To Everything There Is A Season

A Time For Every Purpose Under Heaven

A blog about raising a young family and keeping Christ at the center of it.



The Cyrs

The Cyrs
Photo Credit: Rachel Dewhurst

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

A Time for Thankfulness

Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. ~Psalm 100:4


November is the time of year everybody (well most everybody) starts thinking of things they are thankful for, leading up to Thanksgiving. It's all over Facebook, with status' each day of something one is thankful for. So I decided because consistency is not my greatest strength that instead of each day posting one thing I'm thankful for (because I know after 10 days I'll forget, or lose track) I instead would just make a list of 30 things...one for each day of the month!

I am thankful for:

1.First and foremost I'm thankful for Christ dying on the cross and forgiving me of my sins. I don't want to think of who I would be or where I would be without HIM. 

2. My husband. I am amazed every day that God gave me such a good man. He is my best friend and loves me unconditionally...good days AND bad days! I love him so much and am so thankful for him.

3. Five healthy children. WOW! With so many stories lately of children who are sick I am thankful each day for how God has blessed us in this area.

4. For Noah. Everyone needs a Noah. He is a love and could sit and chat and hug all day. He is  just so thoughtful. He is a good friend and so good to his siblings. He makes me laugh because he is as awkward as I am and he frustrates me because we are so much alike!! But I wouldn't change anything about him.

5. For Owen. He is so much like his dad, I love that. He's our goofball and always knows how to put a smile on my face. He is determined and hard working but loves making everything in life fun!


6. For Gabe. Gabe is all boy & all personality. He never stops thinking, or talking or moving. He's our most exhausting one but always makes life interesting with his unpredictable ways. He's a born leader & strong willed and so interested in the world around him.


7. For Will. He's my "sweet william". He is so kind and gentle. He is the first one to pick something up if you've dropped it. He's also very organized, always making sure things go where they belong. He loves to laugh ,even if he has no idea what he's laughing about! I can't imagine our family without him.


8. For Jena. I am so thankful to have a girl. She is everything I imagined a little girl being and I just can't get enough of her! (daddy can't either!) 


9. For the fact that I can be a stay at home mom. There are many challenging and tough days but there are more great and rewarding days and I'm thankful I'm able to be home with the kids.


10. For my husband having a job. In this economy the fact that he has a stable job cannot be taken for granted. 


11. For friends who are unbelievably loving and supportive. I'm so blessed with so many great women in my life. 




12. For family. My kids are blessed to have all their grandparents and 3 great-grandparents, lots of aunts & uncles and cousins. 




13. For coffee. It has to be said! I'm thankful for very, very strong (preferably Starbucks) coffee. 


14. To be an American. 


15. For the Bible and for the freedom to own as many as want, read it whenever I want without fear of being thrown in prison or losing my life.


16. For our home. It's warm and safe and full of love. It's a place where there is always an over abundance of all of life's necessities-Praise God!


17. That Ben and I are healthy. It sure makes taking care of this family a whole lot easier!


18. For modern conveniences! Life is a lot easier today with things like indoor plumbing, electricity, dishwashers, cell phones, computers, etc.! 


19. Believe it or not...our suburban. (This is for you Ben!). It's old, has no air conditioning or a cd player and I complain about it a lot. But when I put things in perspective I remember that there are a lot of people who can't afford to own a vehicle, even and old one, and it was paid in full without us having to go in debt for it, runs great and fits our whole family in it! 


20. For Facebook. That may seem like a strange thing to be thankful for but when you stay home taking care of a lot of little ones it's hard to get out and F/B has helped me feel connected to people. So many of my friends have been a huge source of encouragement.


21. For nature. Mountains to climb, trails to hike, lakes and oceans to swim in, animals to watch. God's creation is amazing!


22. My treadmill. With no "kid-free" time to go to the gym on a regular basis the fact that I can get on the treadmill each day is a huge blessing to me. And thankful for the friends who gave it to us when they moved! ;)


23. I'm thankful that Ben's parents give us beef each year! Sure helps our grocery budget!!!


24. I'm thankful for how God has gifted Ben with so many skills & talents-have I mentioned how just plain awesome I think my husband is??


25. I'm thankful I have eyes that see and ears that hear. This is definitely something I take for granted, and shouldn't!


26. I'm thankful for things like make-up, hair color, hair straighteners, and nail polish. These may be frivolous things but they  are things that are sure to put a smile on my face when I'm feeling frumpy and less than pretty!


27. Music!! I love that there is music for every mood and occasion. I especially love the way it can prepare our hearts to worship God and express our love to him.


28. Clocks and  calendars. I like to be organized and on-time (preferably early). These two items make doing these two things so much easier!


29. Fire. Not only because it heats a home and cooks food but because of the way it brings people together to talk and laugh around a campfire eating s'mores. This is one of my most favorite family times!


30. The fact that I woke up today and so did my most precious gifts, Ben and the kids. Each day is a gift and I'm thankful for each one of those we've all been given!



3 comments:

  1. I just love this post! The picture of the kids at the top is amazing! Did you take it?? They are getting SO big! Blessings to you all!

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  2. That's actually from last year when we had family pics taken. I love it too!

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  3. Great list! It's so good to stop and think of what we're thankful for, and like you mentioned, put into perspective how much we have.

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