As you may be able to tell from the subject of this post I'm listening to (or was rather, it just ended) Tim McGraw's song, Live Like You Were Dying...I'm loving listening to the country station!! Anyways, the song has a good point...why not live life to its fullest? Enjoy every bit of it, as if you were dying-except in our cases, we don't have to have a death sentence to enjoy life. Look around and count the blessings God has given you (even if you're not a Christian, just think of how much worse of you could be...). I'd like to do that now,
Loving parents
(and rest of family...)
Safe home
Good friends
Affordable rent
Two jobs
Acceptance to college
Church family
Little money left over for 'extras'
Food!!!
Furniture (however I came about it...yes for Dutch shopping!! thanks to Kyle)
Flowers on my kitchen table
Warm house
Clothes
Live on a bus route, yesss :)
Close enough to walk to everything important
Books! (and the ability to read them)
Luxuries (computer, tv, phone, microwave...blessings!!)
Running water
Warm bed (I love flannel sheets!)
Candles
Beautiful apartment (even with the uneven walls and ceilings)
Health
GOD!
Taste buds...and again, food
A calendar full of activity
Scrapbooking times with Laura
Juice with Maeghan
Pop tarts with Dave
Recipe sharing and massages with Wendy
Laughs with LA
Good heart to hearts with LeaKer
The car picture from Josh
MSN, and talking to old friends
Possibility of Bronwyn coming to visit
Adam. (what to say?)
My youth girls, who 2 1/2 years later still confide in me
Rob's German advances... :P
Good messages at church that speak to the heart
Laughter from the gut thanks to Darrell
Camp friends, we talk rarely but it means so much when we do!
A random visit from Brock
Hearing about how God is at work in friends lives
Kevin at work who's hurting, but interested in God
CBC peeps... has it really been almost 5 years?!
Whole LeaKer family, caring for me when my own fam is so far away
Driving lessons with all sorts of characters ;)
Mrs C visiting last weekend
Denninger's!!
Bible study on Sundays
Country music
Dollarama
Young's opening there house to me
Hyper kids, in small doses
Baking, and friends who will eat it
Playing games
A camp to be involved with
Friends having babies
Being content with being single (REALLY)
My cool cookbook
Fancy dish set from Mrs C
Coupons...they are SO good
My joy in life, that I'm TRULY thankful for
Friends to call when I'm down
Friends to call when I want to celebrate
Rest
Kool-Aid
A country that allows me to worship freely
My heart for missions
Friends blogs to read
Rain
Mostly though, I'm thankful for the sunshine
People at work that enjoy working with me, and say it!
Journalling (even offline) ;)
A God that loves me, unconditionally
And now I have something else on my mind...Today I went to Subway (why do I go to my workplaces on my days off??? Last week, it was Sobeys. Crazy me) Anyways, so I was there and the twins who are from Iraq and very 'gangsta' (lol, I can't believe I used that word) were working, and so was *S* (remember him?). I thought it was interesting how when *S* came out to say hi he joked around and pretended to be all tough like the twins and said some sort of weird hello that I can only imagine the twins saying. It's interesting how they're behaviours are so accepted and even imitated throughout the whole staff, and yet my Christianity doesn't seem to have an affect. I wish that my Christianity, or rather my behaviour because of my relationship with Christ was imitated...I wish people would think "wow, I love that Niki does _______ or I want to be more like Niki in that I ______" and hopefully they would see that it's not that they want to be like me so much, as that I strive to be like Christ and as He is reflected in me, and that that's what they long for. We'll never know the impact we have on others until we're in Heaven. But I can't help but wish that my behaviour was more contagious than that of the twins. Is that so wrong??
Oh well, I'm thankful for 75 other things (and I'm sure more, but thats what I got written down). God is SO good!!
Love Niki
It's only been 4 years since CBC Nix. You were there in 2001/2002 school year that ended in April 2002, it's now May 2006. SO that's only barely 4 years. But it has been a long time eh? I wish it was still there to go back and visit.
ReplyDeleteThey will hate you, because they first hated me. - Jesus
ReplyDeleteHe didn't say they'd imitate you or would be like you, or would even like you because they liked or imitated him. They didn't.
Be glad to know that they're not. I understand that you want people to want what you have, but its a narrow road, and not inline with the desires of "the flesh"
It's awesome that you are thinking of all the awesome things God has given you. And I know I said awesome twice, but I like that word. :) I also like smileys. :)
ReplyDeleteyou have more of an effect then you can see. you're not fighting "flesh and blood", you're fighting against all the spiritual powers that surround you. your presence alone makes a big difference. keep looking up Niki!
ReplyDelete:: m ::
COUNTRY MUSIC?!?!?!?!
ReplyDeleteyeah for country music! Good girl! :)
ReplyDeleteAnd wow! That's some list! Woohoo! What a great attitude you have!
s'truth Bub...you don't need people to imitiate you, you're an 'original' without any copies! I've learned from a lifetime of living that even though you don't necessarily see the effect you're having on people, you can be sure that you ARE having an effect. We all have some sort of effect on others... it's not necessary that we know what those effects are... but it is important to know that we are standing right with God... He is the only one we need to please. It's our own pride that wants affirmation - we all struggle with it, so don't go beating yourself up about it - those gangsta twins are struggling to belong as best they know how, you keep true to God and you will be providing the 'seed' that required... God does the rest. I know that you know all this - I just feel like typing tonite... Cheers!!!
ReplyDelete