GRATITUDE 150 Gravity

I've never really stopped to thank God for gravity.  But my year of gratitude is helping me to be amazed at "normal" things that I take for granted. God's design for the earth is pretty amazing. And Gravity rocks.  On Jack's first official day of summer, we thanked God for gravity while we played with our new (an awesome) marble game!

GRATITUDE 149 Two birds, One stone

Recently I told the Lord that I was getting discouraged.  It felt that the bigger things in life that I pray for and want never happen.  I'm talking about kingdom things. (Not like I want a new car or something)  I pray for people to know him or for healing or for him to use our family in certain ways in his kingdom work.  And it seems/feels that my prayers just bounce back right in my face.  The truth is that my Father is listening and he is answering according to his perfect wisdom, but I am weak and never seeing answers gets really discouraging over time.

If I really think about it...he answers prayers all the time for me.  Grace for me as I parent.  Change in my marriage.  Joy in him rather than my circumstances.  He is answering LOTS of my prayers for sure.  But still the prayers I would put in the "big" category seem to always be answered with a no.

So I just told him. "God I am really discouraged.  I need to know that you are listening."  I even went as far as to ask him to answer one of these big prayers to give me a little encouragement.

And he did.

There's a prayer that I've been praying for years with absolutely no sign of him answering.  I think I started praying for him to move in a certain person's life in college.  My most vivid memory of praying for this dear one was in China.  I was on a walk listening to Rascal Flatts, which always reminded me of home.   I prayed with tears for a person I love so much my chest hurts when I pray for them.

And just this week, after all these years, I got word that my prayers are being answered.  I stood in my kitchen and cried happy tears.  They were tears of joy.  Joy that this person so dear to me is experiencing the goodness of God in their life.  The were tears of relief.  I have wanted so much for this person to know the joy and peace that comes in walking closely with Christ.

Not only did God answer my prayers for this person, but he graciously answered my doubting, discouraged prayer of "God show me you are listening."  His answer to my prayer for this person was also the answer to my discouraged prayer...God killed two birds with one stone, so to speak.  He is so gracious, so tender with those who are weak in faith like me.  Instead of calling me to just keep trusting his character and promises (which is certainly enough!!) he kindly answered...reminding me he is listening and in his perfect timing, HE DOES ANSWER.

I want to keep praying big prayers of faith.  For mountains that seem impossible to move.  For chains that seem impossible to break.

For nothing is impossible with Christ.  And he loves to listen and answer the prayers of his people for his glory and for their joy.

GRATITUDE 142 My bed

Thankful for a safe and fun weekend camping with our friends.  And thankful that I am sleeping in my own be tonight!

GRATITUDE 141 Camping and the Beach

Spent the day at the beach and ended the night back at our campsite with hamburgers over the fire and s'mores!  Thankful for this day!

GRATITUDE 140 Camping with Friends

We're camping with friends this weekend....(which equals a lot of fun for kids and a lot of work for this mama!!!)

Thankful for our neighbors who wanted us to join
Thankful for how down to earth they are
Thankful that our flat-tire/lost phone fiasco on the way there ended ok
Thankful for Florida State Parks

GRATITUDE 139 Carol and the road ahead

Our big-ish plan that I mentioned yesterday is that Andy and I have decided to try and sell our house and buy another house in the same area...just smaller and  in a different neighborhood.  It's a long story how we decided on this but it's neat to see how God has been stirring in both our hearts separately a desire to leverage our finances more for kingdom purposes than we are currently doing.  And it seems like selling and downsizing would enable us to do that.  We obviously don't know if that's God will, but we are putting it out there to see what he will do.  We are trusting him to lead us on his path for our family.

And helping us step by step in the process is our WONDERFUL, beyond wonderful , realtor, Carol.  Carol loves Jesus and she is so good to us.  She's actually from Andy's hometown...how wild is that?!  She's a friend, a mentor, a realtor, a sister in Christ.

Thankful today for the road ahead of us...unknown but in God's hands
Thankful today for Carol
Thankful to be in this with Andy
Thankful that God keeps helping me focus on him, when I want to focus on plans and details

GRATITUDE 138 Resting in his control

The heart of a man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.  Proverbs 16:9

This verse speaks of God's sovereign control over all things.  We plan.  Planning is good.  Seeking wise counsel and praying for God to give us his values as we make plans is good.  But ultimately God will establish our steps in the way he determines.  And that way is best.  ALWAYS.

Today I am thankful for this truth. Andy and I are working on some (big-ish) plans.  So I am especially thankful that God is establishing my steps in a way that will be best for me and will bring him most glory.  He is all wise.

I hope our plans are his plans, but if they are not, I can rest....because I have an ALL WISE, ALL KNOWING, KIND father establishing my steps.  Thankful today for God's sovereignty in all things.

And therefore, I can "be anxious about nothing, but with prayer and petition, with thanksgiving present my requests to God."  Philipians 4:6-7

GRATITUDE 137 Tuesday Thanks

Andy and my kids making me feel really loved on mother's day
Money for groceries
Access to so many fresh vegetables
A devotional that spoke to exactly what I was worrying/concerned about
A wonderful camp for Emma Grace for the summer-for FREE!!!
An opportunity to serve a friend-how the body of Christ works
A husband who helps me see Christ more clearly

GRATITUDE 136 One more Mother's Day Tribute

GRATITUDE 135 (a) My Grandmas

GRATITUDE 135 (c) My Grandmas!

GRATITUDE 135 (b) My Grandmas!

GRATITUDE 134 Grandmas Are Awesome

My kids think their grandmas are top notch.  And we agree.  Thankful today for the LAVISH love God pours on us through these two amazing women.  Kacki, and Mama Nette, we each  want to tell you....

GRATITUDE 133 My Freshmen Year Suite Mate!!

I was wearing a purple dress with smocking at the top. My dress was short and my spikey blond hair even shorter.  She was (likely) dressed conservatively in a cardigan, her standard attire at the time.  Her Texas drawl was slight.   Her laughter, delightful.

We were freshmen suite mates and we were both Christians.  I was new in this whole relationship with God thing, and I wanted to walk with him.  But my footing was quite shaky and college is a sure place to find many ways to walk away from God.  Finding out that my suite mate was a Christian was a clear sign to me that God was going to take care of me in college. I was thankful for her then...

And here I am, almost fifteen years later, giving thanks for her once again.  My hair is short again(!!!) but I do dress a bit more modestly.  I could have never imagined what God had in store for me and my suite mate from Texas.  We've traveled the world together, crossed cultures together, married best friends. We've studied the bible together, prayed together,  carried each other during deep depression.  We've ridden on the back of a motorcycle into a village together.  We've fought and worked it out.  We've forgiven.  We've had a gazillion of the most entertaining conversations about anything you can imagine.

And we've brought each other back to GRACE, back to God's heart of love, back to gospel, again and again.

Today she did that for me, once again.

Today I am thankful for Marianne Dean.

Me holding Marianne...girls beach day, Freshmen year

GRATITUDE 132 Mother's Day Tea

Had the sweetest little tea time with Jack today.  Thankful for this boy and that I get to be his momma.  What a gift.

GRATITUDE 131 Color

GRATITUDE 130 Ministry, by Mercy

Thankful today to know this group of people.  Thankful for God's work in bringing all of these people together.  Thankful for God's mercy to allow Andy and I to be a part of a REALLY COOL ministry. Thankful that God has (mostly) healed the wounds of leaving our beloved first ministry by giving us another in it's place that continues to delight and amaze us.


I once heard my favorite pastor say we receive our ministry the same way we receive our salvation....by mercy.  We are so undeserving of this job but God loves to give it to us, out of his kindness!  Thankful Thankful!!

GRATITUDE 129 Teachers

This week is teacher appreciation week. I am truly grateful for the gifted and loving teachers that God has given my kiddos.  Jack's teacher, Mrs. Stassak, loves to tears (literally) my little man. So grateful for her prayerful and tender-hearted care for my son.  And Emma Grace's teacher has done an excellent job teaching all the kids in their class to read....be amazed....she's one lady with 18 6 years olds and she runs her class like a tight (and happy) ship!  Thankful for all the time and energy she puts into teaching Grapey Girl.

And for the schools in general.  They are positive, fun, encouraging environments where learning is really celebrated.  Thankful for these schools.

GRATITUDE 128 Eyes to See and Eyes to See

I have talked before about giving thanks for my eyesight.  Today I did it again.  It was prompted this time by a conversation with Carmen, an older sister in the Lord who has lost her eyesight almost completely.  Prior to losing her sight, Carmen read the word of God A LOT and she traveled to many other countries teaching his word.  Now, she uses a walking stick, is completely dependent on others for guidance and transportation and can't make new relationships at church unless others initiate because she can't see anyone.

So as we talked today, I listened to her story of crying out to the Lord as she began to lose her sight and how she prayed that the Lord would preserve her ability to read his word.  By his grace, she can still manage to read a few verses each day.

Though most would say Carmen can not see, I would say she sees more clearly than most of us do.  She is one of the most alive women I have met in our church body.  And it's because she spent so many years using her eyes and her heart to read his word...to behold her God.   And now she continues to meditate on the few verses she can read each day and she listens to the word on audio, still using the eyes of her heart to behold her God.

Today I am thankful for my dear sister Carmen.  For her love of God's word and the way she has seen God in the word all these years.   I am thankful for how God has used her suffering to give her deeper eternal riches.  I am thankful for my eyesight today.

 And I pray for the hunger for God's word that will cause me to use my eyes to behold him more clearly as he reveals himself in his world.

GRATITUDE 127 Grace to know Grace

Today I talked with some dear girls who believe their good works give them value and merit with God.  Though these friends come from a different religious background than me, I so easily can twist Christianity to make it about what I do, rather than the one who did ALL for me.  But over and over, it's God's Holy Spirit at work in my life that brings me back to GRACE, FREE GRACE.  It's all about his kindness to me in Christ, in all things, for all of eternity.  And he saved me by this free grace so that in the coming ages he might display the riches of his kindness to me in Christ Jesus...his free grace is all about his kindness to me being put on display, cause I don't deserve it in any way.

But left to myself, I would over and over make it about what I do for him...that's just the way my flesh is wired...but it's his GRACE that brings me back to GRACE over and over.

It's the grace of....

The gospel preached to me by my pastor
My dear friends reminding me of it
The Holy Spirit calling me back to it when I stray.

So thankful for the grace that brings me back to grace, over and over and over.

GRATITUDE 126 Grass, Roots, and new Shoots

When we moved into our home, there was almost no grass.  We have bagged more leaves than one should ever bag in their lifetime and we've cut and pruned and dug up lots of unwanted shrubs and bushes.  I would by no means say our yard looks great, but it has mostly green coverage which is what we're going for.

Just as our yard has changed over time, so has our family.  It was Jack riding in the Daddy pack (see picture) when we first moved in to this house.  Now we have a new baby in there and Jack and Grapey girl are growing and changing quickly.

Lord,  as our yard  and our life take shape in this little town, we are thankful for the roots you are allowing us to put down and the new growth you have given us in you and as a family.  You have given us many gifts these past few years.  We are thankful.  

GRATITUDE 125 Last month of school

What a blessing our schools have been to us this year.  Friends, learning, fun, structure.  Exactly what my kids need.  Thankful for one last month of school and the blessing these places have been to our family!