300 Thankfuls!

I pray that this Monday finds you Thankful.  It may be dreary outside.  You may have been dealt a blow today--a diagnosis, a decision that was beyond your control, a debt that you don't know how you'll pay.  I'd like to remind you that in the midst of all of that there is a God who loves you. 

He doesn't love you because you've been good enough, because you've done enough, or because you'll ever measure up.  He simply loves you!  He loved you so much that He chose to send His one and only son to be the perfect sacrifice for your inability to measure up, for your shortcomings, for your trying to do enough and falling short, for your sin.  He loved you when you were unlovable, when you would look upon His love and walk away, still He loved you.  Still, he loves you.  He knows you by name.  He has a plan for your life.  If you have not accepted the gift of His son, Jesus, as the sacrifice for your sin, He waits longingly for you to do just that.  He sees your striving, your suffering, and your pain and longs to enter in to all of that with you and to bear your load.  If you are His child and you are in the middle of pain today, I just want to remind you all of our suffering is just for a little while.  We serve a great God.  Nothing you are dealing with today takes Him by surprise.  I encourage you--LOOK UP!!!  He wants to carry your load.  He wants you to know that He wants to be a part of EVERY DETAIL of your life. 

ABOVE ALL ELSE, find a reason or two to be thankful and it just might make everything else seem more bearable.  Love you, friend!

283.  I am thankful for vacation with friends. I am thankful for moments spent laughing and playing, relaxing and sipping on coffee, playing putt putt and eating fresh seafood, watching dolphins from the balcony and enjoying family movie night. . .  I am thankful for memories made that will be cherished for years to come.  I am thankful for those times years down the road when we will tell stories about this vacation and laugh and maybe even shed a happy tear over the joy we were able to share together because God in His infinite wisdom and in His gracious sovereignty knows we need each other and He blesses our life with friends to share this wonderful journey called life. 

284.  I am thankful for car rides when fun conversations happen, when read alouds take place, when deep stuff transpires, and when family life unfolds in unique God moments like no where else.  :)

285.  I am thankful for the unfolding God story in all of our lives.  I am thankful to have a bird's eye view into what God is doing in the hearts and minds of my daughters' lives as I interact with them daily.  I am thankful that just as He is teaching me, He is teaching them what it really means to live "on mission."  Oh, how I want to learn this.  I want to know what it really means to be His hands and His feet.  I am thankful for the moments in each day that He is giving us to really understand this better.

286.  I am thankful for coffee.

287.  I am thankful for a warm house and pumpkin spice candles and candy corn and mums and so many other signs of harvest time.

288.  I am thankful for the experience of seeing my oldest daughter being fitted for her first pointe shoes--a dream come true for her.  She has longed to do this since she first realized it was a possibility some four or five years ago.  I can hardly believe it's even possible that she's old enough to stand on pointe shoes but she's a beautiful and graceful ballerina and before I know it she'll be twirling her way across the stage with ease.  I'm thankful for the gift in her.  I am thankful for Mrs. Ashley and Mrs. Carole and the love for dance that they've nurtured. 

289.  I am thankful for a reminder this week that discipline comes from the Lord because of His great love for us.  Even the tough stuff is sent to us to grow us to help us reach our full potential in Him.  Waiting on His timing, His provision, His purpose to be fulfilled is not always easy but we can know that in His time deliverance is ours.  I am so thankful that I don't have to figure at all the details; I just have to wait on Him.  I have to be obedient in the waiting.

290.  I am thankful that I serve a God who makes the IMPOSSIBLE POSSIBLE!

291.  I am thankful that I have a husband whose desire it is to seek God for MORE and not be satisfied with status quo.  I am thankful that as we journey with Christ we are unified in our desire to ask God to BELIEVE HIM for what we don't even know to ask, think, or imagine.  I am thankful that Jason's heart is to serve our family well, to lead us with integrity, to go where God wants to lead us, to be weird according to the standards of the world if that's what it takes to go with God. 

292.  I am thankful that no matter what I know of God today there's more to know tomorrow because His ways are not my ways.  He wants me to discover Him, to seek Him, to pursue Him. 

293.  I am thankful for life.

294.  I am thankful for family.

295.  I am thankful for all of God's provisions.

296.  I am thankful for Monday night outreach.

297.  I am thankful for His WORD, it is bread, it is LIFE, it is water for the thirsty, it is salve for the wounded, it is breath for the dying. . .  It is the ANSWER to all of life's questions.  It is the greatest story ever recorded.  It is our story. 

298.  I am thankful for moments of quiet, when I can hear God's voice, and reflect on His Word.

299.  I am thankful for indoor plumbing and a washing machine and dryer.  (This may seem ridiculous.  But it has been occurring to me lately just what a big deal these things are.  WHAT IF?!?!  WHEW!   I'm so thankful I have these conveniences.)

300.  I am thankful for those moments when you see little things that have become big things being checked off your to-do list.  This is a big deal for a TYPE-A personality.  God knows how we're wired, and somehow He seems to allow me just the amount of time I need at just the right moment to accomplish what I need to accomplish so that I don't erupt with frustration.  Thank you, GOD!!!