Give thanks with a grateful heart

As Thanksgiving approaches, we are reflecting on the things for which we can give thanks. Even though we should be thankful more often, this is a great time to actually say it. This morning, the message from the pastor at our church really made us think about how much we have to be thankful for. So, what are we thankful for?


We both believe in an awesome God who gives us grace and mercy. We have a roof over our head, more food than we can eat and money to go out to eat when we don't go shopping, cars that start every morning, jobs to go to, families to share life with, friends whom we can trust, computers, phones, sports, each other, our health, and on and on and on. We, along with the rest of most Americans, have become less thankful because our needs and wants have blurred.


The financial crisis that is currently front page in the media is totally driven by a desire to have more than we can afford. If we didn't buy so many things on credit, there wouldn't be a credit crunch. If we were more thankful and content, we wouldn't feel the need to obtain credit and buy things we really could do without. If we didn't have an attitude of "entitlement," we would be much better off because we would take ownership and work for what we get and be better stewards of our assets.


As we were reviewing our budget tonight (two accountants in love...crunching numbers...how romantic), it hit us that it is so easy to feel like we need something when in fact we could get by with what we have. It is so easy to get caught up in those wants. We also calculated our losses resulting from the decline in the stock market and wow does that look depressing. But it all just proves that earthly things are not what we really need to rely on and that God is in control of everything, including our finances.


God gives us things to be thankful for every day. We are thankful for all we have and in the future we hope to acknowledge this more. Overall, we have it made living our lives in America. That in and of itself is a blessing as we can go to church, work where we want and have opportunities that many in this world do not have and probably will never have.

Making the Cut

Since I spent over a year purposefully growing out my hair for Wade and I's wedding, I decided back in the spring to let it grow long enough to donate my curly locks. This isn't the first time I've whacked off a lot of hair all at once, but it is the first time I have donated my hair. The only other times I remember making such drastic cuts was in kindergarten and again in 9th grade. I don't think I knew at the time that I could have donated my hair to help make wigs for people who have lost their hair because of cancer or other diseases. If I had known about such a great way to give to someone else back then, I certainly would have.

After doing a bit of research, I chose Pantene's Beautiful Lengths as my hair charity (http://www.beautifullengths.com/). Beautiful Lengths distributes real-hair wigs to women who've lost their hair due to cancer. The wigs are distributed through the American Cancer Society to women in need around the country.

I recently decided it was time to make the cut even though I knew my hair would be quite short. Wade was ready to see me with a change of style, so on Friday we went to the "Hadley Salon" (better known as our kitchen). No Wade didn't cut my hair for me, but only the best hair stylist ever...my brother Gregg! I wouldn't have trusted anyone else to do anything of this nature with my hair. I must say having your hair cut off with it all pulled back in a ponytail feels really strange. I lost 2 pounds in about 30 seconds! It all made for a fun experience! I know whoever gets my hair as part of their wig someday will be very grateful for those who gave a little of themselves!