A friend of mine gave me a book last month, Choosing Gratitude. Not surprisingly it seemed to have come at the perfect time. I read through the entire book in less than a week. At the end of the book there is a 30 day gratitude challenge that I have been doing since the beginning of the year. Part of the challenge is to start each morning by writing out five things that I'm grateful for.
It never ceases to amaze me when I take time to be mindful of things in my life that are gratitude worthy, how much weight is lifted from me, how much the things I fear dissipate, how much hope replaces my doubt...
There is a lot going on in our life right now.... a lot of unknown. I can't tell you a single detail about our move. Not because it's some big secret but because I don't know any details.
Where are we going to live? I don't know...
What part of town? I don't know...
Is Siah gonna go to public school there? I don't know...
Have you ever been there before? No...
Then how do you know if you're gonna like it? I don't...
When exactly are you moving? Not sure...
Where are you going to have the baby? Don't know...
Know any good doctors out there? No... Do you???
I've never done anything so unplanned in my life... and I've never been so joyfully expectant of what GOd has up his sleeve for me and my little family.
I really think that this gratitude challenge has come into my life at the perfect time. The other morning I came up with my top ten. They're the top ten things that absolutely exceed my greatest expectations. They are the things in my life that I can hardly find the words to express how invaluable they are to me, how impossible my life would be without them..
In no particular order...
1. God's graciousness in allowing me to even know him at all.
2. The knowledge and wisdom of God that He has given me and continues to give me each and every time that I ask for it.
3. The Purpose for this life that I have in knowing God.
4. God's grace in giving me Joey to go through this life with.
5. God's grace in giving me three small treasures (and maybe even four). :)
6.God's grace in giving me friendships with people who are so in love with their Savior and who encourage me and exhort me towards him.
7. God's grace in giving me all the years with my mom that he did give, and the closeness that her and I experienced during those years.
8. God's grace in placing wise women in my path who are a bit ahead of me and who are willing to share their wisdom with me, and giving me a humble enough heart to receive that wisdom, even when it's sometimes hard to take in.
9. God's extravagant, undeserved love that he lavishes on me each and EVERYDAY!
10.Grace... plain and simple... God constantly giving me everything that I never deserved in the first place.
It took me maybe five minutes to come up with my top ten. But it was a very important five minutes for me. Because as I re-read the ten things listed above over and over again throughout the past few days, I have become completely convinced that no matter where we live, what our next house looks like, where our next treasure is born, or how much I like or dislike Colorado Springs... I will never cease to have extravagant things to be thankful for.
It never ceases to amaze me when I take time to be mindful of things in my life that are gratitude worthy, how much weight is lifted from me, how much the things I fear dissipate, how much hope replaces my doubt...
There is a lot going on in our life right now.... a lot of unknown. I can't tell you a single detail about our move. Not because it's some big secret but because I don't know any details.
Where are we going to live? I don't know...
What part of town? I don't know...
Is Siah gonna go to public school there? I don't know...
Have you ever been there before? No...
Then how do you know if you're gonna like it? I don't...
When exactly are you moving? Not sure...
Where are you going to have the baby? Don't know...
Know any good doctors out there? No... Do you???
I've never done anything so unplanned in my life... and I've never been so joyfully expectant of what GOd has up his sleeve for me and my little family.
I really think that this gratitude challenge has come into my life at the perfect time. The other morning I came up with my top ten. They're the top ten things that absolutely exceed my greatest expectations. They are the things in my life that I can hardly find the words to express how invaluable they are to me, how impossible my life would be without them..
In no particular order...
1. God's graciousness in allowing me to even know him at all.
2. The knowledge and wisdom of God that He has given me and continues to give me each and every time that I ask for it.
3. The Purpose for this life that I have in knowing God.
4. God's grace in giving me Joey to go through this life with.
5. God's grace in giving me three small treasures (and maybe even four). :)
6.God's grace in giving me friendships with people who are so in love with their Savior and who encourage me and exhort me towards him.
7. God's grace in giving me all the years with my mom that he did give, and the closeness that her and I experienced during those years.
8. God's grace in placing wise women in my path who are a bit ahead of me and who are willing to share their wisdom with me, and giving me a humble enough heart to receive that wisdom, even when it's sometimes hard to take in.
9. God's extravagant, undeserved love that he lavishes on me each and EVERYDAY!
10.Grace... plain and simple... God constantly giving me everything that I never deserved in the first place.
It took me maybe five minutes to come up with my top ten. But it was a very important five minutes for me. Because as I re-read the ten things listed above over and over again throughout the past few days, I have become completely convinced that no matter where we live, what our next house looks like, where our next treasure is born, or how much I like or dislike Colorado Springs... I will never cease to have extravagant things to be thankful for.
