Day 30!!!

Wow. It's already November 30th! Yet another month has flown by. And I'm another month closer to 35! Haha...

And this thankful project has been soooo good for me. I've spent so much time and energy on negative things and blogging daily about what I'm thankful for has helped me to refocus. To get my mind off the stress and on to the blessings. 

One day, the Girl Child and I were hanging out and she writes this encouraging note on her whiteboard. Little did she know how much I needed those words. And that's my 30th thankful for this month. I'm thankful for encouraging words at just the right moment. I'm thankful for people who see that something is not quite right and they stop to listen. I'm thankful for notes of encouragement that spur me on. 

I don't want the thankful to stop here. I need to continually find the blessings and give thanks to God. The more I give thanks, the more I think I'll find peace from Jesus. And that's worth it!!

Letters and Cards

I am thankful for random people who have sent mail to my girl child. She's having a blast with reading the cards and hanging them up in her room. So far she's gotten mail from 15 states plus a postcard from Oslo, Norway!! It's so fun to see her delight. 

Reasons

I am thankful for....

My parents who love me no matter what. 

My brothers who have always been my protectors. 

Fleece blankets. 

Hot coffee on cool mornings. 

Big fat fluffy snowflakes. 

Giggling children. 

Hugs and kisses from my kids. 

Cuddling with my kids. 

A job that challenges me. 

There are days (like today) when I struggle to make these thankful lists. When I feel sad and mad and weary and consumed by the brokenness. When I want to spend all day curled up in bed. 

But I can't. 

I don't want to drown in these feelings. 

I don't want to be consumed by brokenness. 

I don't want to dwell on the lies of the devil. 

So I won't. 

I will keep trying to find reasons to be thankful. Reasons to keep smiling. Reasons to push through the negative. And reasons to laugh and love. 

Think

The day after Thanksgiving. A day when lots of people go crazy for deals. A day when people seem to forget how thankful they were yesterday and go bat crap crazy for stuff they probably don't need. 

But I have a confession to make...Chris and I went shopping both last night and today. In fact we finished our Christmas shopping. Well I still need to find him something but otherwise it's all done. And it's not even December! So that's my thankful today. As someone who doesn't like to shop, I'm always happy when it's over! I am thankful for being done with Christmas shopping early!!

As we were shopping, it was interesting to watch the people around me. So much discontent. You could see stress mounting on people's faces. So the picture above seems like a fitting reminder. As we go about our business, let's remember to be kind. To think before we speak. To remember why we celebrate this time of year. 

Be kind. 

Be patient. 

Be loving. 

Be generous. 

Give Thanks

I am thankful for the Truth in God's Word. I may not feel close to God or know what He's doing but I know His Word is true and I can believe His promises. 

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!! I hope you have a blessed day with family and friends!! And remember to give thanks.  :)

My boy

While folding laundry, my boy decided he needed to put on Daddy's pants because that was the easiest way to turn them right side out. 

Today (and all days) I am thankful for this boy that makes me laugh with his silly antics. A boy who asks a million questions because he's so curious about everything. A boy who loves his masking tape and will come up with the most creative ways to build with it. I love that boy. 

Farts

I'm thankful for silly pictures like this that make me laugh! And it totally reminds me of my brother Ben. 

Find joy, not flaws

Today's thankful was inspired by a blog post I came across through Facebook a few days ago. 

I am thankful for the writings of others who have found joy in the journey. To be able to find the blessings and to give thanks when life is crumbling around you is how I want to live. I am thankful for people who are willing to share their mess, their struggles, their life lessons to encourage others to take their eyes off of their current chaos and put them on Jesus. Our Rock. Our Strength. 

Here's what I wrote on Facebook after seeing this inspiring blog post...

I've really come to appreciate the writings of Matt Ham. I too was 32 when diagnosed with malignant melanoma and it really does a number on your perspective. But the good news is that you don't have to get cancer to decide to look at your blessings, to be thankful and to find joy even just in the small things. I'd encourage you to check out this post....

"My greatest hope for you is that it doesn’t take a cancer diagnosis to change your perspective. I want you to know that you can choose this perspective if you will.

When you imagine your time here as finite it causes you to consider:

Am I going to give thanks, or am I going to complain?

Am I going to look for ways to rejoice, or am I going to look for the flaws?

My encouragement for you this year is praise. Relentless, unabated praise. The kind of praise that fills your eyes with tears and your hearts with joy. The kind of praise that removes your biases and sings as if no one were watching."

http://mattham.com/2014/11/the-last-thanksgiving/

Red leaves

I am thankful for fall and fun adventures with my kids. 

To grow or not to grow

I am thankful for opportunities to grow from the challenges. To know that I'm not stuck in this place but can grow beyond it. Praise God for that!

Day 20!!

Well, well well....it's day 20 of my 30 days of thankful blogging. And what a journey so far! It's been so good to think on the blessings of life. How easy it is for me to get caught up in the struggles. The pain. The negative. And then I forget that God has blessed me with soooo much!

I am thankful for Fridays!!

Not for the reasons you might think though. I don't live for Fridays. I enjoy my work even though it's generally stressful and chaotic. But I am thankful for Fridays because of the change of pace.

Life is built around rhythms and seasons. How those are structured is generally up to us to decide. The rhythm of my work week tends to be intense and fast paced. Days are filled with impossible task lists and tons of people's expectations and demands to manage. Evenings are quickly filled with making dinner, keeping house, playing with the kids, bugging my husband and Bible study.

And then Friday comes. And I take a deep breath and sigh. Two days with a slower pace (most of the time!). No crazy hours to keep. Just hours to fill with memories with my kids and husband. Church to attend and community to invest in. Coffee to sip while it's still hot! And you can't forget some football to watch!

So today is Friday and I thankful. It's been a long, hard week and I'm ready for a new rhythm. Just for a couple days and then I'll be ready to jump back in the crazy and chaos that I call work.

8-4

(courtesy of Facebook. source unknown)

Monday thru Friday. 

8:00 am - 4:00 pm.

Usually earlier. Almost always later. 

Logging in to see what chaos awaits me. 

Turmoil. Changes. Restructuring.

So. Much. Unknown.

That's what "work" means to me these days. With the company facing uncertain times and allowing some people to retire early while others are laid off without choice, there is much tension to fill each day. Uncertainty about the status of a job led many of us to feel stressed out and frustrated as we waited and waited and waited for the news to come. Now that all of those decisions have been made, our group has turned its focus to restructuring and figuring out what to do with those who remain. 

In the midst of all of this, I have found immeasurable peace. I was not worried about losing my job. Not because I thought I was safe but because I knew if I lost my job that we would be okay. Now that I am transitioning to a new boss and waiting to hear what my role will look like, I still have peace of knowing that it will all work out. Somehow. Someway. And it makes me sad to see how many others don't have this peace. Oh I'm definitely confused and uncertain and impatiently waiting for news but I'm also still at peace. 

Today I am thankful to have a job. 

A job that provides for our family. 

A job that challenges me. 

A job that teaches me new things. 

A job with great coworkers. 

I am thankful for the daily grind. 

Simply Be There

I am so so so thankful for people who will just be there with you. Knowing that words are not always necessary. When I was diagnosed with cancer and recovering from surgery, this was probably the best gift people could give me. Sure, I appreciated the meals and the tokens of love but what most touched my heart were the people who just sat with me. Watched NCIS with me. Let me read a book while they were there. Just knowing that another person was keeping me company - now that was beautiful. 

So today, I say thanks to people who are simply there when you need them. 

I am thankful

(Photo seen on Facebook. Source Unknown.)

I am thankful for this exercise of finding things to be grateful for. It's taken my focus off the negative and put it on the blessings in my life. 

Stormy Monday

It's been raining all day. I think it's maybe stopped for 10 minutes. But today I'm okay with that. I was thinking of how I'm actually thankful for rain. Not that I enjoy getting wet and cold as I walk to my car but I'm thankful for what rain brings. It means we will have green grass for the kids to play on. We will have flowers and trees that bloom. We will have fields that grow crops to feed us. Rain can also bring thunder and lightning which I love.

And in a strangely similar way, I'm thankful for the storms of life. For the hard times. In the midst of them it's not always easy to find the good. But there are moments when I see the blessing in the storms. I can learn from the storms if I am willing.

I'm sorry

I am so thankful for apologies. It feels great to hear them and even better to say them.

Low and slow

I am thankful for a crock pot that lets me throw a bunch of stuff in and come back later to an amazing aroma and delicious warm food.

Blank page

     

(Photo staged on my den floor in hopes that it wouldn't look too cheesy)

I am thankful for the blank page.
The clean slate.
The empty canvas.
It's a fresh start.
A new place to begin.

A reminder that what has been done in the past does not have to define me.
That what is to come in the future is still up for design.
And that today is when I make the choice.

Will I choose to fill the page with complaining and bitterness and whining?
Or will I create a work of beauty with words of truth and praise?

And when I mess up, I can simply turn to the next blank page.
And start over.

Day 12

(Photo of my husband taken in stealth at a red light.)

I am thankful for a good night of sleep. 

Pure and simple. 

Attitude adjustment

Being grateful really messes with my attitude. It makes it so much harder to be grumpy. 

It moves my focus off the negative and onto the blessings. And there are many. 

Today as we await an incoming storm that seems to be freaking people out, I'm going to say that I'm thankful for storms. I know the power that is displayed. I love the thunder and lightning. I love watching the rain stream down. Of course I don't love the destruction that can happen but I do love thunderstorms. And I'm thankful for the earth nourishing rain that the storm brings.