pnw and thankfulness.

happy week before thanksgiving friends! where has this 2,012^th year gone? anyone else wondering?

anywho,

we just finished a series on generosity at church (which totally rocked me). and one thing i learned is that generosity and thankfulness are inextricably linked. because thankfulness creates a generous heart, but extending generosity also creates in us a thankful heart. 

and this series came at a perfect time, because here we are, almost to thanksgiving and i’ve never felt so excited for season of thankfulness.

i’ll be turning twenty-five on thanksgiving day. that’s a bit of a milestone right? quarter-century. and milestones usually make me want to reflect. and in this case, reflect and be thankful. so for the next ten days, i’m going to reflect on ten things i'm grateful for in these twenty-five years.

to start at the beginning:

i’m thankful that I was born in the pacific northwest. washington, to be exact. even though we may never live there again (or maybe we will…) there is nowhere else i’d rather be from. growing up with such an (unfair) amount of natural beauty all around, allowed me to understand what “glory” meant from an early age. everywhere i looked, i saw it.

growing up the pnw taught me about the beauty and majesty of God.

it showed me, without a shadow of a doubt, that this world was created, and not an accident.

it taught me to be tough and brave and not too afraid of heights or bears or squatting in the woods.

it taught me what it meant to really care about the environment.

it taught me that outdoors > indoors. 

it taught me that rain makes things beautiful.

it taught me that coffee is a good drug. and a good culture.

it taught me how not to be a fair weather fan...(ahem, seahawks, mariners, sonics...)

it taught me to be adventurous.

it taught me that when you summit a 14,000+ foot mountain on the third day of climbing, you will inevitably feel a little closer to heaven.

and, not insignificant, it introduced me to my husband. 

and even though we live far from there now, i’m thankful to be married to someone who shares that state with me. someone who understands the feeling of being on the puget sound in august, watching the sun set behind the mountains from the deck of a 22-foot sailboat named the grin.

it’s a special corner of the world friends. have you ever been? have you ever wanted to? i really couldn’t recommend it more highly. can’t wait to be back there next month for Christmas!