In everything giving thanks-19 through 23!

You may wonder, as I do, how one goes five days without posting a single item for which she is grateful. I have no excuse, really, other than the crazy kind of busyness that is life as we know it. Isn't it interesting how busyness tends to displace gratitude, even deliberate expressions of gratitude such as this. One of life's lessons there, to be sure.

So, because I fully intend to finish what I started, I am thankful for the following:

19-Speaking of the crazy kind of busyness that is life as we know it, I am thankful for Entourage, my computer calendar. I was hesitant to go (semi) paperless but now I love it. I especially love the reminders that pop up in the corner of my screen, like the one that just came up reminding me of my two sons' basketball practices tomorrow.

20-And being thankful for Entourage reminds me I am thankful for my Mac laptop. My husband, he spoils me. Rotten.

21-I am also thankful for my two mentoree friends, the two young pastors' wives that I meet with on Friday mornings. I so enjoy our time together (even though I am still a little unsure of myself in a mentor role--can you say "insecure"?). I am so glad for our growing friendship and for how the Lord is blessing our mornings spent in good conversation, prayer and the Word!

22-I am grateful for my church, for the bold proclamation of the Word and for the centrality of the gospel in everything we do. As I've testified here before, there is nothing easy about starting a church from scratch but the Lord has shown Himself faithful to us in countless ways. I am grateful for the blessing and the privilege of serving the Lord here in this place with these my brothers and sisters, friends and fellow journeymen...

23-And today I am glad for the combined efforts of mother and sons and the clean playroom that resulted.

Surely I am the only delinquent participant in Rebecca's month of Thanksgiving! Check out the other, more consistent testimonies at Rebecca's blog.

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In everything giving thanks-18

Wednesdays are my days to volunteer at the pregnancy center. I love it; even on days like today when we didn't have a single client come in while I was there, I still love it. I am grateful that God has called me to this work for many reasons; one being that I am glad for the opportunity and privilege to serve our clients, women who are often in very difficult circumstances. In providing diapers or clothes we are offering them a cup of cold water in Jesus' name and I am glad to help meet their needs in this small way.

I am thankful that as I counsel I am learning to put my theology into words, to share the good news of Christ, to proclaim the hope that only He gives, something I am ashamed to admit I hadn't done very often before.

I am thankful too for the community that exists among the counselors. I love that we all love Jesus and we are committed to sharing that love with each woman who comes in our door. I love our common passion and common mission. I love that when I see a fellow counselor pause before she enters the counseling room I know she's praying and I pray too. I love that they are my friends, the kind of friends that pause and ask me how I'm doing, really, and promise to pray.

Volunteering at the pregnancy center is something I love so much that I wonder why I never did it sooner. As I give thanks this November, I am thankful for the ministry we have at the center and for my friends and partners in the gospel there.

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In everything giving thanks-16 and 17

Yesterday was such a hectic, somewhat stressful kind of day that, to be honest, I was most grateful for an evening on the sofa watching House Hunters. I'd gotten up early that morning--way, way, way too early--4 am kind of early--because I was worrying over the busyness of the day and week ahead. By the time night fell, I was ready for a quiet evening at home even though my son was playing basketball out of town and I felt like a loser mom for missing his game.

Today I am glad all four children bought their lunch (no packing lunch boxes--yes and amen!). I hate packing lunches and reprieves like this are few and far between and are therefore to be relished.

Today I am also thankful for the nice woman at the middle school where my son played last night, she who tracked down a rogue backpack mysteriously left in the locker room after the ball games not to be missed until the next morning (this morning). If truth be told, I wasn't so thankful to be making the trip (50 minutes one way) to retrieve said backpack but I am glad for the Books a Million a block away from the middle school and the Grande Caramel Macchiato I purchased there (just reward, in my opinion).

Sometimes it is not so easy to choose to be grateful! Thus I am thankful too for this exercise in thankfulness. Knowing that I pledged to post an item of thanksgiving for every day of the month has become a source of accountability for me. Now, when I am vexed about something (say, a missing backpack, just as a for instance), I know that ultimately I must be thankful not just for blog fodder but because as a believer, I am to give thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of my Lord Jesus Christ (Eph. 5:20)! Always and for everything? Yes, indeed, for the Lord is good and His steadfast love endures forever...

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Words worth pondering

I want a different obsession, a better obsession. I want Jesus to be the center of my life, the focus of my thoughts, the object of my passion, the definer of my identity, the source of my significance, the supplier of my happiness, my definition of beauty. I want Jesus to satisfy my appetites and longings...

... what are you obsessed with? Is it your weight or appearance? your house? your children? your vacation home? your reputation? your relationship with a certain person? Are you so obsessed with something that happened in the past that you can't move forward? Are you obsessed with collecting what you think you'll need to ensure a comfortable future? Are you simply obsessed with yourself--your own needs and concerns and interests?

... It's not that what we want is bad. It's that we want it too much. Our desire becomes a demand and we find ourselves off track, obsessed with so many lesser things than Jesus himself.

... We must take stock of our ambitions and allegiances and affections to make sure that Jesus is at the center of our lives, in his rightful place. We want to be obsessed with him, not merely affiliated with him or interested in him or associated with him. We want to be united with him, to give ourselves to him, letting go of whatever keeps us from him so we can run toward him.

~Nancy Guthrie, Hoping for Something Better

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In everything giving thanks-13, 14, and 15

I've fallen a little behind in my daily chronicle of thanksgiving. So, to catch up a bit...

Friday reminded me how grateful I am for books. I was reading an Agatha Christie mystery (The Secret Adversary) I had checked out of the library in pursuit of a light, fun read--and it did not disappoint. I'm thankful for the escape of a good story well told; I'm also grateful for the non-light, not-quite-so-fun reads--books that challenge and instruct, edify and confront, books that make me think and books that expound on Truth.

Yesterday I was so grateful for the patience and longsuffering of my two youngest sons who sat through two basketball games (and the few hours between games) at out of town tournament. It certainly would not have been among their top ten ways to spend a Saturday (all day Saturday) but they did so without complaint and even enjoyed themselves (of course, they were well prepared with book and PSP). They aren't always so easygoing (keepin' it real) but I'm so thankful for those times they are.

Today I thank God for a gorgeous fall day, brilliant blue sky, glorious sunshine, gentle breeze--a perfect afternoon for sitting on the front stoop, coffee cup in hand, watching my two boys throw the football. Have I told you I love fall? Truly the beauty of this Lord's Day gives reason for my love for autumn. The earth is full of God's glory and I am reminded of such today as I give thanks for a Sabbath afternoon on the porch, enjoying my boys and the beauty of the Lord's creation. This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it!

Remember to check out more testimonies of gratitude at Rebecca's.

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On grief, in everything giving thanks-12

I went to a funeral yesterday. My husband was out of town so I went alone, burdened with grief for this family, these friends of ours who lost wife, mother, and grandmother. I was saddened, too, by my own small load of hurts and disappointments, nothing that can compare to the terrible loss of their loved one too young and too soon, but sadnesses just the same.

Tears filled my eyes, spilling over as I greeted the family, remembering the friend and neighbor my family has lost. She loved my boys; they loved her. We all loved her. She kept sodas in the fridge in the garage for them to help themselves; that is, until their worrywart of a mom expressed concern that the soda consumption was ruining their supper. A stick in the mud, that's me. She bought me a pair of flip flops, wild and fluffy in a bold hot pink. Not exactly my style, but I wore them anyway. She baked a cake once and sent it over because she knew I was having the new preacher over for Sunday lunch and hospitality is not my strong suit. She suffered from a multitude of health problems for many years yet the last time I saw her, just a few weeks ago, she spoke with the same energy and vitality she always had. Frail of body, yes, but not of spirit.

She loved us. We loved her.

I remembered these things yesterday and I wept. I saw the crushing grief of the husband who loved her for 38 years and who loves her still and I wept. It was so sad. I am sad still.

But I received two things yesterday. One, a realization that my small sadnesses could be much, much heavier. It could be me standing before friends and family mourning the loss of husband or parent. Oh, to be granted perspective to see the things that truly matter, it is both a gift and a conviction.

I also realized afresh the reality of death and I hate it, death, our last and ultimate enemy. We will all die. It is a sure thing. We hate it, we fight it, we mourn it--all because we know, deep inside, that we were made to live forever. Our Creator set eternity in our hearts. The only hope, the only victory we have is in Christ, He who defeated death once and for all by His resurrection. He lives and He grants life eternal to those who repent and believe in Him. Thanks be to God, He has given us victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!

Today I am grateful that because of the Lord's mercy we do "not grieve as others who have no hope." (1 Thess. 4:13) Instead, we can have the "full assurance of hope until the end" (Heb. 6:11) because of Christ in us, the hope of glory! (Col. 1:27)

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On Veterans Day

My great-grandfather in France, WWI

My grandparents, WWII

My grandfather, the WWII pilot

I come from a long line of heroes, of men who fought for country and liberty and of the wives and daughters who watched them go. A deep love for this country is part of my grandmother's legacy to me. She knew better than anyone that freedom is never free, she whose father fought in WW I, her husband in WW II, her only son in Vietnam. My brother, her grandson, recently served in the US Navy. She, unlike many, received her men back to her, but I try to think how it must have been--to send your man, or your boy, off to war without benefit of email or the internet or Skype or Fox News. I esteem my grandmother and the fervent patriotism she modeled right up to her death.

On this, Veterans Day, it is fitting that we pay tribute to the those in our armed forces who serve sacrificially as well as their families and loved ones who also serve sacrificially, just of a different sort. To my dear friend in real life Alaina and her helicopter pilot-husband and the countless families they represent: I remember, and I honor and thank you.

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In everything giving thanks-11

Today as I continue my month-long daily chronicle of the things for which I am thankful, I express my gratitude for my Number Three son, my contrary child. His moods are as extreme as the day and the night and sometimes I'm not sure which I prefer! He is at turns bouncing and jovial as well as petulant and moody and yet I love him both as Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

He is determined to be his own man and as often as I find myself in a tug-of-war of wills, I admit I both respect and admire his dogged independence. He brings a richness, an unexpected-ness, to our lives through his intensity and his stubborn resolve. As I've said before, I pray the Lord will take my boy's determination to be different and live different and use it for His glory and the furthering of His kingdom. And I pray for grace and wisdom for my husband and I to teach him to live contrary to this world!

Today I am profoundly and inexpressibly thankful for the gift of my Number Three boy.

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In everything giving thanks-10

Today I am thankful for chocolate iced doughnuts from the Home Bakery. And coffee. Always and especially coffee.

And that's all I'm going to say about that.

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In everything giving thanks-8 and 9

Yesterday was crazy busy; hence my lack of thanksgiving posting for the day. I was indeed thankful: for the energy and health necessary for (among other things) two soccer games (and a second place finish in the tournament), madly cleaning my house for community group, slinging concessions at the Lecrae concert, not to mention the concert itself. And, speaking of Lecrae, I am thankful for his ministry and his unashamed proclamation of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ as well as the profound influence he's had on my oldest two sons. He spoke Truth last night and how I pray the Lord will reap a great harvest from the seeds planted among the young people in attendance last night!

And today? Today I am grateful for a Monday morning calendar absent of obligations (don't ask about this afternoon/evening), a morning of coffee and rest, solitude and gratitude. And laundry, mounds and mounds of laundry, the kind of volume of laundry generated by six people after a busy weekend away from home.

And He said to them, “Come aside by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while.” For there were many coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat. (Mark 6:31)

Be sure to visit Rebecca for more testimonies of thankfulness this November and, if you're so inclined, add your own so that we may all boast in the Lord's goodness together!

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