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.

A Post of Thankfulness and a baby bump

 Here's a 25 1/2 weeks baby bump selfie of myself and the baby. ;)
     Bending down and walking is getting a tad bit harder these days, and standing up for a long period of time is practically impossible! ;)
     The last week or two, the weather has been so nice that my husband and I have been taking walks in the evening together. We live in a very small town, so we have a couple gas stations near us, a diner, and a Family Dollar store.
     I can't tell you often enough how amazed I am by Gods goodness to me over the years. My husband is a treasure to me every day, and I wouldn't trade him for the world.
    Josh and I celebrated our 1st anniversary this last week. We celebrated by going to a restaurant, going window shopping at a mall nearby, seeing a movie, and going home to rest. When I look over the past year, and see what God done for my husband and I, I'm so amazed! It's even more amazing how God brought us together!... in His timing!
     So, this post isn't really one of my normal posts, but rather one of thankfulness to God for giving me a wonderful husband! Josh was so worth the wait! On top of that, we have a baby boy on the way! God is good!
     While we're on the topic of thankfulness, thank you to my readers for reading and commenting on my posts. Because of you, I'm able to write about what I love.
Have a great week! 

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? 

Yet another death...

Today, as I was sitting in the car before going into Wal*Mart, I was listening to the radio, and the DJ said, "Some days we get so caught up in life with taking our kids places, or doing school, activities, and other various things, that we forget to Thank God for the day. Sometimes we forget to pray, read the Bible, or look at the beauty of the trees/sky/sun around us." Isn't this so true?

Today, I found out that Shannon Sproul (R.C. Sproul Jr.'s daughter) died. They don't know the cause yet. Many of you know that R.C. Sproul Jr. suffered the loss of his wife a few months ago to cancer...and now today, his daughter. Let's all be in prayer for the Sproul family!!!

I was thinking about "death", after I heard this news today...and, I am so blessed! I'm blessed to have my grandparents, family, friends all still alive!!! As I said earlier, we forget to thank God for the blessings that we have. We may not think about it, but look around you...maybe it's a church that you go to, that you have been blessed by; or maybe it's family/friends who helped you through some things in your life. Whatever it may be...thank God for it!!!

Let's be in prayer for the Sproul family as they struggle through this rough time in their life...and yet know, that with death, comes heaven for believers of Jesus Christ!

"Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing."

~James 1:2-4~