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Thankful Thursday ~ New Adventures

    Trust in the LORD with all your heart,
and do not lean on your own understanding.
(Proverbs 3:5 ESV)

I literally had to dust off my blog; the last entry is from September. Yikes!!! But none the less, I am back :)…

The last couple of months have been nothing but a new adventure. As you may recall, I was blessed to go back home in October. Oh, what a splendid time I had with my family. It was great to wake up at my mom’s home; having coffee and breakfast together. I believe that she also enjoyed my company. Here are some pictures of our day in Hamburg 🙂 …My mom, my aunt and me had had a great time!!!

(my mom is the lady on your right, my aunt behind her and me behind the camera)

After my vacation in Germany, I decided to return to portrait photography. I had stopped for over a year (had some not so nice comments about my work). My heart is in portrait photography, and with God’s help I will make it this time around. I have to trust Him and step out in faith!!!

Next week I will be sharing a little more about my portrait photography and work I am thankful for.

What are you thankful for this week? Please do share with us by leaving a link to your Thankful Thursday post below.

Thank you for stopping by today. Remember: don’t lean on your own understanding, but trust God with your path.

Love and peace,
Iris

Thankful Thursday Participants

1. God will provide!
2. Pamela @ the Songs on the Way
3. It Feels Like Chaos
4. LaughingLady
5. Take it Off		 6. Vintage Homemaker
7. Jess @ Homestead For Him
8. Bethany
9. Kathleen – The Joyful Servant 🙂
10. Lauren @ The How to Blog		 11. The Glamorous Life of a French Housewife
12. Praise Break
13. Christ’s Crucifixion: Triplets of Sacrifice

Learn more about Thankful Thursday here.

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Unexpected Blessings

Today, I am linking up with my friend Joan to share His Beauty. Click on the image below to read more of His Beauty…

Beauty in His Grip Button

“No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
(Romans 8:37-39 ESV)

Last week I had shared with my readers that I had ‘A Perfect Day’. Let me share a little more with you how it came to pass and how it ended up a day of unexpected blessings.

You see, since I am not a US Citizen (by choice I keep my German citizenship), I have to renew my ‘green’ card every ten years. Honestly, I was a little nervous; much has changed over the past 10 years. Since 9/11/2001 (the year I renewed last) as you can imagine, applications to stay in this country as a foreigner have become more complicated.

The biggest changes were put in place last year with a new law on how you have to renew your ‘green’ card. You no longer can go to the local office; you have to fill out a form online to receive an appointment for the local office.

On my appointment day I was so nervous, I sent a couple of text messages to some very close friends to pray for me. On the way to Phoenix I thought my husband would have to pull over; I was sick to my stomach. My heart knew that everything would be fine, but I could not get my tummy to follow my heart.

When we got to the USCIS office in Phoenix, I was still nervous.  I noticed that I was not the only one how had butterflies in the tummy 🙂 …I have to say, the employees at the USCIS office were the nicest people. There were many people with appointments that morning, but I was done within 45 minutes (fingerprints, photo etc). I almost skipped out of the office.

Pancho's Enchiladas As I mentioned, my husband went with me and we took the opportunity to stay for almost 3 hours in Phoenix. We had a wonderful lunch and took a walk, photographing. I had a smile on my face all afternoon (the weather was perfect too). I told my husband at least a hundred times how much I enjoyed spending the day with him.

By the way, we even found a parking spot we didn’t have to pay for (long story for another day :))

You see, sometimes God blesses us unexpectedly. Even if a day does not start out to promising, God will give us something to remember. I sure will remember the day I had to renew my green card for years to come…and will be smiling.

Thanks for stopping by.

Love and peace,
Iris

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Thankful Thursday ~ Time Off!

Please remember that in the month of October, my dear friend Lynn is hosting Thankful Thursday at Spiritually Unequal Marriage.

“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” ~ Romans 12:2 (ESV emphasis mine)

It was nice to have time off from the daily hustle and bustle at work. As I celebrated my 51st birthday yesterday, I reflected on what life is truly about.

I have some wonderful friends here and online who celebrated with me. It was really nice to hear from my sisters at Laced with Grace that God used my words to encourage them. Isn’t that what life is all about? Not to always seek our own pleasure, but let God use us in any shape or form? We might never know who we impacted with our words this side of heaven; but that should not stop us sharing hope and love!

The time off also gave me the opportunity to have some quality time with my beloved husband. We are both so busy when working, exhausted when we get home, we don’t talk much about what really is going on in our lives. Yes, it is wrong, but we just want to relax when we get home and not always share our frustrations we encountered throughout the day.

The past three days I also reflected on the relationship I have with my son. Even though he is 26 and 6’10, he is the most kindhearted son a mother can wish for. Yes, I am proud of him and how he is handling life.

I am thankful for the life God has blessed me with, even if I am living out Plan B and not the dreams I once had.

What are you thankful for this week? Please do share with us by leaving a link to your TT post below.

Thank you for stopping by today. Remember: living in a “Plan B” life, does not mean that God will not use you for His purpose.

Love and peace,
Iris

Thankful Thursday Participants

1. bp
2. Words. Weapons. Hope. Healing.
3. Laurie @ Women Taking a Stand
4. Stillness @ Edwards Granddaughter
5. Jessica
6. Tami @ The Next Step
7. On An Autumn Tuesday		 8. Melanie @ M&M
9. LaughingLady
10. Heather@Becoming A Titus 2 Woman
11. Rachel @That’s Life
12. The Southern Fried Bride
13. Michele
14. Jessica @ By Grace Alone		 15. Not Just Any Road
16. Inspirations from Phather Phil – Thankful Thursday: Another 300
17. Sherry/I am Back
18. God is our refuge and our strength
19. Coffee

Learn more about Thankful Thursday here.

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Winner of MercyMe CD

Congratulations to Loren of “The Magoos News” for winning the MercyMe CD “The Generous Mr. Lovewell“. Loren, I pray that the CD will bless you as much as it has me. Maybe it will become one of your favorites as well.

You know, I so love blessing other people with my little giveaways. Sure, they might be not huge [in dollar value], but they are to me in a different sense.

You see, our God truly has blessed my life. I am not saying that the journey this side of heaven is easy, but nonetheless, I am blessed beyond measure. I am redeemed by Christ’s blood, I have a wonderful family, incredible friends, a roof over my head. What else do I need? That is why I want to give little blessings here and there through my giveaways…

Have a super blessed weekend…