Thankful for the mess

Life has been tough lately. My son developed whooping cough a couple months ago, which meant lots of weeks of constant throwing up because he was coughing so hard. James has had a lot of things going on with him that we're trying to figure out. But boy, he's such a cutie, and I love him. <3
     This week is supposed to be a week of Thanksgiving, and to look back at what you're grateful for. So, here's my post of thanks.
     Despite so so many hard days of Temper-Tantrums, messy house, dirty dishes, lots of laundry, snotty noses, baby spit up, and coughs, I'm thankful. You know, it's so hard to be grateful when you're in the moment of complete chaos. It's so hard to be grateful when you've barely gotten any sleep, you haven't taken a shower in a couple days, you've got a pile of tissues that need to be thrown away from snotty noses, and you don't remember when the last time was that you ate some food.
     But, looking back through the past couple weeks, months, and years, I am so truly thankful. I'm thankful for the mess my older son makes throughout the day, because it means that he's got an imagination, and that he kept himself occupied through part of the day. I'm thankful for baby hiccups, because it means that my baby has had enough to eat. I'm thankful for a messy kitchen, because that means that we have food to eat, and water to drink. I'm thankful for a dryer, because who knew something so small had such a significance in my life, and with all my dirty laundry, I'm thankful to have a working dryer again!
     I'm thankful for a husband who loves me despite my many sins and weakness, and my many days of lack of patience. I'm thankful for my two boys, because despite those hard days of their mommy having little patience with them, they love me, and trust me to take care of them.
    I'm so very thankful for those little phone calls and texts from friends and family, just checking in. I'm thankful for the ability to drive my husband to work once a week so that not only do I get extra time with my hubs in the car, but also so that my son and I can go to the Chiropractor on a weekly basis.
     I'm thankful for yummy meals that I've found on Pinterest, which makes diet restrictions so much easier to handle.
     I'm thankful for coffee!!!... something so small, but so delicious.
     So, that's only a small portion of what I'm thankful for, but it's good for me to get a different perspective every once in a while, and realize that I have so much to be thankful for!
What are you all thankful for? Comment below.

Giving Thanks

     The Bible is filled with commands to give thanks to God. Most verses go on to list reasons why we should thank Him, such as “His love endures forever” (Psalm 136:3), “He is good” (Psalm 118:29), and “His mercy is everlasting” (Psalm 100:5). Thanksgiving and praise always go together.

     Feeling and expressing appreciation is great! Like any wise father, God wants us to learn to be thankful for all the gifts He has given us (James 1:17). It is in our best interest to be reminded that everything we have is a gift from Him. Without gratefulness, we become arrogant and self-centered. We begin to believe that we have achieved everything on our own. Thankfulness keeps our hearts in right relationship to the Giver of all good gifts.

     Giving thanks also reminds us of how much we do have. We tend to focus on what we don’t have. By giving thanks continually we are reminded of how much we do have. When we focus on blessings rather than wants, it changes our hearts and attitudes. When we start thanking God for the things we usually take for granted, our perspective changes. 

     1st Thessalonians 5:18 says, “In everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” We are to be thankful not only for the things we like, but for the circumstances we don’t like. When we purpose to thank God for everything that He allows to come into our lives, we keep bitterness away. We cannot be both thankful and bitter at the same time. We thank Him for His promise that “all things will work together for the good, to those who love God and are called according to His purpose.” ~ Romans 8:28

      We can have thankful hearts toward God even when we do not feel thankful for the circumstance. We can grieve and still be thankful. We can hurt and still be thankful. Giving thanks to God keeps our hearts in right relationship with Him and saves us from emotions and attitudes that will rob us of the peace that God wants us to experience. (Philippians 4:6–7)    

     Have a wonderful Thanksgiving ya'll, giving thanks to God the Father Almighty, who's Sovereign on His throne.

• What are some things you're thankful for this year?
• What are your plans for Thanksgiving?
• What yummy foods do you have? 

In Everything Give Thanks

     Many times, we take life for granted. Even our daily need of food, water, and a roof over our head, we're not always thankful for.

     This evening, in the midst of us packing for our trip to Texas, and leaving in the morning, my dad called the family together. We went around the room telling each other different things we were thankful for. It ranged from, faithful Godly parents, to friends and family, to food and water. As it came time for my turn, I couldn't help but think of all the little things in life that I'm grateful for. Sometimes, I forget to count my blessing... it's good to be reminded every once in a while. ;) God is good!
     I think, often times, we only thank God in the good times... but, what about the dark times? The times when we don't feel like we have anything to be grateful for? The loss of a loved one... a prodigal... a fire/flood/earthquake that destroyed everything we owned. In 1st Thessalonians 5:18 we're reminded, "In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." I know, it's a lot harder to praise God in the midst of a storm. I always love looking at Job's life in the Bible. He lost it all... but in the midst of it, he said, "... The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord."
     So, in the midst of some of our darkest days, are we thankful? Instead of mourning the loss of a loved one. Mourn for them... but be thankful that God blessed you with time to be with that person.
     I know, it's a lot harder to say, than do. But, by God's grace, He will give us the endurance to press on... we need only to be still. In Psalm 106:1, we're told, "Praise the Lord! Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever." What an amazing passage of scripture. God is good, isn't he?!
     So, this Thanksgiving, have fun, laughter, and love. Let Christ love flow through you, and have a good time... but, let's be thankful every day... not just on Thanksgiving! :)
     What are some things you're thankful for? What are your plans for Thanksgiving? I'd love to hear! :)

In Everything Give Thanks
It’s easy to praise and give thanks

When all is sunny and bright,
But have we LEARNED to thank our Lord
In the DARK troublesome night?
Do we thank Him then?

When waters are so rough and deep,
And pressures of LIFE surround,
When faced with mountains that are steep
Our greatest strength can be found…
As we give Him thanks.

Every TRIAL and tribulation
Is first sifted through His LOVE,
And all things work out for our good
When we love our God above…
Let us give Him thanks.

Thank Him in sickness and hardship,
And all the problems that come,
In those dark VALLEYS we go through
That conform us to His Son…
Oh, let us thank Him.

We know He’s on His Holy Throne,
And when we are in His fold,
Everything that touches our life
Is for the good of our soul…
In Everything Give Thanks!

Thank you God

A couple days ago, I was blessed to babysit a family that I teach Piano to, as well as babysit. I told the girls to go get ready for bed, while I finished the dishes. So, without another word, they went up to do everything that needed to be done. After I read them a night time book, the girls asked if I would start off praying before they did. I was very blessed to find a Christian household who finds prayer so important. One of the girls, Maddy, whom is 5 prayed a beautiful prayer. All she said was, “Dear God, thank you for Miss Caitlin coming over to babysit us, thank you for the day we had, thank you for my grandma, thank you for… ----.” I smiled when she finished, because I realized that we don’t thank God enough even for the little things. Maddy was thanking God for the small things like her neighbors and grandma. How much does God ask of us?

     Going home that night I realized that I needed to thank God over the little things in life too. Don’t just thank God for Family and friends, but thank Him for the butterfly that made the little boy laugh earlier that week, or thank Him for the nice Sunny days that you can spend a day at the park with your family and/or friends.

We don't thank God enough these days.
I found this poem online, and I thought it fit perfectly. Enjoy!

Thank you God for towering pines.

Thank you God for clear, blue skies and the buzzing of Dragon flies.

Thank you God for all of nature,

Clean Air, puffy clouds,

Enough rain to guarantee a fruitful bounty.

Thank you God, that we live in this nation on earth.

Most of us realize , we hit the jackpot at birth.

Thank you God for caring neighbors, kind neighbors, friendly neighbors.

Neighbors who value nature and quiet.

And the peace filled in an acre of land,

God, you have outdone your hand.

Thank you God for towering Pines,

the songs of birds, all that is pure and fine.

Nothing man makes can ever come close

to the fortune we experience everyday,

Here on your Earth.

Thank you God for the birds and the bees

and even those annoying fleas.

Thank you God for the sun in our eyes

for the beauty of nature and all of its surprise!

Thank you God for still loving us when we fail,

There is a lesson to be learned there

As we move along our trail.

Thank you God for your wondrous presence in our face,

Even when we fall from your grace.

Thank you God for being Our Father,

who shines down upon us

So we know to get up and bother

to live another day,

to celebrate our stay, 

Here on your wonderful planet , Earth.

Giving Thanks...even when it hurts!

What exactly does, "Giving Thanks" mean?
This past week, our family as well as so many others Gave Thanks as we all sat down to eat with friends/family. So, what were/are you thankful for?
I'd love to hear it!!!
I have a list of what I'm thankful for, but I thought I'd just share
 a couple with you.

1. The birth of Jesus Christ!
2. Jesus Christ dying on the cross!
3. A family that loves me!
4. Friends that I can call my friends!
5. A house to live in!
6. Food, water, and clothes to put on!
7. My dad being blessed with a job that he's been so faithful too!
8. A Church that we can call our home!
9. The Promise that Christ will come back again!

Those are just a few (okay, more than a few) things that I'm thankful for. However, I wanted to really talk about "Giving Thanks...even when it hurts!"
When we have something bad going on in our lives, we have a tendency to want to be grumpy and...what I said in my other post, have the "it's all about me" attitude.
It says in 1st Thessalonians 5:18,
 "in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus."
So, we are to be grateful in EVERYTHING!!! If you are going through something right now... try looking at all the little things in life that God has blessed you with!
My dad and I were talking about this last night in family worship...in the 9/11, all people were asking was, "Why?" But what they didn't realize was that God had really saved a lot of people. If I'm not mistaken there were a little over 2,000 killed in the 9/11. However, more than 50,000 people were delayed somehow. Some had Alarm clocks that didn't go off in time, so therefore didn't get killed in the World Trade Center. There were others who had rides that were late, or buses that were jammed, traffic galore, traffic lights now working... malfunctions everywhere! So, when we ask, "Why?" to God, remember that we may not see HIS big plan! So be thankful for the moments you have! We need to always be giving thanks for the moments that God blessed us with. After all, we don't know how long those moments will last.

Giving Thanks ...even when it hurts!

We will be going on vacation on Monday, so I will write my Thanksgiving post now.

There are so many things to be grateful for, but are we grateful for our trials and tribulation?
Are we thankful that God gives us Joy in the midst of our trials?
Are we thankful for both the good and bad?
Make a list of each and every little thing you are grateful for. Trust me, it will fill a lot of pages. I'm thankful for my eyes, nose, mouth, heart, ears, family, love, siblings, friends ... well, you get the point.
Are you thankful for your family? Maybe you had a fight the other day with a family member, or friend. Are you still thankful for them?

1 Thessalonians 5:18 ESV /Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

Ephesians 5:20 ESV / Giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,

Psalm 107:1 ESV / Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!

Psalm 7:17 ESV / I will give to the Lord the thanks due to his righteousness, and I will sing praise to the name of the Lord, the Most High.

Thanksgiving Delights:On Thanksgiving Day we’re thankful forOur blessings all year through,For family we dearly love,For good friends, old and new.
For sun to light and warm our days,For stars that glow at night,For trees of green and skies of blue,And puffy clouds of white.
We’re grateful for our eyes that seeThe beauty all around,For arms to hug, and legs to walk,And ears to hear each sound.
The list of all we’re grateful forWould fill a great big book;Our thankful hearts find new delightsEverywhere we look!

~By Joanna Fuchs~