Thanksgiving {5 &6}

I am so bad at posting daily! Haha, I apologize for having to group my list of thanksgiving!

Thankful for...
{5} the little things we can enjoy on this earth. I've learned that I am unable to enjoy any of these things apart from God, so even the simplest perks in life should be something to praise God for (Ecclesiastes 2:24-26). I used to be a bookworm during my elementary school days, but once we were assigned to do summer reading in middle school, reading books became a huge turn-off. Since then, I never considered myself a fan of reading. This past summer, however, I started to pick up reading again when my younger sister recommended The Hunger Games to me. I got hooked. I stayed up past 2am, which I don't think has ever happened for reading-for-fun purposes, and finished the book within 2 days. Ever since then, I've been really curious about finding other good non-fiction to read. Currently am reading through Jane Eyre, and it's sooooo good so far! Usually the first few chapters of classic books bore me so much, I can't go past the first 20-30 pages. Jane Eyre keeps you engaged from the first page, at least for me! I hope to finish it during my Thanksgiving break, but I have a feeling I'm going to keep myself busy with hanging out with those I haven't seen in a while!

A few books I want to read/finish by next year:

• Idols of the Heart by Elyse Fitzpatrick (almost done)
  
• the 2nd & 3rd book to The Hunger Games series. (barely read the 2nd one, haven't touched the 3rd one)
• Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys (prequel to Bronte's Jane Eyre)
  
• Relationships: A Mess Worth Making by Tim Lane & Paul Tripp (heard a lot of good things about this book)
• The Harry Potter series. Ohmygosh, should I do it? I've only read the first one (back when it first came out) and have failed to finish the 2nd.
  

Music, as always, has been enjoyable for me. This past month I've been listening to:

• The Christmas Song (Nat King Cole) Radio on Pandora
• Feist's Let it Die album
• Sara Bareilles' acoustic covers on youtube. I can listen to her cover of Yellow over and over again.
• Page CXVI's songs on soundcloud.
  
• Future of Forestry. all of it.
• A Virgin's Lullaby by The Nativity Voices (on repeat to practice for church's acapella group!)

AND

{6} the gospel. There's no guarantee in non-believers forgiving us if we have wronged them. I have wronged God so much more. But the new mercies that come from God is what gives us so much hope. I am so thankful that God, holy and majestic, would cleanse us of all our sins, and see us filthy, wretched sinners, as righteous while also giving us eternal life with Him.

²⁵ Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, ²⁶that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, ²⁷so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.^{[a]
Ephesians 5:25-27}

^{Ohmygoodness, how amazingAmazingAMAZING is that passage?! It is unfathomable to me that Christ sees us as His perfect bride. Thankful. So, so thankful.}