a July appreciation post

 

Happy Tuesday, friends! Can you believe that August 1 is this week? Before we know it, we'll all be knee deep in all things fall, the B-E-R months, decorating, and meal planning yet again. I have to confess that after the turmoil of this summer, all of those things sound delightful. I'd love to just skip ahead to the next year of my life; can someone make that happen, please? I'm not one to usually wish away my time, but I'd love to do that for my next phase of life as I transition from one thing to another. 

I digress. 

In an attempt to start something new here on my blog, I thought I'd start ending the month here with things from the month that I appreciate. I'll jump in!

You may not see my Jonah in many of my pictures because of how well he evades my attempts to capture him, but know that he is usually not far away from me. I've been asking you for prayer for all of us, but Jonah is the one I'm most concerned about and who is struggling the most, with the exception of me. I would love to say that they won't be traumatized by the events of the summer, but that will not be the case, unfortunately. I'm hoping they'll all consider some counseling eventually, but I don't know that they ever will. If you have any thoughts and/or suggestions for me being able to convince them, feel free to send them my way. 

I appreciated doing something new after church this week! I mentioned that Marilyn and I had lunch on Sunday, but this is where we went; a new Italian place here in my town called Rotolos. 

I appreciated great quiet time and podcasts this month to help me start the healing process.

I appreciated being able to sit in a room where people don't really know me last week, and couldn't ask about my life. I know people mean well, and I'm grateful, but I'm tired of talking all the time. This was me at the library board meeting for July. 

I appreciated delicious meals brought to us by friends this month!

I appreciated humor with myself and taking this picture of my very frizzy hair while it rained like cats and dogs for about a week straight. 

I appreciated doing new things, like making Saturday nights family dinner nights at Mom's and Bill's; I enjoyed the beautiful country sunsets, and these zinnias as you walk to their back door.

I appreciated having so many flowers in my home this month! These were given to me by my young friend, Madison. 

I appreciated thoughtful gifts like this book on prayer. I love the title!

I appreciated the passages that spoke to my heart from my Bible this month. Some of these are verses that I specifically read, and some are verses that people encouraged me with. I wrote them on these notecards to make them easy to grab and go for the times when I'll be gone for a while or for when I need to leave home in a hurry. 

I greatly appreciated receiving so many beautiful cards this month!

I appreciated time with my sons.

I appreciated words of wisdom from social media accounts that I follow. 

I appreciated hearing the sound of these beautiful wind chimes that my friend Karen gave to me.

I appreciated delicious things, like this beautiful strawberry cake that my pastor's wife made for us.

I appreciated times of relaxing at my mom's house.

I appreciate the promise and reminder that Jesus is the Light of the world, and that in Him there is no darkness at all. 

I appreciated every single item that was given to me in this gift basket, and in another one that a couple of my friends gave to me last week. 

This wasn't the easiest or best month for me, but this is me acknowledging the many good things among such a sad time in my life. It's true that there is beauty among ashes, and that joy and grief go hand in hand. I want to make sure and feel all the things I'm feeling, and not brush them away or pretend that everything is fine when my world is still falling apart. I know it won't always be like this, and that down the road I'll be able to look back and say how the Lord was faithful to get us through. And I know He will do that; everything is just still so raw and fresh that the pain is still great. I suspect it will be like this for a long time, but I'm happy to say that I will work through it with the help of a licensed therapist. I'm trying to be "healthy" here, but I'm also trying to be as open and honest with myself as I can be, and that spills over to this space on my blog. Thanks for bearing with me while my life is under major construction, and thank you for your endless encouragement and support. Love to all!

I'm linking up with Joanne for today's post.