Thankfulness: January 1

Today I am thankful for the privilege of owning our own home. The Firefighter and I have done a lot of work on this place since we've been together. In fact, we were remodeling the place even before we were married and I'd moved in!

I often lament the fact that the house isn't the biggest, and that it isn't as close to my family as I'd like, and that it's a bit too far from our church and church family. Instead, I need to choose to be thankful that we have a warm, dry, safe place to live. That it's our own, thanks to our hard work. That we have the freedom to do whatever we want to the house to make it our own. That it's a place where we have welcomed many friends and family over the years. That we have shared so much laughter within these walls. We have together fought through hard times here in the privacy of our home, and have found comfort and rest here.

Today, I'm thankful for my home. May it continue to be a place where God comes first, our friends and family are warmly welcomed, and love and kindness are a consistent part of our days.