Saturday, February 03, 2007

100 Ways In Which We Are Blessed

1. We have each other.
2. We are in love!
3. We have been married 2 1/2 fun filled years.
4. Bill married me even though I once told him I wouldn't be his Betty Crocker and baby factory.
5. I am now happy being both (...and besides, the rewards are great!)
6. We have the sweetest daughter in the world.
7. She makes us laugh every day.
8. She has the best smile!
9. Her awe and wonder of the world around her teaches us to love everything anew.
10. She warms our hearts every time we look at her.
11. We are healthy!
12. We are full of life and dreams and passion.
13. The Lord loves us.
14. So much!
15. So much He makes groceries fall out of the sky.
16. We love the Lord.
17. We get to serve Him.
18. We have awesome parents!
19. They love us unconditionally.
20. They have ALWAYS supported us!
21. Even when we have done really crazy things.
22. And in Bill's case that is often.
23. Has anyone ever been on a safari with Bill???
24. We have the best sisters in the world (Lisa, Lei Anne, and Carrie)
25. Which in Bill's case doubled as throw toys when he was younger.
26. And the best brother (Josh)
27. Who also got the tar beat out of him until he grew up to be twice as strong as me.
28. We have awesome friends!
29. The best friends in the whole world!
30. Way too many to name!
31. Especially Curt and Kelli who never fail to speak truth to us.
32. Go Broncos!
33. We have gotten to travel all over the world.
34. We have seen some beautiful things!
35. Like the Grand Canyon,
36. and Big Sir,
37. the Red Woods,
38. San Francisco on the 4th of July!
39. My husband took me to Thailand for our honeymoon.
40. We stayed in the best hotel in the WORLD!
41. It was a fairytale trip.
42. We both have been so blessed to get to live in Uganda.
43. We have gotten to go on Safari more times than I can count.
44. When I was little I wanted to go on Safari but thought it was impossible.
45. When Bill was little he watched animal shows, now he thinks he stars in them.
46. Safari is just the icing on the cake though,
47. we have been so blessed to be a part of so many wonderful ministries in Ugnanda.
48. I got to teach in the Bible College in Uganda,
49. and help start a computer college,
50. and set up their library,
51. and live in an orphanage,
52. where I saw miracles happen,
53. and I know lives were changed.
54. We have given small amounts of money to people who you would have thought they just won the lottery,
55. and it truly changed their lives.
56. Bill got to start a pig farm!
57. We have wonderful friends in Uganda.
58. We have been blessed to get to worship God in Ugandan
59. and worship in Uganda is like the sound of heaven to me.
60. We are stateside for now,
61. but part of our heart will always be in Uganda,
62. and we are going to visit this fall!!!!
63. And Arrabella gets to take her first mission trip!
64. We just bought our first home.
65. It is a 1917 house!
66. We have a big red barn!
67. Our home was completly restord before we moved in,
68. by a tile worker who gave us a marble bathroom.
69. It is a lifesize doll house as Bill put it.
70. We have a wonderful new church.
71. With a very balanced Pastor.
72. Hans and Nicole, who have been in Detroit, are coming home!!!!!
73. and they have a new job that is paying to help them move.
74. Curt and Kelli are moving back too
75. ...eventually
76. (I can count our blessings in advance.)
77. Spokane is the best place in the world to live
78. if you are here because God said so
79. yes, I am trying to convince myself I am blessed to live here.
80. I am blessed to live here, I just was blessed to live in Seattle first and so I miss that side of the state so much!!!!
81. God knows the plans He has for us,
82. plans for a hope and a future,
83. not plans for destruction.
84. Under his wing truly is the safest place in the world.
85. He loves us, and not becuase we earned it!
86. Thank God!!!! (because I can't earn it!)
87. Because He loves us, he instructs us
88. and holds us tight when instruction starts to hurt.
89. I am so glad Jesus died for our sins!
90. Sometimes I really ponder that and it just stops me in my tracks.
91. He took my place.
92. I am a sinner...forgiven.
93. What a great God we serve.
94. Did I mention He let us be Bella's parents,
95. I really can't believe how great it is to be her mommy!
96. and daddy! (I'm not both, but I didn't want Bill to feel left out.)
97. We live a blessed life!
98. We live in a great country!
99. We serve a LIVING God!
100. And you loved us enough to read our list!

(just a side note...we are not trying to be super spiritual, we are just trying to focus on what we have vs. what we don't have.)