Thankful Thursday-To hard to be Thankful?

You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; you have loosed my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness, that my glory may sing your praise and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you forever! ~ Psalm 30:11-12 (ESV)

There are days when my mourning seems too overwhelming to be thankful about anything. I'm having one of those weeks. I find though, that rather than focus on the sadness and the trials, my spirit is lifted when I focus on the things (no matter how simple) I can be thankful for. I miss my mother terribly..much more than I can possibly express to anyone who hasn't lost a parent....but sadness was never in her plans for me, as it's not in my plans for my children. So today, I'm thankful, even though it's hard.

1. I am thankful for a God who invites me to dance, and who provides the music entice me to join him.

2. I am thankful He chose to give me a mother who spent my youth encouraging me to trust Him.

3. I am thankful for Him allowing me to see my daughter overcome her fears, stand up in front of strangers and sing!

4. I am thankful He put encouraging women in my life who make me laugh when all I want to do is cry.

5. I am thankful for trial that push me closer to Him.

6. I am thankful for a husband that loves me in spite of all the "craziness" I seem to attract.

7. I am thankful for hugs from my children. I hope they never get "too big".

8. I am thankful for kitties who know just when I need a snuggle.

9. I am thankful for fuzzy socks that keep my cold toes warm.

10. I am thankful that God provides my needs, all of them, even the ones that seem "too small".

Thankful Thursday- Eternally Saved

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.” ~ John 3:16-17
(ESV - emphasis mine)

I can't even wrap my mind around the concept of eternal. Our minds are so conditioned to everything having and end that the idea of forever just boggles me. I do understand that if I have to be somewhere with no end, the I want it to be heaven and not hell... :) Which brings me to the next highlighted part of that text..SAVED BY HIM. Oh what a joy that puts into my soul!! What peace just washes over me. I didn't have to be good enough. I didn't have to make enough money. I didn't have to have perpetual good hair days...HE saved me! He loved me! He did what I know I could never do on my own, to provide me a future I can't even comprehend. Gotta love a God who knows what's best for me and offers it to me even before I know I need it.

Thankful Thursday- Not to Fear...

“Know that the LORD, he is God!
It is he who made us, and we are his;
we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
and his courts with praise!
Give thanks to him; bless his name!”
~ Psalm 100:3-4 (ESV)

I'm hearing a lot of fear lately in all my
communications with others. Fear over the economy, fear over leadership changes, fear over just about anything you can name at any given moment. We were not made to fear. We are his! We are made to praise. We are made to accept his love and gracious gifts to us. He made us, he loves us he saved us. All he asks in return is our love and adoration. Fear chokes that out of us. Fear cripples us. Fear keeps us from receiving blessings and love from him. How do I fight fear you ask? Oh that's the easy part...you just praise. Enter those gates singing a song of joy to him. Dance before his throne with thanksgiving--I promise not to watch :)

It truly does not matter what is happening in the banks of America. New presidents are of little importance. God is God. He is big. He is Good. Nothing escapes his attention. He is more than able to meet your every need and no man can stop him. So fear not! This IS the day the Lord of Lords has made and you have every reason to rejoice in it!

Thankfulness 4-5

Nov 4- I'm thankful for a daughter who grows more beautiful everyday. I know that someday she will be a competent and caring mother and wife who has a heart to serve the Lord.

 

Nov 5- I am thankful for a daughter who brings beautiful sunshine and chaos to my life. She just shines, and its hard not to be happy when you're with her. She makes me proud with how hard she works.

 

Thankfulness 1-3

So I was challenged to post a picture a day through all of November that shows something I'm thankful for. I'm a bit behind.
Nov 1- I'm thankful for my puppy who is always happy to see me and loves me not matter how I look :)

 

Nov 2-I'm thankful for the imagination of Prince E and how everything is an adventure to him. He takes pictures of toy battles with my camera to show me what I'm missing by reading a "boring ole book"

 

Nov 3-I'm thankful for sweet moments like this. We couldn't get them both in the picture, but the shoulder you see to his left is his Papa who also fell asleep on the way home.

 

Trunk or Treat pics

 

Princess A waits to play a game

 

Indiana Jones goes treasure fishing

 

Princess K and friend have had far too much sugar...