It's November and you know what that means, Thanksgiving! I love Thanksgiving for so many reasons...family gatherings; yummy food; 3 days off from school; focusing on being thankful; and people seem to really start to get in the holiday spirit and treat each other the way we should treat each other every single day. I know it is a few weeks until the big day but today I am burdened in my heart to give many thanks to my Savior for the forgiveness that was given to me because of the blood He shed on the cross for me. It is because of His grace and goodness and His love that I have all that I have. It is not because of me. I am so unworthy of this life He has given me. I have failed Him so many times and yet He looks at me and sees a reason to let me be a mother, a wife, a daughter, a daughter-in-law, a sister, a friend, a teacher, a children's ministry leader, and on and on go His blessings in my life. He looks at me and sees within me a reason to honor me with those titles. What does He see in me? He sees His son, Jesus Christ, and He sees His son's blood covering me and what He does not see are MY SINS because of that cleansing blood! Isn't that something to SHOUT about!
It is about 1AM here in this beautiful heavenly place we are visiting. I have a cold/sinus issue at the beach and thanks to great meds that are allowing me to breath, I cannot sleep. All is quiet here. They are all peacefully sleeping, and I am totally wired but I can breath! I guess it is a trade off but I am certain I will not take this tomorrow night because I have to drive one of the cars home on Tuesday! So what am I doing while I'm up...reading my favorite blog. I just happened upon this blog about a month ago and I love it. Remember when I posted about the one I was convicted about...I've always felt like when God leads you away from one thing, He will replace that in your life with something so much better. This blog is totally an illustration of that in my life. We share a love for the Lord that makes me feel like I know her personally. Tonight I've been reading about her daughter's birth and the faith that led them through a 3 week NICU stay. With this reading has come such a burden of thankfulness for my babies. I was so blessed to get pregnant without any problems either time. I had easy pregnancies. I had easy birth experiences. Other than typical childhood sicknesses, my babies have been healthy. Please don't read this as bragging, quite the contrary. I'm so burdened tonight to be thankful. Why not me? I don't know. Why not my kids? I don't know. Certainly I know it is God's grace, yet I also know that only He knows what tomorrow holds. For tonight, I'm going to celebrate what God has done for us and what He has given us. I'm going to trust that the One who holds tomorrow will guide whatever lies ahead and for this day, I'm going to rejoice and be glad in it!
My sweet, precious, Heavenly Father, how can I begin to thank you for all the blessings you have poured out in my life? How can I ever say thanks enough or praise you enough for all the prayers you've answered for me? Tonight I praise you for each and every blessing and answered prayer. I praise you for all the times you helped me endure the broken road that led me to you and the broken road that led me to Chad and this amazing family that you have created. I lift up your name and shout your majesty from the mountain tops for these children. I sing your praises for their health and for their precious hearts. Lord, help me to honor you as I mother them and help me to be the mother you intended for me to be when you knit them together in my womb. I know you have a plan for me as a mother. Help me to follow it and to seek it daily. Help me to never be too proud to say I'm sorry or to ask for their forgiveness when I fail them. Help me to be the wife that Chad deserves. Help me to honor you through my actions and my love for him. Thank you for this family that I do not deserve. Thank you for giving them to me even though I have failed you so many times. Thank you for blessing my life with them. Help me to remember when I am tired and when we are busy that each day I have them is a blessing and help me to remember to praise you even when we are overwhelmed. Father, help me to be a blessing to them.
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