Monday, November 8, 2010

Month of Gratitude: Days 6-8

We spent the weekend moving constantly, bouncing from one fun family activity to another so I didn't sit down long enough to blog.  It was a fantastic weekend!  Unfortunately, I am behind a few days on my gratitude blogs. 

Day 6:  Grateful for ministry leaders and volunteers that go above and beyond in teaching my children that Christianity is MUCH more than a Sunday morning attitude.  This is one of the greatest blessings in my life!  To all of you:  thank you!   Thank you for loving on my kids in the most tangible and intangible ways.  I'm truly amazed with how you make us ALL feel like family.  I'm thankful that I can completely trust my childrens' hearts to you.  I've always been a firm believer in making sure that the biggest bulk of children's spiritual training should come from HOME.  The church and it's leaders should never be expected to be the ones fully responsible, but I know that my kids are in the best hands possible.  Thank you!  For Adriana:  thank you for showing her that being different is EXACTLY who she needs to be and encouraging her to be proud of that.  Thank you for causing her to dig even deeper and grounding her faith even stronger.  For Peyton: thank you for loving and supporting him as he's trying to find his own way where he is a square peg in a round world.  Thank you for beginning to get deep in his spirit and for letting the real changes begin to take place.  For Bradlee:  thank you for taking a little guy whose screams could be heard throughout the church in the beginning because he didn't want to stay, to a little guy who has so much infectious enthusiasm that we can't keep up.  Thank you for hiding the word of God in his little heart and for making these most important years REALLY count.  For us as parents:  thank you for being with us through the laughter, tears, frustration, and helplessness.   Thank you.  Thank you.  Thank you!

Day 7: simple.  Thankful for our fleece sheets.  Yep, not really deep there!  When you wake up to a house that is 56 degrees and you realize you are still warm (until your dear husband purposely pulls the covers off to make you get up!).  For those of us that are so stubborn and are experimenting to see how long we can go without turning the heat on (mostly due to being frugal and for budget survival during the holidays), the warmth of fleece sheets is an incredible blessing. 

Day 8:

Part one: thankful for hot biscuits with my Granny Brown's homemade grape jelly.  It's soothing to the soul and it is just amazing to the tummy! 

Part two:  thankful for friends that TRULY pray.  I'm thankful for those friends that when you ask to pray for you, you KNOW they do and within minutes you can feel the mountains start moving in your life.  They are the REAL blessings in life.  How many times has someone said "praying" and you know that they forgot you as soon as they said it or wrote it?  Or they do stop and say a short 2 line prayer.  Those are appreciated, but the ones that REALLY go to God on your behalf are the ones that bless our lives beyond imagination.   When you get an unexpected facebook message, email, call, text, or card in the mail that says I'm praying for you and you KNOW they are.  It leaves me speechless (OK, almost....I seldom am EVER REALLY speechless!).   To those of you:  thank you doesn't seem like enough to say.  In recent weeks/months, it is those prayers that have kept our head above water and truly brought us back into real fellowship and personal connection with God.  It would have been easy to throw our hands up and quit, but your prayers reached God and they reached us.  Thank you. 

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