I am thankful for organizations that are doing a lot of work to strengthen our community. I was at a regular meeting today with TACSI (Tulsa Area Community Schools Initiative.) I always leave these meetings encouraged & overwhelmed by how many different people & organizations in our area are participating in strengthening this community.

Take 4 minutes & watch this video Ben made for them this year.

The community schools initiative is happening all over the country, not just in Tulsa. But we are proud to report that one of our Tulsa Schools won the National Award for Excellence this year-a pretty big deal!

Here are some interesting facts about that school.

I am thankful for allergy medication. I have been feeling crummy the past few days. Then I realized that it was probably just allergies. 2 days into taking my Zyrtec again & I can breathe, sleep, swallow, and move around without a cloudy head or a low-grade fever.

I am thankful for saving money!

Our local grocery store has a rewards program set up. For every $50 we spend, we get 5 cents off of gas at their station. It’s not hard to spend $50 at the grocery store, is it? I was a bit skeptical (because I always am) about these sort of things. But this one has really paid off for us. We go to that grocery store anyway, it’s on our way home. And we get gas there often enough (because it’s on our way home).

Today I paid $2.83/gallon when I filled up. (Often we end up paying less than $3/gallon.) I saved $4.11 today!

[For my fellow skeptics]:

I am thankful that I was able to make a FINAL payment on my credit card this week. A burden lifted, and I feel lighter for it. Now to chip away at the other debt…

I am thankful for our small group. In the past 2 years we have formed a group of friends that share meals together, share stupid YouTube videos with each other, share struggles & burdens with each other. And share laughs. A lot of laughs. I am grateful for this group that has formed & is continuing to grow.

I am thankful for girl’s nights. I came back from my business trip Friday night & immediately went to meet up with some friends to celebrate a birthday. I was exhausted after two 5am mornings in a row & a 48 hour period of being an extrovert & networking with people I did not know. But it was great to go celebrate one of my favorite friends. To laugh together & to just enjoy some time as friends. I love their kids & I love when all of us are together (friends, husbands, kids, etc.) But sometimes it’s nice to have them all to myself.

I am thankful for freedom. And for my brother & other friends & family members who have sacrificed of themselves so I can live in freedom.

I am thankful for this business trip. At work, we are a host site for Chick-fila-Leadercast. It is a really great event, and the Green Country Event Center is honored to be a part of bringing it to Tulsa.

And we received an invitation from them to send one of our employees down to Atlanta for an all-expenses paid Host Site Retreat. So I’m headed to Atlanta today to learn some best practices from the ones “in the know” about how to make our event really stellar. I’ll let you know how it goes!
And if you’re in the Tulsa area, you should consider signing up for the event on May 4th.

I am thankful for resources & options. We have to move because our apartment building has sold. But there are people all over who have to move for worse reasons, and people all over who don’t have resources to find another place to live, or friends/family to help them out. I am grateful that we have choices.

I am thankful that I got to actually sit inside the Ten Boom house a few months ago. I still remember siting in that living room & feeling overwhelmed at the history of faith that room holds.

{You can read more about what I’m talking about here.}