Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things.

~Philippians 4:4-8

Thursday, March 25, 2010

Today's Thankful Heart - March 25, 2010

I've not done this in quite awhile, in fact I've not been blogging much at all lately.  But this evening as I sat here trying to wind down after a crazy and stressful week, knowing the same is ahead of me I started thinking of all the things I am thankful for today.  I decided it is better for me to focus on those things right now and thank God for all that He has done in my life, rather than worry about things that I need to do tomorrow and the next day. 

Today I thank the Lord for:
  • My husband - yes we have our issues and to be honest I have my days where I just want to not even talk to him, but I know for a fact that goes both ways.  And in the end I know he is the one the Lord wants me to be with, he is the one I love no matter what and he is the one who has had a huge influence on who I am today.  God has used him so many times to teach me things about myself, to refine me.  He is an amazing man and when I bother to look past all the "junk" we tend to focus on, I know that he is my beloved.  Many times the people in our lives is not the problem as much as our focus and reactions are the issue.  This is so true with the person you have vowed to spend your life with.  It is so easy to take them for granted and focus on the "bad" things.  Love and marriage is about not focusing on what the world tells us to look at - it is about focusing on what the Lord wants us to look at - to treat our spouses with grace, forgiveness and the love that Christ has for us.

  • My kids - Once again, those you love the most can be the ones to drive you crazy the most!  I truly am shocked at times that I don't have any gray hair yet.  But underneath all the craziness I love my children madly.  They are my world and even when I long to get away for some peace and quiet I know that after only a very short time I would begin to miss them terribly.  They try my patience, but they touch and warm my heart even more.  They love me no matter what, even when Mommy has "snapped" and lost it.  They are my precious little blessings.

  • My job - my current position at work has been a blessing beyond belief.  And it is a reminder constantly from the Lord that He will keep His promises.  I held on for so long at jobs that I felt were sucking the life out of me at times.  Jobs that I grew depressed thinking of doing for the rest of my life.  But I never felt the "ok" from the Lord to move on.  I had plenty of opportunities but I never felt the Lord telling to me go, until this position came along.  And now I am so thankful that I waited on Him.  Yes, it is crazy and stressful right now - but I know it could be much worse.  I have a wonderful manager, I love the work I do the majority of the time and my job is flexible when I need it to be.  This is the perfect example in my life as to why I need to wait on the Lord even when things seem unbearable.  He will be my Strength!
Wow - it is amazing how great it feels to focus on your blessings.  And now with my focus on these I'm going to go discipline my dear boys who are supposed to be laying quietly in my room watching cartoons before bed but sound like they are starting WWIII and then I'm going to do some more work.  I pray everyone has a wonderful and blessed eveing.
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