The Ultimate Thankful Thursday

We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures.
--Thornton Wilder

I wasn't sure I was going to be able to get on here and do a thankful Thursday post. The problem with the Modern Age is computers everywhere. It was quite amusing to see my family all cozy on the couches....everyone with their own computer. We joked that one of these days we will all be sitting around the living room, instant messaging each other instead of using actual words.

Even though the last couple of months have been difficult, and I don't see things getting all that much easier, I still must be mindful to be thankful. God truly has blessed me and to not acknowledge those things would be a shame. The theme of my life has been and will continue to be: To God be the Glory!!

So, today, on the Thursday that the whole nation decides to be thankful, I am thankful for:

• My home. I truly am blessed. God did so good in leading us to this house. With time, effort, and hard work, I fall in love with it all over again....all the time. In the world's eyes, it may not be a mansion, but to me, it is the ultimate mansion.
  

• For my husband. He puts up with quite a bit. For being a level-emotioned individual, he does fairly well put up with his roller-coaster wife. I am thankful for his hard work, his dedication, and his character. God is good.

• For my children. What beautiful children I have. God did so good when He made each one of them. Though, at times, they challenge me to the utter limits, I am so blessed. Each one of them is a fathomless treasure with so much left to explore. God is so good.
  

• For my kids' teachers. For Luke's teacher, who is so patient, so encouraging, and is going above and beyond. For Caden's teacher, who loves him and "gets" his sense of humor. For Daria's teacher, who trusts her and gives her more responsibilities. God is good.
  

• For my friends. They encourage me, stand beside me, help me, and pray with me and for me. God is good.
  

• For my church. I so love that place. God has filled it with beautiful people. I love to go there and feel the peace that surrounds me when I walk through the door. It truly is my second home here on earth.

• For my family. We have had a wonderful week together. So many times, I wished that we lived closer. Yet the times we have together are valuable gems we store in our memories. I could go on and on regarding this subject, but I'm sure I would soon be a crying mess. Just trust me here.

These are my treasures. Breathe them in.

Silent for too Long!!

I feel like I have been silent for way too long. I have been wrestling with God....or maybe more with myself...the last couple of weeks. As I have poured out my heart to God...I have almost felt like my words had been stolen for a while. Then just the mere fact that so much time had past, I couldn't even hardly look at my own blog any more. Yet to abandon it didn't seem right, either. My blog has been my lifeline in so many ways....it has been calling to me for several days now.

So, I have gave myself a mental kick in the rear end....and here I am. Brace yourself.

It has been a fun week this week. My family had arrived early for Thanksgiving....and the kids and I have been in heaven!! We love having family around. We probably wear them out. They are headed home on Friday, and I'm trying to find ways to make time stand still. Not working so well.....

Since Mom and Dad have been here, Mom has rearranged all my "pretties" in my house, and I feel like we live in a whole new house. Didn't buy any thing new....just rearranged....pulled things out of storage...and Voila!....a whole new house. Feels like I just want to be at home. I'm sure that puts Tim at ease that I'm not begging to throw everything out the window and try again!!

Yesterday, we had fun celebrating my sister's 40th birthday. I love that she is the older one. She breaks all those milestones before me....then it isn't so traumatic when I reach that goal myself. We had fun eating at Red Robin and eating Baskin Robbins cake for dessert. Luke loves birthdays....even when it isn't his own. He thoroughly enjoyed helping her celebrate the big day.

Late last night, my sister also picked up my brother in law from the airport after he spent 10 days in Morocco!! It isn't every day that I have a world traveler in my midst. It has been fun to hear of his adventures. He seems like he is dragging a little bit today....but hopefully he will get back on schedule for tonight and get a little more rest after many, many hours of travel.

My kids had school all this week as we have had family here. They had a half day today, so now that they are out of school, it is finally starting to feel like vacation has begun. I just wish Thanksgiving vacation was a little longer!! I guess I will just need to enjoy it while it is here....because once Monday comes....I'm sure that I will start to feel the Christmas rush barreling over me. ugh.

So, there is my summary in a fairly quick nutshell. I hope to be back on a regular posting schedule soon. I'm already starting to mull around my Ultimate Thankful Thursday for tomorrow. It is Thanksgiving.....a day set aside to solely for the purpose of being Thankful. So...put on your Thankful hats....and be prepared to be thankful!!

I know that I am.....

Thankful Thursday

I love Thursdays. It always just feels like a breath of fresh air when I finally reach Thursday. What a wonderful day in which to be thankful.

Today I am thankful for:

• My precious Moms In Touch friends. I know I have said it before...and I am sure I will say it again....but I am so thankful for them. I am thankful for their consistent prayers for me and my children. I am thankful for their encouragement. My life would be so dark without them. God is good.
  

• For a weekend away. I went to Cannon Beach this past weekend to celebrate a friend's birthday. It was a wonderful girls only weekend. We did not much of anything....and that just felt so good. It was good to have a couple of days where I wasn't stressing over the things that I'm stressing over. God is good.
  

• For a precious verse that God drew me to today: "'Test me in this,' says the Lord Almighty, 'and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.'" Malachi 3:10 God is good.

• For the sunshine after the rain. What else can I say about that? God is good.
  

Have a Happy Thursday!!

Rock, Scissors, Paper.......and God?

I've been dieing to get on here for a couple of hours to share this little Luke funny, and my internet has been cranky. Tim finally whipped it into shape...and it seems to be behaving. Thank goodness. It makes me cranky when I lose my "connection" to the world!! (blush)

Tonight, Luke and I were playing with some bristle blocks. We have had them for years, but nobody in my house has really ever played with them. They have been more along the lines of just another thing for me to pick up. I've been so tempted to get rid of them, but I hung onto them hoping that someone would someday find them interesting. Luke, just today, decided that since he has them at school, that they are finally cool to play with.

Whatever.

Anyway, for whatever reason, Luke would set his "creation" down beside me, leave it there, but would always warn me not to break it. (Like I would!) Unfortunately, when he went to pick it up once, a couple of pieces came apart. So the deal, as Luke declared it to be, was that if I broke it, I was suppose to make something new. Whatever. So, I put the blocks together slightly different than he had it. At first, my creation wasn't good enough. But, after a closer evaluation, Luke declared it: "Good, Mom. Good." But, as he fiddled with it more, it came apart in his hands.

Oops.

Well, to my Little Negotiator I now had to make something new again. But as I saw it, Luke broke it, Luke needed to do his own making of something new. So that was precisely what I told him. Lately, when things haven't gone as Luke would like, he has pulled out a new negotiation trick that I am assuming that he learned at school. The trick? To play rock, paper, scissors, and the loser has to do what Luke doesn't want to do. At first, I was a little leery playing that with Luke because I didn't want to do the things that Luke didn't want to do either!

I quickly found out that playing this game with Luke is quite predictable. He will always play scissors first. So...what does Mom always play first? You guessed it. Rock. That is extremely frustrating for my little Luke. So, he quickly tells me that I'm playing it wrong. "Mom, you play paper, and I'll play scissors. Okay? Ready? One. Two. Three. Shoot....."

"Mo-om!!"

Apparently, I am prone not to listen.

After this happened a couple of times, Luke pulled a fast one on me. As I laid out my rock for the third consecutive time, Luke placed his "scissored" fingers standing up on the palm of his hands as he declares that "I WON!" No way am I letting him get away with that. As I start to point out that rock beats scissors, he declares:

"But, Mom, this is God. And God wins every time. God beats everything."

Thankful Thursday

Another week has come and gone. New blessings...new battles....new things to be thankful for.

This week, I am thankful for:

• The true finish of outdoor soccer season. As much as I love to watch my kids play soccer, by the time the end of October hits, and the rain comes, I'm done being outside. Let's move 'em inside!! The not having to dash out the door each night has been a breath of fresh air.
  

• A well spoken statement in the midst of one of my near-daily meltdowns. A simple line, but it has stuck with me this week and gives me hope that maybe I really am doing something right.

• For the flowers in my yard. Unbelievably it hasn't frosted yet....so my annuals are still blooming. Who'd of thought that I would still be enjoying them in November. Crazy! They do make for a bright spot in these gray, rainy days.
  

• For grace. Nuf said.
  

November, to me, is always a month to be mindful to be thankful. If I could challenge you to do anything, tell someone this week that you are thankful for them. It is guaranteed to make them smile!

Inner Nudge

Today I followed through on a nudge that I felt God gave me on Sunday. For the first time in a while, I see hope. I've been clinging to God's promises....but my vision on how how God was possibly going to work has been beyond me. I have often felt that even though God promises something that Faith still requires us to do something. At times, I believe we have to be like the Israelites and put our feet into the Jordan before God stops the flow of water so that we can stand on dry ground. For the last couple of weeks, I haven't known where to place my feet. I've sure wanted to put them somewhere, but I didn't know where.

Sunday, as I was walking by someone in our church, I felt like God nudged me. It was this knowing in my heart that I needed to pursue a conversation with her in regards to my issue. I just knew. So, yesterday, I called her and arranged to visit with her today. Today, Luke and I went over there....and I sensed hope. I sensed direction. I think I may have found our Jordan. I at least know where I need to get my feet wet. Hope is a good thing.

I would love to believe that now our journey will be finished soon. Yet, I know that it will still be a long haul. I can't imagine how long it took for the millions of Israelites to cross over the Jordan...I'm sure it took a while. So I imagine it will take us a while to walk this journey. At least I have hope.

And, for now, that is enough.

Verses for This Day

I love to read. Fiction is my genre of choice. To say that I can't find truth in fiction would be a falsehood. Thank goodness...because God spoke to me today through a book of fiction. Thank you, Jesus.

I was reminded of a favorite verse of mine:

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 understand, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7

I've been having a lot of anxious thoughts. Praying, yes, but still lots of anxious thoughts. I need God's peace. The character of the book I am reading expressed my thoughts very well.

"'I'm not nervous. I'm scared to death. But God's giving me enough peace that I'm still sitting here, taking this ride. I'm here and I'm breathing, and right now, that's enough.'"

And then one final, precious verse:

My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. 2 Corinthians 12:9