Day 169: Snowballs

I had a VERY rough day at work today. Nothing major happened, just a lot of little things, and since they happened all in one day made it bad. The only highlight of the work day was that the company had an ice cream truck come today and everyone got to go out and get ice cream or a snowball. I got a snowball, and I can tell you considering how the rest of the day was for me, I needed it!

For as long as I can remember I’ve loved snowballs! (or as some people call them, snow cones) On a hot summer day there’s nothing like a cup of shaved ice with flavoring. (No marshmallow on top for me, Yuck!) Ice cream is my favorite flavor, but there are very few I won’t eat.

For three summers I worked at a camp and at the end of each day I’d sell camp t-shirts in the same building as the snowball stand, and let me tell you I think they had the best snowballs in the world! (And not just because I would eat them at the end of a hot day) The ice was just perfect, not too thin, but not too chunky either, and there was something about the flavoring that made it even more delicious. Because I was right next to the snowball stand I got first dibs on any reject snowballs, so I got to try snowballs that I would never have tried otherwise. If there weren’t any rejects that day, or someone else got to it first, or I didn’t like the ones they had, and there was any leftover ice at the end of the day I got to make my own. I was in heaven!

Day 169: Thank you Lord for snowballs, not just as a wonderful summer treat, but it was just what I needed today!

What are you thankful for today? Leave a Comment and let me know, I’d love to read it!

Day 168: Biblical Fiction

In case you haven’t figured it out yet, I read A LOT, and when I saw yesterday’s Daily Prompt about the last book you read it was a no brainer for me. (Why they posted that on Father’s Day and not something about Fathers I don’t know, which is why I waited till today) The last book I read was Love in a Broken Vessel by Mesu Andrews, and I highly recommend it! It’s a fictionalized version of the Biblical story of Hosea and Gomer, told in its Biblical setting, unlike Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers which tells the same story in California in the 1850′s. (Another book I highly recommend!) Both books are powerful and tell the same story, but for me there’s something about Broken that makes it even more powerful because it’s told in its actual setting.

Biblical Fiction seems to becoming more and more popular in the Christian publishing world, I keep seeing more and more books in that genre. In my opinion it’s about time; I seriously doubt the secular world to write anything in that genre, and for me it brings the world of the Bible alive! I’ve only recently started reading Biblical Fiction books, and each one gives me a whole different perspective on that story. When I’m done I know I will never read that story the same way, I understand it much better and on a deeper level than I ever have before, and I appreciate my Bible so much more.

In the Author’s Note of Broken, Andrews quotes Mark Twain:

“Truth is stranger than fiction, but it is because fiction is obliged to stick to possibilities. Truth isn’t.”

I completely agree with Andrews, the Bible seems so unbelievable because it is all true. Biblical fiction highlights some of these amazing stories, and because they’re so unbelievable they make great fiction. But they are based on the true word of God!

Day 168: Thank you Lord for Biblical Fiction and the new perspectives and appreciation it gives on your word!

What are you thankful for today? Leave a Comment and let me know, I’d love to read it!

Day 167: My Dad

Happy Father’s Day! I’m so thankful for my dad, he has been such a wonderful example of a Godly man for me over the years. I pray one day I can marry someone just like him.

We’ve always been very close, partially because we’re similar in many ways. We share similar tastes in foods, except when it comes to seafood, (I don’t like nearly as many kinds as he does) and a few other random foods. We both love to travel, our family has gone to a variety of places over the years, and it’s often one of us who brings up the idea. We’re both oldest children and share some of the “oldest child” traits.

He plays the guitar and I have so many memories of him playing for us and leading us in song. While I was growing up he played on the worship at church; I would go with him to practice before church each Sunday morning, and when I got a bit older Monday night practices too. These times were very special for me, I got to spend time with my dad, and I learned all the songs! (Even today I often only need to hear a song once before I know all the words and tune) When he had to pick out the music for a Sunday morning or a church retreat he would often ask for my opinion on certain songs, or to give him a list of songs I wanted to sing. I love to sing so much and I know this is where it comes from.

Growing up my dad has been my spiritual leader. He introduced me to Christ at an early age, and when I became a Christian at an early age, he helped me grow in my faith. Even after my faith became my own, I have grown and developed in it because of the foundation he gave me at a young age.

Day 167: Thank you Lord for my dad, thank you for the wonderful relationship I have with him and the ways he has helped me throughout my life!

What are you thankful for today? Leave a Comment and let me know, I’d love to read it!

Day 166: Clothes Washer

I had to do laundry today, not one of my favorite chores but a necessary one. When I think about how people used to wash clothes and how much hard work they had to put into it, I’m very glad for washing machines. Not that I’m lazy but it was a lot of work to hand scrub all their clothes, and took a long time when you add in line drying them. Even after all that work I seriously doubt they were as clean as when they’re done today.

Day 166: Thank you Lord for clothes washers, so make cleaning our clothes so much easier!

What are you thankful for today? Leave a Comment and let me know, I’d love to read it!

Day 165: Star Trek

If you were to ask me what are some of the tv shows I remember watching as a young kid, I’d give you a few shows. My parents mainly let me watch PBS until I was about 10, so “Mister Rogers”, “Sesame Street”, “Reading Rainbow”, you get the idea. With that in mind, the show I remember watching and enjoying the most might surprise you: “Star Trek: The Next Generation.” It’s a show that I feel like I grew up watching.

My dad was a fan of the original series, so when TNG came on he started watching it, got the rest of my family hooked on it, and we would watch it together every week. I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t hooked on Star Trek, which considering my age when TNG premiered shouldn’t be too much of a surprise. TNG will always be my favorite series not only because it was the first series I watched, but because of the cast, I think they’re incredible. I was very sad when TNG went off the air, and I’ve never been a fan of Deep Space 9, (It’s too weird for me) as a result I didn’t watch much Star Trek until the summer before the final season of Voyager, which is a close second in my favorites of the five series.

I’m a big Sci-Fi fan, they make impossible things seem possible, take you to different places, and make you think. I think Star Trek does this especially well, they often address moral issues in unique ways. As impossible as the actual situation may seem I often can’t help wondering “what would I do in their place?”

Day 165: Thank you Lord for Star Trek, not only for a wonderful show that I grew up watching but how it makes me think about different issues in the world.

What are you thankful for today? Leave a Comment and let me know, I’d love to read it!

Day 164: Feeling Well

I’ve been feeling sick all day today and it seems to be getting worse as time goes on. Nothing too serious, just a very runny nose, light-headed, and yesterday I had a sore throat. I feel pretty miserable right now and I wish I was feeling better. I don’t know anyone who likes being sick, oh kids may say they do because they don’t have to go to school, but in the long run I don’t think they truly do. When you’re sick you really can’t do much other than sit around and rest, and even when you can do stuff you’re miserable while doing it.

Day 164: Thank you Lord for when we feel well, so we can function normally and not feel miserable.

What are you thankful for today? Leave a Comment and let me know, I’d love to read it!

Day 163: Hippotherapy

You’ve probably never heard of Hippotherapy, and that’s fine most people haven’t. (No, it has nothing to do with Hippos!) Hippotherapy is physical therapy on horseback. I can’t remember exactly where the name comes from but I know “hippo” has something to do with horses in Greek or Latin.

Because my cerebral palsy is so mild I haven’t needed too much therapy over the years. When I was little I did have speech therapy, but most of the therapy I’ve had over the years (if you don’t count my years in ballet which with the stretching I think of as a kind of therapy) was on horseback. Through my sessions I learned how to handle the horse, and did a variety of stretches while I the horse, such as riding in all four directions, touching my toes, etc. There’s something about the movement of the horse that helps a person’s movement. For me I didn’t really think of it as physical therapy, just as horseback riding.

I did hippotherapy for several years before my schedule became too busy and I became more involved in ballet. (I’ll never forget the day I went from riding to ballet with only an hour or so in between. I had to go from keeping my heels down, to keeping them up!) I saw some benefits in my body, but I was having so much fun and at the time wasn’t so aware of my limitations I probably didn’t even notice most of them. What I do remember is seeing changes in other riders.

I mostly had private lessons in the beginning, but later I had group lessons as well. I saw people of all ages riding from young children to adults with a wide variety of problems. The ones that stick out most in my mind were three adults with MS. In the beginning they would come in their wheelchairs unable to walk at all, but as time went on they didn’t need them any more, and could walk with the help of cane. It was truly amazing to see them progress!

Day 163: Thank you Lord for Hippotherapy and the impact it had on my life, and so many others!

What are you thankful for today? Leave a Comment and let me know, I’d love to read it!