Thankful for my faith

It's Thursday again! Have you been reflecting on what you are thankful for?

Every week, I am posting something I am thankful for and challenging you to think of something you are thankful for. The idea is to appreciate what we have and stop thinking of all the negative that surrounds us. I think we all need to stop and take time to appreciate what we have. So this month, I challenge you all to stop what you are doing and take some time to be thankful and appreciate the world around you.

I ask you to 'like' Almond Girl Jenny Facebook page AND this post AND then comment with something you are thankful for.  I will pick one person each week and send them some 'nutty' cheer to help them spread their happiness.

Something I am thankful for is my faith.

I feel blessed to live in a country where we have freedom to worship and believe what we want. We can raise our children with the faith we chose and believe in what we chose to believe. In many parts of this word, people don't have this freedom.

I am thankful to have been raised in a faith based home. My father was raised Catholic and my mother converted shortly after marrying my father. They raised my sister and I with strong Catholic values. I went to Catholic elementary school and was active in my church growing up.

I am thankful to have also married a Catholic man who was raised with the same appreciation for his faith as I was. I was married in the Church and am raising my children with the same values I was raised. I am blessed to also be the godmother of my oldest niece, something that is very special to me.

Faith was always present while I was growing up. It is something that I still appreciate. I have many found memories of participating in youth groups and attending youth retreats. It was something that helped me grow in my faith as I was maturing and figuring out the world around me.

This last weekend we baptized my baby daughter in the Catholic Church just as we did with our son when he was a baby. This is a special thing to be thankful for to me.

Faith is a core foundation of who I am and I hope to raise my children with the same beliefs.

It brings me joy to watch our children learn more about their faith. My son is not even three yet, but he can recite grace before meals. He even grabs my hand and reminds me to pray if I forget before eating. He attends a Christian preschool and is learning about God and Christian values outside the house. It is important to my husband and I that our kids learn about these values not just at home but in school and everyday life.

To me, faith is something you turn to in times of need. When life gets rough, when things aren't going the right way, when you don't know where else to turn. I turn to God. Faith is what gives me strength. Faith is what gives me guidance. Faith is what gives me security.

Especially now, when our world has turned to hate, crime and devastation I am thankful to have faith in my life to turn to. There have been multiple loved ones in my life recently who have been affected with cancer. Faith is what will heal them. Faith is what will guide them in their journey. Faith is what I need to be thankful for when I question, "why?".

I am thankful for my faith and the ability to have faith. Faith gives me the ability to be thankful.

What are you thankful for?

Until Next Time,

Almond Girl Jenny