Thankful

 

 

This Thanksgiving morning I am thankful for my family sleeping in, giving me a few glorious hours to cook sweet potatoes and read Scripture in silence.

I am thankful for the hum of the heater, and the warmth I enjoy having a home.

I am thankful for a day with no school that allowed my girls and I to binge-watch several episodes of Once Upon a Time into the night. We rarely watch t.v., and even more rarely watch it together, so to have them snuggled up beside me watching was a treat.

This month I was thankful for a series of moments:

November 1: watching the kids barter candy acquired by trick-or-treating, confiscating the excess candy (for their own good) and helping myself to the peanut m&m's and Heath bars

November 2: gratitude that God had prepared me through my own quiet time to teach the third grade girls at the last minute; feeling delight in using the ability to teach

November 3: receiving an encouraging text from a dancer when I felt as if everything was falling apart in rehearsal; God reminding me that I wasn't alone in my leadership role, and that He would see to it that the dancing angels would glorify Him at Christmas

November 4: God reminding me to thank Him for His character and nature, and not just the gifts He brings each day. Revamping my gratitude list to include a facet of who He is each day.

Novemeber 5: matter-of-fact conversations with our kids about purity and God's intentions for marriage in our crazy confused world.

November 6: a note in our journal from my man

November 7: coloring quietly at the kitchen island with my not-so-little-anymore kids

November 8: watching siblings figure out how to give and take. A brother rubbing his sister's hair while she fixed his youtube account issues at the computer.

November 9: delight in learning through facebook that a troubled boy that I once knew in high school had come to Christ through the leading of his young daughter

November 10: the assurance that God will take care of my husband's stress at work. That His plans are good and for our good and His glory; catching glimpses of His glory through the beautiful created world

November 11: reuniting with a mentor who prayed over us and our ministries here; discovering that I had apparently said something twenty years ago that stuck with them and impacted their direction of their ministry. Thankful that God can use the very smallest of conversations that we are not even aware of for His purposes.

November 12: happy to know that Mom and Michelle enjoyed their Zipline adventure together

November 13: thankful for a holiday outing to the theater/school fund-raiser; happy to see Laurel happy to be with her friends at school

November 14: thankful for leftovers and a night when I didn't need to think up what to cook for dinner

November 15: thankful for my husband's patience and generosity in taking our teen daughter shopping in Charlotte all day; being thankful that one of us is frugal and one of us is generous to balance ourselves out

November 16: You cause us to want to give our lives to life-giving pursuits

November 17: You will show me how to parent each child in the way he or she should go

November 18: You hover over me with Your presence

November 19: finding pumpkins on 80% off fall clearance; being able to buy things and put them away for next year, having enough financial margin to be frugal and plan ahead

November 20: neighbors that help one another; watching out the window as one older neighbor helps another when with her trash can and recycling bins

November 21: kids playing balloon toss, and Uno, and board games...unplugging for a bit

November 22: Will declaring that he actually likes reading after three years of struggling for every letter, sound, and word

November 23: an unexpected chance to catch up with a dear friend, dinner out

November 24: the tick tock of our Grandfather clock, wind chimes on the back porch, the soft glow of candlelight, warm holiday scents, warm tea, soft music, soft blankets, fuzzy socks, a pen that writes just right, journals, devotional helps - cozy

November 25: fried eggs and buttered toast (and a large collection of workout DVDs to counter the effects); The family raving over breakfast night instead of complaining about dinner. Carbaholics anonymous?

November 26: an invitation for Will to sleepover at a friend's house, an all-day play date for Mary Jayne; hunting time for A; Minecraft and FaceTime time for B, chill time for L, and decorating time for me. Binge-watching shows from our series. Having everyone be able to do something that they like to do.

November 27: seeing our extended family for Thanksgiving

Anticipating the Advent season together