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| {Savoring the Sweet Moments with my Youngest} |
Thanksgiving is one of my very favorite holidays because it is a day to focus on all we have for which to be grateful.
One of the reasons I love Ann Voskamp and her book One Thousand Gifts and her blog A Holy Experience, is her emphasis on giving thanks for all we have. But this is not just a fluffy, cotton-candy-and-rainbows giving thanks. Oh no... this is the learning how to give thanks for every specific little gift, and for all of the hard things too, so that my life becomes a form of worship back to God, every breath a prayer.
If you are reading and you are thinking, You have no idea what I'm struggling with right now. You must have it good, you are right. I have no idea what you're struggling with, my friend. And I do have it good. I have all I need and more. I am truly blessed.
And there are hard things too...
pain
stress
worries
illness
exhaustion
loss
and the most recent, a terrible diagnosis for someone I love very much {please pray}
So because of the hard, I must keep counting the good. I must keep noticing it and taking stock of it, propping it on the shelves in my heart and pulling it to the forefront so it doesn't escape my sight.
Today, I keep taking stock of my Monday Mercies.
her blonde cornsilk hair and peaches & cream complexion
her long legs and Mama-like brown hair & another year of her life to celebrate
another day to notice and to worship
opportunities to speak love and encouragement
a second cup of coffee
clean sheets
colored Christmas lights strung across our little house
sunshine, God streaming across wooden floors
two hands, despite the swelling and aching
two legs, despite the occasional limping
a washer and a dryer, for recycling dirty into clean
music
a new prayer journal
spiral bindings to gather and hold, a pen to note and remember
the man that married me
Will you join me? Just start today. Start on a Post-it, if you like...
You say it oh so well. We must stop and thank for that is real worship. In the good and bad. Love you sweet friend.
ReplyDeleteI adore the picture you posted here. You both look so much alike and so sweet.
ReplyDeleteIt's a scientific fact that when we change what we focus on, particularly if we seek to be thankful, we literally change the way our minds and bodies function, for the better. I'm thankful that being thankful reduces anxiety and makes my mind and body healthier! I'm thankful for friends who understand that process.
This month I have become more and more thankful for the Korg keyboard loaned to me so that I can resume my music practice and check my compositional ideas and fan the flame of my musical fuel. It matters to me every day that I can do that.