Happy Friday, everyone! I hope you had a wonderful week. Today’s the day to write out what I’m grateful for:

1. Old friendships. This week I saw some friends from college that I haven’t seen for 9 years, and I also got to Face Time with friends from California. There’s something so grounding and reassuring about being with people who knew you way back when, especially after this year of so many new relationships, places, and routines.

2. New friendships. I’ve been blessed to make many new friends since moving to Miami. I appreciate all the welcome I’ve felt from our church and school family, and the new relationships I’ve been given. I love the moments in new friendships when you find something new in common, hear their stories for the first time, and realize that these new people? They’ve got my back.

3. Dental care. We found out this week that my husband has a ton of dental work to be done, and I’m trying to stay positive instead of focusing on the fact that over the past few years we’ve spent the equivalent of a car or luxury vacation on his mouth. So in pursuit of the positive…I’m thankful for the fact that we are surrounded by good dental care. 🙂

4. Quiet nights. A couple nights this week, my husband and I didn’t turn on the TV. We just sat on the couch together while he studied a new set of curriculum standards, and I dug into a new book. Sometimes I don’t realize how noisy our days are until I sit and appreciate a quiet night.

5. Prayer. Last night at Bible study, I was reminded again of the power and privilege of prayer in James 5:13-20:

¹³ Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise. ¹⁴ Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. ¹⁵ And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven. ¹⁶ Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.