeals during group.

What a gift to be able to stand in front of so many of these dear brothers and sisters, and so many more, to dedicate our son to the Lord.  I am so grateful that God has been so generous in granting us these relationships.