a day of gratitude - 30

What a day.

It was a hard day to get out of bed, after staying up late last night to wait for Lauren to return home from the prom. It started out with the pressure of finding something to wear to church -- something in my closet that might still fit after gaining 30 lbs. over the last year. After that dilemma was overcome, I was reminded of our prayer wall effort starting this morning. Starting at 6 a.m. this morning, our church began a 24/7 prayer vigil and my turn is from 8:30-9:00 a.m. today through next Saturday. This half-hour of prayer was a wonderful start to my day and I truly believe it was a big part of why my day went so well.

The Spirit of the Lord was strong again in our Worship Service. The children helped begin the worship experience with a wonderful song they learned during their choir time on Wednesday nights (Jennifer and Jason T. do miracles!) (photo to come). I could feel his presence as we worshipped in song. It is amazing to stand on stage and hear 200 voices singing out their praises. Today's message was on the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. What I left with was the encouragement to always look at Holy Week as the strongest event to influence my life.

After a quick lunch, I hurried back to the church to prepare for our Egg Hunt for the children. The afternoon went so smoothly and I am so grateful for members of our church who gave of their time to help with the event. Special thanks go to Debra H., Will R., Stace and Cindy B., Paul F. and Bill D. who hid the eggs for four groups of children. I also appreciate Valerie D. and Peggi D. for their time overseeing the indoor inflatables to ensure the safety of the children while they played. As they have done many times before, Carol W. and Barb kept the cake auction tables working smoothly.

After the hunts were over and everything was put away, my family and I joined with friends for fellowship and food...much food...and many desserts 'won' at the cake auction!

This day ends my official 30 days of gratitude meme, but I have decided to continue to officially record my gratitude on the 16th of each month. It has been such a worthwhile experience to note the amazing things that happen each day that I can be grateful for. Many thanks to my friend, Joy, for encouraging me to do this.