Ultimate Gratitude

All I have seen teaches me to trust the creator for all I have not seen. 
Ralph Waldo Emerson

The foremost quality of a trusting disciple is gratefulness.  
Brennan Manning

Trust is the bridge from yesterday to tomorrow...built with planks of thanks... I can walk the planks - from known to unknown - and know He holds.  
Ann Voskamp

This week...we remember.  We celebrate something many days I can't even wrap my mind around...but I trust it with all my heart and I feel ultimate gratitude for...DEATH.  SUFFERING. CROSS.  NAILS.  BLOOD SHED.  JUSTICE.  GRACE.  VICTORY.  RESURRECTION.   It's what gives meaning to everything else in my life.  It's what gives me hope when I don't feel like going on.  It's what gives me hope when I'm discouraged with this life of mine.

It's ultimately what helps me to continue counting along with Ann...

65.  playground fun
66.  children obeying
67.  yellow daffodils open and bursting color
68. God's provision
69.  free babysitting
70. belly laughter bubbling up in my children
71. wearing jeans I haven't been able to fit into in over 7 years (yes I kept them just for this reason) - the infertility weight is almost gone!
72. compliments and encouragement
73. a successful garage sale
74. a friends compassion
75.  rocking my baby
76. hearing gospel truth sung by tiny voices
77. answering questions from Samuel about Jesus
78. knowing God has my tomorrows and I don't have to worry about them!
79. the gift of marriage
80. time alone with my middle child
81. beauty and awe of God's majesty in His creation
82. time to curl up with a good book
83. spontaneous hug from oldest with words thankful

More Counting

Turn my heart toward your statutes and not toward selfish gain.
  Turn my eyes away from worthless things; preserve my life according to your word.  
Psalm 119:14

God's word is alive and active and I find my soul longing for the quiet moments alone with them and with Him.  This has not been true for a long time. 


The moments that fill my days are being savored...enjoyed...lived fully...these moments are not always easy or fun...but I'm learning to thank and to experience this life to the fullest.  My eyes are drawn to the beauty and wonder that is all around me.  My heart is more alive than it's been in awhile. 

Continuing to count the blessings...big and small...

41. bedtime songs and snuggles
42. my Fathers Love
43. a child's laughter
44. warmer weather and afternoons spent outside
45. sharpie pens:)
46. satisfaction of completed projects
47. a new laundry approach
48. pounds lost
49. hands reached up to me in longing
50. my name on their lips
51. another perfect spelling test!
52. red tulips
53. a husband serving
54. no more throw up
55. a warming trend with a glimpse of the coming spring
56. a cool morning run
57. a sweet friend's encouragement speaking my love language through written words
58.  princess party success!
59.  moments enjoyed, time slowing
60. God words breathed by the Spirit, delivered by my husband to our church
61. girls night out!!!!
62.  worshiping in community
63. acting on the spirit's leading
64. blooming trees everywhere

Changing

God is always at work but there seem to be seasons where I am intensely aware of seeing it.  Many times in the past, it has been in the suffering.  And of course, how could I miss Him in the miracles of love and my children.  Right now, I see Him at work in my heart in the midst of just everyday living.  Thanks to Ann and her blog and her book, I am learning how to be thankful and recognize all the little blessings God gives.   Through helping lead a Bible Study this semester at church on contentment, I am learning that having a thankful heart is a huge part of being able to be content whatever the circumstance or season of life I am in.  Both things are working in my heart to help me live joyfully no matter what.  It's a process, but I can just tell already so much that the state of heart is more peaceful than it's been in a while.   The Spirit of God is so active and I love to see how our hearts can change.  I still struggle throughout so much of the day to sacrifice praise and have a thankful heart.  I get tired.  I get frustrated.  I feel down.  And yet, through the Spirits work and prompting, I am learning to set my mind on things above...and count it all a blessing!

I highly recommend 1000 Gifts.  I am about halfway through the book and it's amazing!!

Counting towards my own 1000...

13.  the Spirit's calm before leading Bible Study
14. Women sharing and talking and encouraging me unto the Lord
15. a sweet friends generosity
16. date night with the one my soul loves
17. children singing and dancing wildly with no shame
18. God's promises and bounties in my life do calm my anxious heart and give me hope for the future
19. morning coffee
20. God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever
21. a warm January day brings joy in the midst of a long cold winter
22. loads and loads of laundry meaning my quiver is full...



23. a clean pantry and laundry room brings immense satisfaction
24. surviving and thriving a weekend alone without Jeff
25. chick - fil - a
26. free music on pandora
27 a perfect spelling test 2 weeks in a row!
28. leftovers so I don't have to cook
29. that God woos me to Himself - He is a God of love
30. God purposed everything about me (my acne prone skin, my thick frizzy hair, introverted and type A personality, infertility, and my broad shouldered self for my good and His glory)
31. toddler talk and singsong little voices
32. mothers day out and preschool:)
33. God is indescribable...He has "told every lightning bolt where it should go"
34. impromptu play date and lunch with friends
35. flavored creamer swirling into my dark coffee
36. for a book that is changing me...thank you Ann and thank you Jesus for your example of giving thanks in all things
37. being able to invest the gospel into my children's hearts
38. that forgiveness is mine when I don't do 37 well
39. for getting to dress up in a fabulous borrowed dress and go to a fun party with my hubby
40. the 20 some odd comments I got on facebook and here from such encouraging gals about me in said dress (y'all know how to make a girl feel good...and I really appreciate all the sweet comments)!

Counting My Gifts

The book is ordered and has shipped.   And I can't wait to read it.

picture from A Holy Experience

I'm going to join the book club here.

So naturally, I really want to join in on Multitude Mondays at A Holy Experience. God is using this blog through the poetic words of it's author to render in my heart a state of thankfulness.  An attitude that looks for the blessings in the midst of my sometimes chaotic, wild, messy, and mundane life as a stay at home mom.  So, today is my first post to count my blessings. 

I'm reading a book I've already read once before...but this time it's different because I'm helping lead a bible study at my church on it.  I've risen early before the kids, as dawn just begins to break, to read, pray, and study.  The book is Calm My Anxious Heart and this week we are learning (I'm facilitating) how to be content in our circumstances.

A familiar verse...Philippans 4:6 says...

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, WITH THANKSGIVING, present your requests to God, and the PEACE of God...will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 

God is reminding me that I can have His gift of peace, if I choose to be thankful in the midst of my circumstances...whether they be good or bad and whether they ever change or not.  

I read in a commentary this morning that peace is a God given reward resulting from joyful reflection on His bounties.  And that's exactly what Mondays over at A Holy Experience are for and here that's what they will be for too (if I can remember:)).    I jot them down in my journal as I think of them.  It helps my heart and my mind stay focused on Him and I really thing the Spirit is changing me.  Giving me peace.  Giving me a better attitude when I am dependent on Him and looking for the blessings. 

Counting my blessings...

1. friends who know me and love God

2. a capable husband who I can 100% trust when I leave him with kids

3.  a home I love to take care of

4. 3 sets of eyes watching at the windows

5. welcome home signs...a reminder of being loved and needed

6. irresistible dimples

7. kissable cheeks

8.  an eight year old boy's tender heart

9. a fun new way to tie my scarves (thanks Julia)

10.  that the word of God is living and active

11. fellowship with other women

12. watching a frustrated little boy experience victory in his homework by not giving up. 

13. carpool so I don't have to wake the girls up everyday to get Samuel from school
14. a daughters words of love whispered in my ear