Awesome!

Melody Ross is an amazingly beautiful woman who has survived much including the loss of her business and bringing her husband, the love of her life, back from a traumatic head injury. She started a business of retreats for women called Brave Girls Club that has grown, I think, into so much more than she ever dreamed. It is a ministry of healing and hope, growing and learning, that has already done so much for so many. For Thanksgiving she made this video http://bravegirlsclub.com/blog/?p=1704 which prompted me to blog about the many gifts that are AWESOME in my life. I challenge each person who reads this to do the same.

AWESOME: knowing that God loves me and has a plan for me
AWESOME: the gift of my 4 miracles after doctors began telling me at the age of 16 that I would never carry a baby to term
AWESOME: surviving pain I never imagined possible and being able to forgive the person responsible for that pain
AWESOME: the gift of an amazing pastor who lovingly taught me to forgive not only those who had betrayed me but to forgiver myself.... this one was HUGE. This forgiving and healing led to so many wonderful things in my life I never thought possible.
AWESOME: the gift of an amazing church family who helped my family survive when we thought we had lost everything
AWESOME: being given the gift of love again at my age and after I thought I was permanently broken
AWESOME: feeling safe enough to sleep through the night again (after years of nightmares and insomnia) wrapped in the arms of my love
AWESOME: being married to a man who loves God and who keeps his promises.
AWESOME: watching as my husband picked up the phone to call his mom who he had not spoken to in almost 30 years... hearing her cry tears of joy and ask his forgiveness and hearing him as he was able to grant that forgiveness.
AWESOME: having the gift of going to a job I love everyday and with the best coworkers anyone could hope for.
AWESOME: hearing my almost teenage son say he loves me right after he has gotten in trouble for something and, when his friend laughs at him for it, explaining to his friend that in our family we always make sure people know we love them even if we don't love their choices or behaviors.
AWESOME: hearing my 21yo daughter say "I love you mom" ....words I once thought I would never hear from her again
AWESOME: the amazing woman my 16yo daughter is growing into. Her love for me and faith in me was what saved my sanity more than once during some of the most difficult years of my life.
AWESOME: watching how my son lives his life in faith and what a tender heart he has for others.
AWESOME: the gift of amazing youth ministers and Sunday school teachers in my children's lives. These people have helped to develop the faith my children now have and I am beyond thankful for them.
AWESOME: watching my preteen twins willingly get up at the crack of dawn on Sundays to help cook a hot breakfast and serve it to the homeless in our community. Watching them reach out to shake a hand and sit down just to visit during breakfast makes me so unbelievably proud of them. I love knowing that they get tithing is not just about your money but also about your time.
AWESOME: the gift of one Basilio Ruiz in my life <3 We both have been through some very painful times and we believe now that this was all part of God preparing us to receive and appreciate the gift of each other. I LOVE knowing that God made Bass for me

My list could go on and on....... what about yours?