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How are you doing with keeping up with my posts. Lately it has been tough to get some time to write. My older boys are now on their Thanksgiving vacation and they have already enjoyed a sleep over at grandmas. They got to play games until late at night and were up by 4:30 am playing with toys. I know grandma wasn’t. Then they were making memories making peppernuts (a traditional German dessert for Christmas) and many fun moments with grandma. I love school breaks when we can do different things beside the daily running from here to there. So today I will touch a little bit on what knowledge I am thankful for but I really want to talk about how I get through the breaks from school.

I love having my kids home from school, well most of the time. No I am not one of those moms that can’t wait for them to return. But i do see the value in having them home. I hope we can have a lot of fun during this break. I already have several things planned. I really want to enjoy the outdoors while it is so warm still. This week is supposed to be in the 50’s. I also really want to have times of drawing. We love this you tube channel called art for kids hub. Its a father who sits down with his kids and draws with them. The pictures W has made from watching and learning through these videos are amazing. I would love to have a time when we just sit down and draw together. In order for me to keep my whits I need to have my house in order so I hope to have periods of cleaning times to just keep up on it. So many times things begin to get overwhelming and then I start yelling and getting frustrated with my kids. That is something I do not want to do. I am also planning to have lots of time for playing and hopefully minimal tv and tablet time. But hey it may turn into tablet time to survive. Who knows. But having all my kids home requires flexibility. I love them all dearly and I have many hopes for the way this time will turn out but number one is to keep my cool and relax and have fun with all the kids. After all they are only little for a very short time of their lives.

Thankfulness day 17 asks what knowledge I am thankful for? I would have to say I am thankful for the knowledge of the Bible. There are so many people in the world who do not have Bibles. In some  places it is illegal to have a Bible. I am thankful for the ability to read the Bible but the fact that I can go to the store and buy one or two or two hundred. We are so blessed in America and I don’t want to take for granted the freedom we have so we can receive the knowledge of the Bible. There is so much richness and love in the Bible and I am just really grateful to be able to read it and study it but also be able to live it out.

The thankfulness verse for today is Psalm 28:7 The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and he helps me. My heart leaps for joy, and with my song I praise him.

Signing off from one woman to another,

Jenny Wren

I know I have missed the 15th. Sometimes life gets in the way of the fun things like writing my blog. Yesterday I got involved in doing some office work I hadn’t done all year. So therefore priorities fell into check. So here is My thankfulness post for yesterday and I will add today’s post to give you a 2 for one.

Thankfulness day 15

What season are you grateful for? I think I may have covered what season is my favorite. The smell of fall I just love. But I really am grateful for the promise of spring. Spring is a reminder of new life. Everything that died in fall and became dormant in winter is starting to be reborn in spring. Spring is the time that the dead cold temperatures of winter begin to change and the sun warms longer and closer to the earth. Spring brings for the dormant bulbs that have been waiting for the chance to poke through the cool soil. Spring brings the buds on the trees that add so much beauty and promise of the leaves to come. Today as the sun is shining and warm I know winter will still set in, but during the times of winter when the cold drags, on we always have the promise that spring is coming.

It seems to me through these posts I have been really reflective of what God has done for us. Thinking about spring is no different. When I think of spring I picture the promise of Jesus’ return. I think about how when life drags on, sort of like winter, I need to stay focused on what Jesus promised, that he would return.  I love this analogy because Spring does always come. plants are reborn and become new. Like plants life has been reborn and we will become new when Jesus returns or he calls us home first.

Thank you Lord for the promise of heaven and the promise of a new life. Thank you for spring and bringing us new life in the plants around us. Thank you that we can see the spring and remember that you have promised a new life for each of us, if we choose to give our life to you.  In Jesus Name, Amen

Thankfulness 16

So today’s thankfulness post is supposed to be on what about my body am I thankful for. Now I can see doing this within your own heart and thinking about something to be thankful for. But as a blog I am going to change this up a little bit.

So here’s my revised question. What about yourself are you thankful for? Not specifically your body.

I am thankful for my ability to be strong and find my strength in Christ through hard situations. This has gotten me through some very difficult times in my life. Its actually not my ability at all, but through the Holy Spirit this has been brought to me by his indwelling. He has gotten me through tough times in life. I am thankful that through each hard situation I am able to grow and become a better person.

Thankfulness scriptures for the 15th and 16th

Psalm 105:1 Give praise to the Lord, proclaim his name; make known among the nations what he has done. 

Colossians 4:2 Devote yourself to prayer, being watchful and thankful.

Signing off from one woman to another,

Jenny Wren

What sight are you thankful for? Sight? The sights of Christmas. The children’s faces lighting up as we drive around town looking at the Christmas lights. The sights of the different decorations as we prepare for Christmas. The sight of all the food that we lay out on our Christmas table. The sight of baby Jesus, as we see the renditions of the manger scene. The sight of Jesus coming to live on earth for all man kind to be saved.

I love watching the awe of a child as the Christmas season begins. The tree and decoration go up and there are many squeals and shrieks. We begin reading Jothams journey, a book for advent, that tells of a boys journey to find Jesus and the manger. My kids don’t want me to stop reading. It is hard to pull even myself away from the exciting story. Children add a new kind of wonder to the Christmas season. They can’t wait for Christmas morning to come, but they also are excited to hear about the gift we received through baby Jesus.

Some of the best memories are made during the holidays. You get to see the children as the newness of each sight comes to them. Their eyes light up with awe and wonder. Warmth fills my heart as all our family gathers and we watch the fun that is had between cousins and family. Christmas is a special sight to behold.

It can also be a hard sight. The feelings of someone that isn’t in your sights, someone who has gone before. Sometimes this overshadows the joyful sights. The memories of Christmas’s spent together fill your mind, with the sight of this missing person. I don’t want to forget that sometimes the holiday sights are hard for people. This year especially might prove to be hard for me and some of my family members.

As I set my sights on Christmas, I don’t want to loose sight of the important things during this time, Baby Jesus. But not only the baby but the reason. Lets not forget that the reason we celebrate is because God had his sights set on us as he sent his son to earth as a baby to eventually serve and die for all the sin of the world. Thank You Lord for having ME in your sights and each person in the world. WOW! Now that’s something to be thankful for.

Isaiah 9:6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

The scripture for today is Psalm 69:30 I will praise God’s name in song and glorify him with thanksgiving.

If you don’t fully know Christ and the sacrifice he gave us, don’t wait. What better time than now to give your life over to Christ? He has given so much for you and me. If you want to know Jesus who came for us all, please ask me. Please don’t wait. He loves you and wants you to lay down everything and follow him. His arms are open for you to run into.

Signing off from one woman to another,

Jenny Wren.

What abilities are you thankful for? I guess going off of yesterday’s post, I am thankful for the ability to cook. This is something that has been passed down from my mom and both my grandma’s. I love to cook. Some people may have the ability to cook but they don’t have the love for it. When I sit down and think of a meal to fix for my family I think of how they will enjoy it. I think of which ones like it and which ones may give us a hassle in eating it. I think about how I can make it appealing to most, but hopefully all of them.

I have always found joy in cooking. When I was a kid I used to love helping my mom cook in the kitchen. As I grew older I worked in a camp kitchen for the summer and I really enjoyed helping the head cooks with the preparation of the meal. From there I was a head cook at a Christian boarding school cooking for about 120 people each day. I loved it. I liked making menu’s, I liked making the food and receiving compliments for the cooking. I loved serving the kids and building relationships with them as I cleaned up and they helped me out.

When I lived on my own for that year I liked inviting people over to serve food to. I liked having parties with friends. Cooking brings people together and I love having people gathered in my house and cooking for them. Over the years of our marriage the novelty of cooking hasn’t ever worn off. I love fixing food for my family and giving them well rounded healthy meals. I like to make food ahead of time and I like to try to cut down the cooking as much as I can. lets face it you can still love cooking but find short cuts to make it to go faster. I love inviting friends over to share a meal with them. If I could have extra people at my house every night I probably would.

So today and with Thanksgiving coming soon and the time is coming for me to use this ability more. I am so thankful for the ability God gave to me to cook, but also the love he instilled in me. But just so you know, no judgement if you don’t like to cook, that is why there is Russel Stover and good old Betty Crocker. We all have the days and years and even lifetimes that cooking is too much. Totally do what is good for you and your family. I love you all and even your frozen bought lasagna.

Today’s verse of the day is Psalm 118:1-8 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever. Let Israel say: “His love endures forever.”  Let the house of Aaron say: “His love endures forever.” Let those who fear the Lord say: “His love endures forever.” When hard pressed, I cried to the Lord; he brought me into a spacious place. The Lord is with me; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me? The Lord is with me; he is my helper. I look in triumph on my enemies. It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in humans.

YES LORD!!!!

Signing off from one woman to another,

Jenny Wren.

What texture are you thankful for? That’s a weird one. This might take me a little while to think about.

I love baking bread. I like seeing the yeast proof and start to blossom, telling me its ready for the flour. I love adding the flour to make the exact consistency for the perfect dough. I love watching it raise and start falling over the bowl because the yeast is so active. I love kneading the bread and getting my hands dirty with dough. I really love the whole process of baking bread.

Over the years I have not always been so great at making bread. I have had many flops. But I have also taught many people the right way to make homemade bread. There is a correct way to do it and there is a perfect science to soft rich bread or rolls.

Growing up my mom always could whip up a batch of bread in a jiffy. She made homemade cinnamon rolls to die for. She even had my dad (Her ex-husband) steeling them from my brother in-law on a day of hunting, they were so good and sought after. She made pepperoni bread rolls that would be devoured in no time at our family dinners. she always made homemade pizza. Each Christmas we would have homemade cinnamon rolls in the morning and homemade dinner rolls. In fact we never needed a holiday for her to do this, just the family gathering.  I also remember bowls of bread dough raising in my grandmas living room on the furnace. She would put them in the Tupperware bowl and burp the air so when the dough was ready it would pop the lid off. Then she would bake loaf after loaf of bread. They would be given to all her children and I am sure many church members received Kathy’s homemade bread. She also made us mini loaves for the grand daughters. Her homemade bread toasted with her strawberry freezer jam is a taste I still crave today… oh but wait, we are on texture HAHA I guess that was a rabbit trail or maybe I want some of grandmas bread and strawberry jam YUM!  🙂

I guess that’s where I get the love for having my hands in bread dough. There really is a certain texture to bread dough and a certain feel to the right consistency. But I certainly do love it. Time to make me some bread dough to get my hands into.

The thankfulness scripture for today is Heb 12:28,29 Therefore since we are receiving a kingdom that can not be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire.

signing off from one woman to another,

Jenny Wren.

Happy veterans day to all the service men and women.  Thank you for your service.  Thank you also to the families of the veterans who also sacrifice so much for our freedom. I just want to shout out to all of you.

Holidays are really the best time of year. As a child you live in anticipation of Christmas for months. The other day KS got our first snow of the year and during school the students said because it was snowing it was Christmas. As a parent Christmas is a really fun time of year too. I love giving my kids gifts and seeing the smiles on their faces and the light in their eyes. Last year I gave D a huge sombrero I bought in mexico. It was an exciting Christmas. Sometimes holidays can be pretty tough. Tough reminders of family members who have gone on without us. This Christmas might be especially hard with the absence of my mom. There is an empty place at the table for thanksgiving, there is an empty seat watching thekids open their gifts. Holidays can also be a reminder of hard years of a bad marriage, some people shut down for the holidays.

I love holidays too for the memories I have. I remember coming down stairs to piles of presents. I remember the excitement and wonder of Christmas. But as an adult I like Christmas because it is the time Jesus came into the world as a human to save us all from our sin. But Christmas is not where it stops. Easter is often overlooked because of the Easter bunny. But the death and resurrection of Christ is the most important holiday to remember. This is where he gave His life for us to live forever. Easter was when we see the miracle of Jesus resurrection into heaven and being alive again. Easter is my favorite because it brings me back to the sacrifice He gave for me on the Cross. Christmas is a joyous time with lots of happiness and wonder. The miracle of a virgin birth, the lowliness of the stable birth. the story of sacrifice of Joseph for Mary and the baby.  Then we come to Easter and this wonder and joy is brought back to reality of our sin and what he gave up for you and me. But Easter also doesn’t stop at the death. It also brings the miracle and promise of his coming and his forgiveness for my sin and your sin. Easter defines my salvation. It is the reason for it.

Today’s thankfulness scripture is Colossians 3:16 Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts.

This verse says Let the message of Christ dwell among you. I believe the message of Christ is the message of Easter.  Rom 10:9 If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

Thank you Jesus for your sacrifice and giving your life for mine. I pray that I could live in this memory of Easter and what you did for me more. I pray that I would let the message of Christ dwell among me richly. In Jesus Name, Amen.

Signing off from one woman to another,

Jenny Wren.

10 days of thankfulness. How is it going? Are you developing habits of looking at different things in a different light? I sure am. I knew that being thankful and saying or writing the things I am thankful for would change my perspective. I knew I would have to dig deep to sometimes be thankful. As life blasts on at light speed, I knew it would be hard to sit and write the things I am thankful for. Taking time away to sit and think about the thing I am thankful for, following this really strange list. Today is no different. What taste are you thankful for?

As a mom, not all tastes are very good. One time as J and I were having a tea party she dipped her tea sandwich in the tea and gave me a bite. I didn’t realize that it was a soggy sandwich until after I took the bite. Yikes that was not a pleasant taste of soggy sandwich.

Narrowing a taste down is pretty difficult. But really the taste I look forward to every day is the taste of my coffee. Life doesn’t seem like it can go forward without it. When I awake I crave that smell and that taste.

When I was a kid (well actually a teenager) I spent many days at my Aunts house. She always had a pot of coffee on. As a younger teenager I developed the love for the taste of coffee and as I spent more time at my aunts house I always had a cup and if I didn’t, she made sure I did. It was laden with lots of french vanilla creamer and filled with all kinds of calories a teenager burns quickly.

As I grew older my love for coffee never changed. I had coffee with hot chocolate mixed in. I had coffee with cream and sugar. When I first got married and a Keurig became popular, I used chocolate caramel creamer to make an ice coffee. It certainly was to die for.

Sometimes I was so tired in the morning, coffee was the only that helped me to move forward. I was in a constant newborn daze for about 5 years of my life of being a mom, I had a sleepy haze on my face all the time. Once I started my health journey,  my energy levels increased and I know when I have not followed my eating plan correctly because I am tired. Coffee always seems to bring a smile to my face, joy to my heart, and warmth through ,my body. YUM! Thank the Lord for coffee.

When I had my third son I quit coffee cold turkey. This lasted for awhile. I started my health journey and began to try bullet proof coffee and it stuck. I now do not use the sugar, calorie laden coffee creamer and I changed the way I take my coffee all together. If you have never tried a bullet proof coffee it is delicious. With a few extra ingredients, I make a coffee that tastes like a professional latte every morning.

The scripture for today is Psalm 106:1 Praise the Lord. Give thanks to the Lord for he is good; his love endures forever.

Powerful scripture here. The Lord is good, give thanks to him! I love it!

Lord Jesus help me to give thanks to you more often and through my entire day. Lord show me how to teach my children to live in constant praise of what you have done for us. In Jesus Name, Amen.

Signing off from one woman to another,

Jenny Wren.

 

I’ve heard some feedback on how people are enjoying these blogs. I am so thankful for my readers and the people who have chosen to follow. I am also thankful for the people who have chosen to do this challenge with me. Keep up the good work. I hope you are enjoying this thankfulness journey as much as I am. Lets continue on this ride together!

Today we are asked to think of one place we are thankful for. Right away when I read this I knew what I was going to write.

Close your eyes with me and imagine this:

Your surrounded by gorgeous green mountains, Your floating in the middle of a spectacular lake the color of emeralds. the breeze if blowing gently and all you hear is the splashing of the waves against the boat. You feel the warm sunshine beating down on your face and close your eyes from the brightness. Did you put on sunscreen? Well you had better get it on because you won’t even know your getting burned because of the amazing weather you don’t even realize.

Sometimes you just go to the middle of the lake and just float, but lots of time you go camping on the many different islands around the 30 mile stretch of lake. This was our favorite thing to do when we lived in upstate New York.  We even wrote a song about Lake George during one weekend of camping. It pretty much sums up the Lake.

Sung to the tune of Home, Home on the Range.

Lake George is the place, where you fall on your face, and the water cold freeze you to death.

You could ski or could swim, but you wouldn’t want to go in, to the freezing could waters of Lake George.

Home home at Lake George, Where the mosquito’s gorge on your blood, Where its 50 degrees below zero and you with you brought a hero, to the freezing cold waters of Lake George.

It certainly doesn’t paint the picture of Lake George that I have in my head, It certainly was fun writing it when we were camping one weekend. I guess it shows we were probably only about 10 or 12. What a great memory about Lake George that I have.

So as you can tell, Lake George is the place I am thankful for.

The thankfulness verse for today is 1 Thess. 5:18 give thanks in all circumstance; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

Yikes, this is certainly a hard verse to follow. Give thanks in all circumstances. When my car breaks down, Give thanks. When my mother dies, give thanks. When my children won’t cooperate, give thanks. When my marriage isn’t going good, give thanks. When life is just hard, give thanks.

If you give thanks during difficult situations it certainly cuts down on the complaining and the bad attitude that puts you into an ungrateful spirit and a spirit of negativity. I think that is why it tells us to give thanks in all circumstances. We naturally go toward complaining and feeling sorry for ourselves. But if we are replacing our negative, complacent, woe is me attitude with thankfulness, There is no room for those b=negative attitudes.

Well that turned out to be more of a sermon than I planned for. But i am certainly preaching to the choir. I definitely need for thanksgiving in my life. That is the exact reason I decided to write this thankfulness blog.

Signing off from one woman to another,

Jenny Wren.

When I saw the thing I was supposed to be thankful for today I knew it might be hard. Some of these are hard to think of just one thing. Today is no different. Think of one, only one memory I am thankful for. This is a nearly impossible task. But this being said I think I will try to narrow it down to just one thing.

Legacy. Legacy is what follows you when you have gone from this world. Sometimes peoples legacy are that of anger and negativity. Sometimes people are remembered for their earthy accomplishments like the awards they won or the levels of society they climbed to. Sometimes a legacy is left that is honorable and sometimes it is that of something that people would rather not remember.

I think about my mom and the legacy that she left. She did not live a glamorous life. She never won awards that left her name in the spot light. But what she did leave was a legacy of love and this is the memory I am so thankful for today. It is what drives me to be a better mom, friend and wife. It drives me to hand the 5 dollar bill to the person on the street,  without asking questions or judging. This is the legacy my mom left. So the thing I remember today is the legacy my mom left. The action life she had that was driven by love. The fact that several troubled boys in a group home she knew, put down their beliefs in other gods and said I want what Chrissy had. The fact that she started cooking dinner and turned on her light when she found out there was a young man on the run after committing a murder nearby her house. When asked why, she said she wanted her home to feel inviting, because maybe he would stop by and she could convince him to give himself up. When she saw someone down and out she was compelled to help in some way. Providing a home for many teenagers who had been given up on by parents or giving money to a homeless person on the street, but not only giving money, but giving love. This is the memory that drives me to be a better person each day. This is the legacy I want to leave for my children and grandchildren.

This precious memory I hang onto so that I can live in some way like my mom. Living a life of action driven by love.

The thankfulness scripture for the day is Psalm 100:4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.

This verse always reminds me of the song I will enter his gates

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9kgQNT6MIIw

So I guess today we have a song to sing along with a special memory we are thankful for.

Thank you Lord for the capability to remember and the legacy my mom left. Lord help me to follow her legacy and leave one that honors you and honors my moms. I pray that I could live out the verse today giving thanks to God all day. Praise God this is the day the Lord has made.  In Jesus name Amen.

Signing off from one woman to another,

Jenny Wren

The last few day I have been awed by the senses God has given us to enjoy each thing he has created. The first day of thankfulness I was so grateful for the smells of fall. The second day I was thankful for the fact that I didn’t need technology to do things like speak for me. The third day I was thankful for being able to see the colors God created around me and in general the colors of fall. The 4th day I am thankful for the fact that I have food to eat but even further than that I can taste it. Yet another sense God gave to us to enjoy the things around me. The 5th day of thankfulness I was thankful for the sound of my children though sometimes extremely loud I am thankful that I can even hear them and listen to their squeals and screams.

Today my list asks me what in Nature I am thankful for?  This is hard to narrow down, because again I marvel in Gods creation. How even the deer grazing in the corn field stubble down the road brings God glory. The wind blowing and doing its wind thing is declaring Gods glory. All these things in nature point to God and his handy work when he created them. So just one thing I am thankful for is hard to narrow down. I am thankful for the forces of nature that God orchestrates each day. How his marvelous hands created the beauty that we see each day. He created the bird with his song, the tree with his dance. He created all of it. I just marvel in his marvelous creation today.  The smell of fall, the fact we even have the different seasons. The way the earth changes with the temperature changes. If I was in charge of the weather I would keep it about 65 or 70 degrees with a light breeze and zero humidity. But thank goodness I am not God, because there would be an outrageous amount of flies and mosquito’s all the time. There would be no time of killing off the leaves to produce new ones. The freshness of spring would not come. I am glad God gives us the seasons even though winter in so dreary.

So take a walk out side today and soak in the beauty of Gods creation, the way nature declares the Glory of the Lord, And hey declare His Glory yourself.

Today’s thankfulness scripture is Philemon 1:4 I always thank my God as I remember you in my prayers.

So how can I pray for you this month as we go through this thankfulness journey? What things in your life do you need prayer for?

I could really use prayer in my consistency in my personal walk with the Lord. I want to pray in every situation like yesterdays verse talked about. I want to go to God first in my struggles with my marriage and family. The only way to receive wisdom is to seek it out in scripture.

I want to pray for you. Please email me if you have a specific prayer request I can add to my prayer wall. jthiessen1983@gmail.com

Lets pray for each other this month and thank God as we remember each other in prayer.

Signing off from one woman to another,

Jenny Wren