God Stop

I am participating in a bible study that is by Beth Moore. She is a spitfire little blonde from Texas with big hair and an even bigger Southern accent. Every time I see the video of her it makes me miss Southern accents while it also reminds me of my Aunt Carol. One of the things she mentions are God Stops, basically just taking time at the end of your day to think about how you have seen God in your life and the world that day. I am not very good about writing down my God Stops, but I think of them often. Even though there are many bad things in the world, I am lucky enough to find lots of little great things in the world every day. Here are a few:

--I am babysitting a little 8 month old boy. It has been so neat to see his reaction when he experiences something for the first time. Recently we put him in a walker and you could see his little brain working as he realized that if he moved his feet, his body would move along with them.
--The other night I was in traffic jam at midnight with two friends in the car. I just happened to think that I should change lanes. Thirty seconds after I had changed lanes a car came speeding into the tunnel and rear ended another car which resulted in a chain reaction of seven cars being hit. Every person that got out of their car was a man. Although it was unfortunate for those other cars, I felt so lucky to not have been hit in a tunnel, with Kyle out of town, being the only woman in the wreck (and not speaking very much French), in our brand new car.
--Although Kyle and I miss our families tremendously, we are both so lucky to have incredible friends here. I have called on these friends to do things that you would normally only ask a family member to do. These friends have taken care of me when I have been sick, comforted me when I was sad, and celebrated Thanksgiving and Christmas with us.
--I recently made a list of all the places we have visited this year. Not only am I thankful for the chance to tour around different cities, but I am most thankful for the opportunity it has given me to open my mind to other cultures and ideas. I told my mom recently that I have become a much more liberal person while living over here.
--I have mentioned these before, but I just love getting flowers every Wednesday at our local market. Seeing them on my coffee table every time I enter the room just makes my day that something so simple can be so beautiful.
--I am constantly amazed at just how lucky we are to have so much freedom and choices. Compared to so many other countries we just live incredible lives -- we have no fear of being persecuted for political or religious beliefs. We can speak freely of our thoughts and beliefs. We are all just so blessed.