A person’s influence, good or bad, is a powerful thing.  I just sat down to type out my list of 28 Thanks tonight and this idea about influences popped into my mind. Random…maybe. But, I am thinking right now about the power of influence. Do I influence people? If yes, am I a good influence? Or, are some of my actions, attitude, and responses to situations a bad influence? Now that I am a parent, I see more and more how powerful my influence is on my child. It is critical that I am a great, Godly influence in his life. Furthermore, I think God wants all of His kids to be an influence on others. He wants us to showcase Him and all His Glory. I am ready for His kids, the church, to influence society/culture and cause us to be the trendsetters! We have the ability, the creative genius, the intelligence, and the favor to influence our world with the Glory of God!

My 28 Thanks:

1. Great, Godly people have had an influence in my life.

2. I have been protected from bad, negative influences.

3. I am a person of influence. I better make sure it is always the best.

4. I have been told by two people this week that I have inspired them or influenced them to write 10,000 reasons blog too. So cool! The Lord deserves to be praised by every mouth!

5. I had a nice, relaxing, not rushed morning while getting ready for work.

6. I made an early morning meeting with my home builder and made some decisions for our house. And, I was all by myself. I am a big girl now…I won’t lie though-I called Gary and made sure he was cool with my decisions!

7. I completed payroll and turned it in before my morning deadline.

8. I got a lot done today in a short amount of time.

9. Zach was a big help transferring some really awkward, heavy boxes and working on some other tasks.

10. A big money donation came in today for Disaster relief.

11. More and more people are being helped everyday through our disaster relief efforts.

12. Gary had a great shift at the fire station today.

13. He cooked dinner tonight for the station and it was really good!

14. The girls loved the pizza, ice cream, and movie night that we had tonight.

15. Most of my leaders braved the storm and came to church tonight.

16. The storms were not as bad as they could have been.

17. The Ranger Badge Ceremony and GMA ceremony was great. A lot of people showed up for support.

18. Jennifer Sweeten put in a lot of work to make the ceremony really nice for the boys. She is a great administrator and leader. I am glad that she is on my team!

19. The boys were really honored for their accomplishments this year. I love how excited the boys get when their name is called and they receive an award.

20. I have a great team of Ranger leaders. They have such a heart for boys ministry.

21. Commander Frog said some really sweet things about me tonight.

22. A really awesome mom of 8 kids gave me the sweetest compliment tonight in the hallway.

23. My healthier eating habits and portion control for meals are working. People are beginning to notice my weight loss too.

24. Judah asked me to tell him my Bunny Foo Foo story again tonight.

25. Jose’s wife, Katie, is now here in Oklahoma with him. Jose is my new friend who is in the Air Force. He and his new bride had to spend a few months a part while she finished school, but now she is with him and they are together.

26. Together is a wonderful place to BE!!!!

27. Gary is off work tomorrow and we get to pick out some of the last items for our home.

28. When I came home from work today, Judah saw me, screamed my name, and ran full speed ahead into my legs. He held me tight for a moment. That, my friends, is a greeting.

 

Good night!