All the Little Grubbs

Today I’m thankful for my goofy husband.  Without him, my life would be boring and plain. With him, my life is full of energy, laughter, yelling and love.  I am so thankful that God caused our paths to cross.  I’m thankful he took my phone number that night.  I’m thankful I called him back. I’m thankful we argued all night while we put together that stupid entertainment center.

I am the most thankful that he’s mine.  He’s honest, hard-working and faithful.  I’m not immune to the fact that in today’s society those are traits that aren’t common in men.  On top of all that, he doesn’t back down from serving God or his country.



Some of my favorite bloggers have recently focused on seeing the beauty in life, not taking time and people for granted and keeping your priorities straight.  I had been feeling the urge to start my own series of posts focusing on the things I am thankful for.

When I saw a fellow blogger’s post here, I knew I had to join in. The next 6 weeks will be crazy for my family, so now is the perfect time to reflect and record the things for which I am truly thankful.

   Why don’t you join us? On your blog, on Facebook, or just on a scrap of paper. Take the next 30 days and try to pay attention to the abundance in your life.   God gave you a gift of 86,400 seconds today. Have you used one to say “thank you?” ~William A. Ward 

Sometimes it’s easy to get bogged down.  There is a lot of suffering in our lives. When you are a grown-up you are aware of death, illness, financial pressures, addictions, consequences that effect not only your immediate family but your extended family, your friends. And if you are involved in a church, then your church family, too.

I am living my life day in and day out with small children. Which means that I have an advantage. I get to see and hear joy everyday. (Oh and lots of whining and snot, too.) Since we homeschool, we are together most about 99% of the time.  My closest girlfriend told me today “our kids live our lives with us.” That is so true.

Sometimes school looks like this.

Parker putting small straw pieces into a container.

Katie doing a bean counting activity.

Theodore using a key to shred scrap paper.

A pick-up truck. They figured out how to tie two shoelaces through the holes on our Bilibo to the handle bars of Parker’s little 4-wheeler. I was very impressed!

Our Thankful tree.

I’m thankful for so many things but my list will start with 5 since it’s the 5th day of November.
1) My salvation
2) His forgiveness
3) His unconditional love
4) His security
5) His acceptance

I heard a testimony last Sunday night that is still resonating in my soul. The way the Lord spared me from the life I was headed for astonishes me. I am seeing more and more how His hand was working in my life long before I was living for Him.

Today has been a really crummy day. My mom, my dad, my husband and I all had things go wrong. The baby cried all day. The kids fussed and whined. So I knew when I was assessing the day on my way home from the used bookstore and I was adding up all the wrong things and all the crummy aspects of this day that I needed to stop. There are a couple of blogs that I follow because they help me keep things in perspective. One is Go Blog Yourself and this family has lost a child to cancer. Another is a missionary friend who is working in Africa with orphans and abused and neglected children. I read these because it keeps me mindful when I pray to remember them and their needs but also because God uses their reality to help me maintain an attitude of gratitude. How can I complain about a day where my family is healthy and safe? My children had 3 meals (and snacks) and played with many toys. My husband and parents had jobs to go to. I was holding a healthy baby. And tomorrow, we’ll celebrate my mom’s birthday.
I am so grateful for…
God
my salvation
my Bible
my husband
my children
my parents
my friends
my church family
my freedom
my physical and mental health
my home
homeschooling
breastfeeding
food to eat and feed my family
clothes to wear (and wash and iron)
shoes on our feet

One of my favorite quotes I collected in my teenage years was “I had no shoes and complained until I met a man who had no feet” I am not sure who said it but it helped me realize that it really is how we look at our circumstances that makes a difference, because most of the time there is someone out there who has it much worse than we do.