Blessings on my Birthday

In less than an hour it will be my birthday. Although the overwhelming feelings of anticipation felt the hours before a birthday have seemed to dwindle with age, I still want to take a moment to celebrate! Celebrate all of the gifts God has blessed me with over the years. It would be impossible to list everything- the list is overwhelming, and goes back much further than my memory. I'm also positive that I have missed out on some of the gifts God has given me. I have found, and probably have been told more times than I have found for myself, that being aware of the gifts God has blessed me with will do wonders on the state of my heart. I too easily take things for granted and consider them just a normal part of my life, rather than gifts. I sometimes get this ugly sense of entitlement. Woof. So I want to start out this next year of my life right. By thanking God for what he has given me, for the things that I don't deserve and often take for granted. While I could go on forever, here is my top ten on my gratitude list:

1. My parents. I know everyone believes they have the best parents in the world, but I don't think many people can come close to mine. My dad is so wise and the best part is his wisdom is grounded in God's truth. His advice has helped me through so many tough decisions throughout high school, college, and now adulthood. I trust him completely. Not only is he wise, but he is so compassionate- he loves me so well. He provides me with such a beautiful picture of what it looks like to have God as our father and I am so thankful for that. If I grow up to be half of the woman my mom is, I will be content. She loves deeply, prays passionately, and serves continually. I have been so blessed by her shared wisdom, unwavering love, and strong relationship with the Lord. So God, thank you a million times over for blessing me with such wonderful parents.

2. Katy, Jake and Josh. I have awesome siblings! My sister is one of my best friends and it is such a blessing to have that. She is constantly reminding me of all God has blessed our family

with and doesn't let me dwell on the negatives. She loves me well, and continues to try and love me better (aka words of affirmation!). She doesn't laugh too often at my jokes, but we'll get there eventually. Jake and Josh claim to not have too many emotions, but I know they are just in denial. For my graduation, they wrote me the only card that brought me to tears. There were obviously some rude comments laced in with the loving ones, but I wouldn't expect anything less from two of my favorite men in the world. Thanks, God, for blessing me with such awesome siblings who are also such awesome friends!

3. My extended family. Both my mom's side and my dad's. We all love each other! We love spending time together, going on vacation together, and visiting each other's homes. We laugh together, a lot. And, we all have something else in common besides being related, we love Jesus. It's so cool to have an extended support system outside of my immediate family. To know that I can call any one of them and expect advice that is still grounded in faith. Mostly, I love how connected we stay in each other's lives. It's hard to be so far away, but it's comforting to know nothing will ever change the closeness we feel as a family. So thanks, God, for blessing me not only with an awesome immediate family, but with an awesome, loving, God following extended family!

4. Betsy, Sacha, and Lauren. Those names always bring a smile to my face. They have been a constant in my life since high school. We have gone through so much together and they have each played a part in my faith becoming more real to me. They challenge me daily. They refuse to let me believes lies about myself, my relationships, or my faith. Sometimes I get annoyed at how

well they know me and how good they

are at holding me accountable. But it's so cool that they do! It has been such a blessing walking through life with them. We have experienced many laughs, tears, road trips, and coffee dates. We have found ways to make long-distance summers work, and this new chapter in each of our lives will be no different. I am so thankful for the impact each of you have had and will continue to have on my life. Thank you for being vulnerable and intentional. Thank you, Lord, for bring such awesome friends and accountability partners into my life.

5. My friends!!! Thank you Lord, for not stopping at Betsy, Sacha, and Lauren (no offense). I have such great friends. It is so awesome to have friends who I can not only have tons of fun with but

also grow in my faith with. Friends who are willing to open up and be real about what God is teaching them. My senior year would not have been the same without my navigator family and five favorite roomies. It was so fun to live life with them, grow closer to them, and watch God work in their lives. Each and every one of my friends has impacted me in some way and made my four years at Penn State such a wonderful time of growth and laughter. Thank you Lord for intentionally putting each one of them into my life!

6. Penn State Navigators! I can't even imagine what my four years at Penn State would have looked like without the Navigators Ministry. Through Navs I was blessed with lifetime friends, challenging bible studies, and a beautiful mentor. From being in a bible study freshman and sophomore year, to having the privilege of leading one junior and senior year with Jamie, I have learned so much! My love for the word and passion to learn more grew so much from these studies. They stretched me in ways I never thought possible and challenged me in ways that were good for my heart. The fellowship I found in Navs was not something I expected in college and I feel so blessed to have been a part of that. So thank you God for leading me to Navs and for calling the people on staff to ministry at PSU.

7. HSM Girls! Oh how I have loved seeing my high school girls grow up. It is hard to believe they are going to be seniors this year. I have loved being able to be their bible study leader these

past couple of years. They are such a solid group of girls and have provided me with many laughs, boy stories, drinks at starbucks, puppy chow, and challenging questions. It has been so cool to watch as they sift through tough questions and really try and figure out what it means to make this faith their own. I cherish every early morning waffle shop breakfast, and still feel bad about the ones I slept through:). I am so excited to hear about all of the awesome ways their faith is used and stretched their senior year (and I'm also excited to take pictures with them at their senior prom...). So thank you God, for bringing me such wonderful high school girls to read the bible and eat junk food with!

8. Myanmar. Words can't even describe the love I feel for Myanmar and Agape Orphanage. I feel like the song "God of This City" was written specifically for Yangon. Every time I go there I get the overwhelming feeling that big God-sized miracles are in the works. I love each

of the kids at Agape as if they were my own family and I am so thankful that I have been given so many opportunities to visit. They have given me a life-changing picture of what it means to live a life desperate for God. Awesome things are being done in God's name over there, and it's such a blessing to be a witness to that. I will continue to pray that one day the words, "Myanmar is now a country on fire for the Lord and adoption is legalized" will be on my gratitude list. Lord, thank you so much for the opportunities you have given me to go to Myanmar.

9. Calvary. It makes my new challenge of finding a church seem impossible because I have such a strong love for Calvary. Don't get me wrong, I am sure there is a church in Pittsburgh that I will absolutely love to be a part of. But I have been so blessed by Calvary. Being a Pastor's kid, it's not really an option to play the "I don't feel well" on a Sunday morning card. I can't imagine what Sunday morning's would have looked like in my house if we all didn't have such a love for our Calvary Family. So many people have been a part of that and it's impossible to thank everyone. I am sure there are people committed to praying for my family that I don't even know about. But I pray the Lord blesses you for the ways you have impacted my life. Thank you Lord, for giving me such a passionate church family committed to loving others the way you love.

10. America. It seems silly after the other things on my list, but I feel it's necessary (especially considering the day I was born). I live in a country that allows me to pray freely, read my bible freely, and attend church openly. It is SO easy to take that for granted. It's hard to imagine living a life where this isn't the case. But even in Myanmar, the cost is high to follow after the Lord. So thank you Lord, for putting me in a place that allows me to read my bible in Starbucks any day of the week.

If you don't have a gratitude list, I encourage you to make one. Don't wait for your birthday! I am sure I am not the only one who easily takes things for granted. I have found, and been reminded of recently, that I'm not so pleasant to be around and my heart isn't very pretty when I am not full of gratitude. My dad always says, "You choose your attitude." I find it a lot easier to choose an attitude of joy and thankfulness when I make a decision to be aware of all the ways God has blessed me. So with my heart dwelling on these blessings, I truly believe this is all I need to be happy on my birthday- because these blessings make a more lasting impact than anything you can buy in a store (but if you are reading this and have already bought me a present, don't go through the trouble of returning it!). So to everyone on my gratitude list, thank you, for allowing God to use you to bless me.