The Thankfulness Project

One of my biggest strengths is positivity. It's rare you will find me in a bad mood, and when I get in one, it's very short-lived. But, I have to admit - I can be a bit of a worrier. I get anxious about financial issues, worry about how I'm doing at work and wonder when the right guy will come along.

All this worrying can wear on you and make you forget that God is ultimately in control.
And considering my life verse is 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, I know I should be making a more concerted effort to be thankful in every circumstance in my life.

Therefore, after making this realization (and observing that I don't have enough going on day-to-day to keep this blog moving at a faster-than-glacial pace), I decided to start a little project:

The Thankfulness Project.
For the next 365 days, I will come up with something that I am thankful for and write about it. It may not always be profound, but it will be something that makes me smile. Hopefully it will make you smile too. :)

And to kick things off, I figured I would start with the thing that I am most thankful for: my family.

I come from a HUGE family. There are 50+ members on my dad's side alone, and most of them live on the same 100-acre slab of land in North Carolina. Literally. My Mimi (great-grandmother and matriarch of the family) owns the land and lives right in the middle. Then, her children, my Nana, my great-Aunt Judy and my great-Uncle Ronnie, all live in a triangle out from her. Judy's three children, Scott, Eric and Tammy, each live a triangle out from her. Then, my Uncle Tim lives across the field from my Nana. Ronnie's children live about ten minutes away a piece and then my family lives in Atlanta because my dad works for Delta and my Uncle Mark's family lives in Boone because he coaches for Appalachian State. As redneck as it sounds, I LOVE this about my family. I have always grown up appreciating family and feeling like I had a gigantic support system.

My mom's side of the family is significantly smaller, but they are similarly close and are there for us through thick and thin as well. Grandma and Grandpa are two of the sweetest and strongest prayer warriors you've ever met. Then my Aunt Kim and Uncle Randy are two of the smartest people you've ever met. Kim's daughter, Kari, is my cousin and one of my closest friends. Even though we don't get to see each other very often, we know we're always there for each other. She's here, pictured with her husband, Jason, and daughter, Emma - SOOO precious!!!

As far as my immediate family goes - we have all recently become much closer. Strangely similar to a later-seasoned episode of 7th Heaven, each member of my family has gone through the same lesson in our faith in the past year, separately. This lesson has taught us to be more compassionate with each other and to value each other's opinions in our lives.

With such an amazing group of people only a phone call or flight away, I have rarely felt alone and have always felt loved.

I am extremely blessed.