The Gratitude Project - Day 9

Today, I am thinking how thankful I am for TWO things. The first is this...

After I finished doing school with the kids this morning, I sat down to do one of my least favorite jobs - paying bills. I hate this job! But it's something that I simply must sit down and do regularly, so I can keep everything straight and it will be less of a headache later. But as I sat down and began balancing and budgeting and writing and mailing, I am reminded how thankful I am that we are able to pay our bills.

Last year, my sweet friend's husband was out of work for several months. It was really hard for them, and she told me that one thing she just really wanted was to be able to pay her bills. And when her husband finally was gainfully employed once again, she called me just to tell me how excited she was when she paid her bills for that month.

For 2 years now, we have been wondering about Brient's job and whether or not he will still have one after this company buy-out. So far, he is still employed, and it looks as though he will remain employed. And for that, I am so very thankful.

So, as much as I hate the task of actually sitting down and doing the math, I am very thankful that God has provided for us and I am ABLE to pay our bills.

The second thing I am thankful for is this...

In just a little while, a guy from our church, George, will be coming over to help Brient fix something on his truck.

Brient recently took his truck in just to have his tires balanced, but he came out with an estimate of well over $100 to fix this part. We have been holding off until we just HAD to do it. If we took it in, it would cost a lot. But Brient wasn't really sure exactly how to fix it himself, which is what he usually does on all our vehicles.

But Sunday, George told Brient that he knew exactly how to change out the part and get the truck fixed, and he would be happy to come talk Brient through the process. George had back surgery last year, and can't actually DO the job. But he was willing to TELL Brient how to do it. Which is better anyway, because then Brient will understand better just in case we have this come up again in the future.

So I am thankful for my honey, who is willing to tackle jobs himself, and save us a lot of money by having someone else do those jobs. And I am especially thankful right now for a good friend who is willing to give up some of his time to come talk Brient through this project! George and his wife, Jamie, have become some very dear friends to Brient and I, and we are very thankful for them!