A Grateful Heart

     These past couple weeks have been quite the whirlwind. Adjusting to life as a new mom, and meeting the needs of my 5-week old have been great and challenging at the same time. There are times I look at baby James and think, "Wow! How could God be so gracious to give us a baby of our own?!" Every day with my little boy gets better... and yes, I still have good days and bad days, but I wouldn't trade my baby for the world! ;)
     I was thinking this last week about how my life has changed for the better. I was thinking about how God used everything in my life for His glory. It's funny the things that God throws our way to teach us things in order to grow us into the person that He created us to be.
     This past week, I was actually feeling pretty confident about being a momma to my little man. I was proud of myself for being able to go in public with a 5-week old, and everything going great... and then life threw me a curve ball... or should I say my son threw me a curve ball and decided to sleep for 3 hours while I got ready for the day!... this was huge! I was thinking to myself, "Hey, this days going to go great!" After I woke him up to feed him, and played with him for a bit, it was time for his nap again. His eyes began to roll back, and he drifted off to sleep... for 2 minutes. James decided to continue to do this for the next hour. Anytime, I'd set him down, or take the pacifier from his already opened mouth, he'd wake up, and cry... sigh. Well, needless to say, my whole afternoon was pretty much spent holding him and trying to get him to sleep. So much for getting things done, right?!
     Half of me just wanted me to let him cry himself to sleep, so that I can at least get my lunch and have an hour to myself, and the other half of me, wanted to cradle my son in my arms and let him know that it was all okay, and that mommy was there for him.
     I began to think to myself, "Some days are great, and some days are terrible, but I should be grateful that I have a son that Gods blessed me with!"
     Motherhood is hard. It's hard to put your selfishness aside every hour of every-day, and focus on someone other than yourself. It's hard to possibly not be able to take a shower, or eat your lunch until later in the afternoon, so that your child can have your love and attention.
     I admit, I don't have it all together. I feel like some days I have it all together... that's when God decides to prove me wrong. "...Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name. For the Lord is good..." ~Psalm 100:4-5
      So, what am I grateful for?

• The Chance to Serve.
• A Baby that Gods blessed me with!
• The love that a mother has for her child.
• My mothers Godly example for me to follow as I enter motherhood.

What are you grateful for?... I'd love to know in the comments below! :-)

God notices the grateful Heart

I thought that since next week is Thanksgiving, I'd write a post about being grateful.
God notices the grateful heart. He took a praise-singing shepherd boy and made him a king.

There’s no hint of God getting out of sorts if we aren't thankful. But there is evidence that we are affected by our own ingratitude. What of the disastrous days?  The nights I can’t sleep and the hours I can’t rest?
Am I grateful then?  Jesus was.

The Bible records, “On the night he was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took some bread and gave thanks to God for it.”  (I Corinthians 11:23). It’s not often you see the words betrayed and thanks in the same sentence, much less in the same heart. In the midst of the darkest night of the human soul, Jesus found a way to give thanks. Anyone can thank God for the light. Jesus teaches us to thank God for the night. He says to us, “You’ll get through this!”  And we will.
Everyone knows what Black Friday is. It used to be that Black Friday would follow the day after Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving was an entire day to spend with family/friends, giving thanks for all that God blessed us with, and now, it's being grateful and then rushing into stores because we want, "more!"
There is no giving Thanks anymore.
I went to help out one of the families at our church last week, and on their table, there was a glass jar, with twigs and sticks in it. On these twigs and sticks, there were leaves made out of paper. On the paper was written things that the family is Thankful for. I thought this was such a great idea, because so easily, we can become so ungrateful for the things we have. It's nice to have a reminder around us, for the small things that we should be grateful for! "Beware, and be on your guard against every form of greed; for not even when one has an abundance does his life consist of his possessions.' ...So is the man who stores up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God."~Luke 12:15 & 21~
Our family will be coming home from Texas on Black Friday, but, I'd love to know what ya'll's thoughts are on the subject of Thanksgiving and Black Friday. What are your plans for Thanksgiving and Black Friday? I would encourage you to look at my friends blog:
 http://theisleofstantons.blogspot.com/2012/11/a-christians-thoughts-about-black-friday.html

Blessings!