A devotion I read today shared this One of Webster's official definitions of thanksgiving is: "a public acknowledgment or celebration of divine goodness."
I had plans to spend some time today sharing different things I was thankful for. I can still do that but I am so sad to say I completely lost sight of God tonight. It happened after a series of events and I was a bad mom which I feel terrible about. I have a bad temper and can get mean at times. I let too many things build up and I said some hurtful things to Morgan, even after I had explained to my kids just yesterday that within these four walls, within our home, our family, we will not tear each other down. No excuses of anything...I messed up and I apologized to my sweet sensitive girl. She forgave me and I mean really forgave me because a little while later she finally stopped doing 'her thing' and saw that I was in a great deal of pain and she climbed off her bunk bed & asked if she could pray for me. Her prayer was something like Dear Jesus, we love you so much and we trust you dear Jesus. My mommy is hurting and needs to have the pain go away and you can get rid of all the cancer too. She prayed for a teacher at her school that had surgery & a few other things and just hugged me & I felt terrible for how I treated her. I am thankful for a child that as easily as she gets her feelings hurt (which can happen so quickly & for no reason) she also forgives and moves on that quickly too. It is a rare soul that can let go of hurts so quickly & be so loving & accepting of others. She has a sweet spirit and I am thankful for her, even when she makes choices I'm not pleased with, she's learning and she's a one of a kind girl. She reminds me of my youngest sister so I know she'll grow up to be a wonderful adult that everyone that knows her will be fortunate & blessed to know her.
Time to list as many thankful things as I can to get my eyes back on God. I started sinking just like Peter did when he stopped focusing on Jesus when he was walking on water. What an amazing thing to do, walk on water, and the lesson to go with it is so helpful. When we fix our eyes on Jesus, we can get through anything, when we take our eyes off him, the distractions can make us sink & take us down. I must focus on thanking God for everything.
This morning when I was changing Sadie, she was having a tantrum & flopping all over the place. I was being patient (unlike later in the day) and ended up pulling Sadie close to me and then singing to her. She calmed down so nicely that I was able to get her changed to move on with the next thing in our day. So thankful that my old, impatient self had not resurfaced.
Thankful for scripture to encourage me and encourage others.
Thankful for Braly's glasses being replaced under warranty & the wonderful ladies that work there. So sweet and kind to our family.
Thankful that I could drop Braly's glasses off to him right away so he wouldn't come home with a headache today from having to wear the wrong prescription after his glasses snapped on Monday.
Thankful for a dedicated, hard working husband who is responsible & takes such good care of our family needs.
Thankful for the weekend to help Gabby get this project done since neither of us could concentrate this afternoon. Gabby kept wanting to finish reading the books she started this week.
Thankful for a family that ALL love to read, even Sadie loves it.
Thankful for a dishwasher that can be loaded & turned on each night so we have clean dishes in the morning.
Thankful for my parents & their wisdom & guidance throughout life's ups & downs.
Thankful for my sisters who are always there for me and willing to do anything I ask.
Thankful for time to chat with my sisters. We don't normally talk at night, but I really needed it & my sister made herself available & I appreciate the time we spend on the phone since we're so many miles apart.
Thankful for our home.
Thankful for friends that have diligently come over every other day to help with anything I ask for the last few weeks.
Thankful for a computer I can type my thoughts on to share with others.
Thankful for the conversation I had today with a lady here in town that said she didn't really know exactly who I was until she saw my picture last night on Facebook and then she made sure to chat with me. We had a blessed conversation. Thanks God for making that happen.
Thankful for a comfy chair at my desk
Thankful for having the opportunity to hear & see what a life changing experience Tanzania was for Mrs. Martin. Her presentation was so amazing that I had to tell my sister all about it.
Thankful for the many, many prayers & being added to so many prayer lists all over the place.
Thankful for a great doctor that has my best interests in mind (my appointment isn't official but may be moved to Dec 6th)
Thankful for a juicing machine though I have to figure out how to use it tomorrow.
Thankful for getting sleepy right now. Hoping I can be thankful for a peaceful, quiet, restful night of sleep for my entire family.
Thankful that the cold that swept through our home is nearly gone.
Thankful for the boldness of my daughter & her willingness to share the gospel of Jesus with so any via her video yesterday and that her shyness wasn't a factor for this project.
Thankful for cabbage leaves & that I can pick some more up tomorrow.
Thankful that I can take another pain pill in just about 15 minutes
Thankful that my son is so quick to get ready in the morning since he overslept today.
Thankful that even though my son complains about the things I ask him to do, he almost always does them.
Thankful that the cancer has not entered any organs or my brain.
Thankful that God is already working to kill the cancer cells
Thankful for the generosity of so many people, even ones that don't know us.
Thankful for God's word that I can use as a blueprint for all of life's situations.
Thankful for a camera to capture and remind me of memories.
Thankful for answered prayers.
Thankful for my super healthy Sadie who seems to be my shadow or connected at the hip to me. She adores her mama and that is so special to me.
Thankful for a comfy bed to sleep in and warm feet to put my cold feet on when I climb into bed.
Thankful for artists that write worship music so I can come into God's presence quicker & easier to praise him.
Thankful for music that speaks to my whole being.
Thankful for science to help diseases go away
Thankful for God's love that he unconditionally shows me so I can try to show it to others.
Thankful that tomorrow is Friday so Adam has the weekend off & we can spend some time together as a family!
Thankful for God's peace and presence!
Thankful for all the colors God created! I love color!
<3 - No words..you said it all. Praying continually.
ReplyDeleteAll signed up with email, so cool!! I'm glad because I've missed some as they were posted. That's quite a list there mama. You are so gracious.
ReplyDeleteDon't be hard on yourself, we ALL lose it at times. And it's okay for the kids to see that, or even be the brunt of it at times, as bad as we feel. It's how they learn that even when anger or frustration strikes, you apologize it, you regroups, and it always passes and everything is still OK. <3