Typical Thanksgiving Post

Before I head off to my first Holiday spent with the Cardwell family I thought I'd take a moment to reflect on my year. The days ahead will be full of business and fun and of course food and I do not see a whole lot of time being open for blog writing :)

When I think about last Thanksgiving and then all that has happened in between I can't help but be overwhelmed with joy and humility as I have been beyond blessed this year.

Here a a few things I am thankful for...not in order of importance but as I go back through the journey of my year this is what I think of.

1. I GRADUATED!! It has never felt so good to be out of school. I am thankful for what I learned and the experience I had but I am also thankful it is over :)

2. I GOT ENGAGED!! The day after Christmas last year my sweet husband proposed to me. This was the beginning of the road of many things to be thankful for. I can remember the night like it was yesterday and it was perfect. Not to mention my parents threw us an amazing engagement party the day after. It was all planned in less than 24 hours and we had over 20 people show up. Such sweet friends and family we have!

3. SHOWERED WITH LOVE!! I can remember not long after we were engaged we had our first wedding shower. To this day Nic and I will forever be blessed by it as all our family and friends gathered together in celebration for us. We didn't take it for granted and because of that the love we felt that day was beyond the norm.

4. TIME IN WILMINGTON!! One of my biggest regrets of college was not going home more often. But while planning a wedding there I was forced to go home every month and right before the wedding was able to spend 2 weeks there. To a lot of people this may be an ordinary thing but for me it wasn't. The time I was able to spend at home with my friends and my family during this last year will forever be cherished.

5. NIC'S TRANSITION!! In the last year Nic's heart was moved toward coaching. I got to see the man of my dreams fight for his purpose and passion. Though at times it was hard I am so thankful for the way that Nic's fights for what he knows is right. I've never seen him happier and it's so sweet to know he is exactly where he is suppose to be.

6. OUR HOUSE!! We found the most perfect little place to start our marriage. It was affordable, in a great location, accepted pets, and was new and clean :) Finding a place to live in Boone isn't easy! I am thankful for our house!

7. PIPER!! Dogs are the greatest blessing! I have gone a long time without them and Nic and I decided to get one as our wedding gift to each other. She is the gift that keeps on giving! We love her so much :)

8. I HAVE THE BEST FRIENDS!! I think about all the fun my friends and I had leading up to the wedding! All the trips to Wilmington, my showers, and my Bachelorette weekend! I have friends from all over and to have them all in one place is the sweetest thing and to see my friends from Boone and Wilmington come together is one of the greatest things for me. Post wedding I have had my Wilmington friends talk about how much they love the Boone girls and vise versa. I love that. And I love them.

9. MY DEVOTED PARENTS!! I will never be able to repay my parents or show them the depth of my appreciation for what they did for Nic and I over the last year. I saw my mom bend over backwards to get things perfect for the wedding and I saw my dad support her and be by her side the whole time. They were so patient and so supportive. I felt nothing but love in this stressful time. And I am so thankful for not only the way they love me but love each other.

10. OUR WEDDING!! Well I would have to say we had the greatest wedding of all time! And yes the reception was a blast and I am so thankful everyone had a great time. But most importantly I am thankful for the ceremony. Thankful for what took place that day and the love of Christ that was shown through it. I prayed that my wedding would be an example of Christ and could be a testimony. Since my wedding I have had some friends tell me that it was at my wedding when they decided to change their lives around...Praise God for answered prayers and altered lives.

11. MY HUSBAND!! I have and forever will be grateful for Nic and who he is too me. But at this point in my year I get to be thankful that he is my HUSBAND! That we get to walk through life together and that I can trust him fully. We have fun every day of our marriage and I am grateful for his love.

12. OUR HONEYMOON!! We loved our honeymoon. I needed nothing more at that point than a week on an island with my hubby. What a blessing.

13. MY JOB!! As soon as I got back from the honeymoon I got a job as a school social worker in Watauga County Schools. This is a big accomplishment for me as I just graduated school. And this is exactly what I wanted to do in my next season.

14. MY CHURCH!! I have learned to not take my church for granted. I am so thankful to be apart of what God is doing and I am so blessed to have a great pastor and church family!

15. KEEPING MY JOB!! I haven't told you this yet in the blog world but (board-pending) I have been offered my job full time. I was only contracted until December but I now get to keep it for the whole year. It really is the best job and I work with the most wonderful families and have the best co-workers! I am so happy!

16. MY NEW FAMILY!! As I am hours away from venturing off to my first Holiday with Nic's family. I am thankful for them. Thankful for how sweet they are to me and to the both of us and that they are such a joy to be around. I have married a great man but I have also been married into a great family.

17. MY GOD!! I can not go without saying how thankful I am for the Lord. I have had a whirlwind of a year but he has been by me the entire time. His patience and understanding has been felt more than ever in this year. And I praise Him for his sovereignty. I am so blessed by him and am so happy he will never let go of me.

I know that is a lot but it still isn't everything. Just a few highlights from a great year! I hope your thanksgiving is great and even if your year has been hard I pray you choose to focus on the good and faithful things in your life.

Be blessed this holiday!

Love,
Kira Cardwell

Do. Not. Lose. Heart.

Do you ever hear someone say something to you, read something, or hear a lyric on the radio and think....WOW, that is exactly what I needed.

Well today I read in 2 Corinthians 4 and the simple words....DO NOT LOSE HEART...almost took the breath right out of me (God's word will do that, you should read it sometime :))It was like I was reading, reading, reading, and then read those words and I knew it was the Lord speaking straight to me.

I am a sensitive person as a lot of you may know and I have a big heart. I struggle with the loss of people. Losing friends, family, people in general, has never come easy for me. And most of all I am a fighter. I will fight for a friend till the death before a call it a lost cause.

Recently in my life I have had so many changes and it was so quick I think some of that grieving has taken place without my knowing of it. I am a trooper so I will push through just about any hardship or challenge without hesitation but sometimes life takes a toll on you and by the time you notice it it can be too late :) Especially when you have a wonderful husband and life and there shouldn't be much to complain about. But sometimes it just happens. Life goes by fast and you take a second to look back and you begin to hurt.

The heart is a funny thing. It is the store house for so much. Every good thing and every bad thing. You ask Jesus into your heart but at the same time negative things can come from your heart. This is why in the bible we have been told to GUARD our HEARTS for it is the wellspring of life! It is our nourishment for life and it is other peoples nourishment for life as we use our heart to love. To lose sight of the importance of your heart, the God with in, the desires with in, and the love with in it would be to "lose heart" and would ultimately be a tragedy.

No matter what has happened in a persons life the heart must be protected. Although it feels like we have been run over beat up and destroyed, the heart can withstand it all. In the same chapter I read this morning is says....

"We are hard pressed on every side but not crushed, perplexed but not despair, persecuted but not abandoned, struck down but not destroyed....Therefore do not lose heart. Though we are outwardly wasting away, inwardly we are being renewed day by day."

I don't know about you but I believe the word of God is true. So although we may FEEL like we are crushed, in despair, and destroyed. God says we are not! And our heart stands strong because with in it holds the Creator of the earth, our rock, and our salvation...our ALL POWERFUL GOD! Maybe this spoke to me personally and that is why I am so pumped about this word but when I caught this revelation for the place I am currently I was encouraged and ready to jump up and down in excitement.

We are stronger than we think we are.
We are doing better than we think we are.
We are in fact in the hands of the Lord.
There is in fact no better place.

Just wanted to share with you something that touched my heart today. Hope it touches yours too.

Love you all!
Kira Cardwell