...in thankful thursday

today I am thankful for...

42. Sydney's bravery in embracing her first day of kindergarten (today!) with joy and excitement!

43. that I didn't cry when we dropped her off! (was able to make it home for that :)

44. Miles' nap time, and a bit of peace and quiet to digest the big events of the day.

45. iced coffee from Tim Hortons...they make it JUST right :)

46. God's promise that He goes WITH us 

47. that there is finally an opening for my Grandma to go to the nursing home of my mom's preference. It's not going to be an easy transition, but definitely time for it :(

48. flat irons on humid days....or my hair would be pretty crazy ;)

49. people who love me and who are thoughtful

50. a husband that can listen, support, and let me cry over silly things without making me feel silly

51. that school is not every day and we have a break before I have to do this again ;)

^"Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations."  Psalm 100:4-5

...in rest

A couple weeks ago I talked here about finding the good in the quiet. This has introduced a new normal for my morning that I honestly don't know how I ever lived without. I've been doing this every week day for the last couple of weeks, but letting myself sleep in on Saturday and Sunday with the intention of keeping them more laid back days. It's pretty ironic because the last two Saturday's I have been able to really sleep in (this Saturday it was until 8:30!) and yet I've been SO exhausted and just flat out cranky all day. It really got to me this last weekend. I thought I was giving myself a break and time to rest, but I felt the very opposite of rested.

I thought about it a lot through the weekend, about what rest means. Today it just hit me: Rest, for me, is not the act of being physically still or relaxed. Rest, for me, is the absence of anxiety, worry, stress, and fear. If you look up "rest" on dictionary.com, the 3rd definition says: relief or freedom, especially from anything that wearies, troubles, or disturbs. YES, this is the rest I am in need of daily, the rest that is crucial: freedom from anything that troubles. When I start my day off with time alone with God, that time is completely free of all worry, all stress, all fear. It's just me and my God and His truth that reminds me of who He is and who He says I am. It gives me perspective for the whole day. For me rest is not found in sleep, rest is found in the quiet time of reflection on what is true. It is GOOD to find rest, to dwell in it, to soak it up, and to go back for it again and again.

 "Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from him. He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will not be shaken. My salvation and my honor depend on God; he is my mighty rock, my refuge. Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge."   Psalm 62:5-8

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."  Matthew 11:28-30

...in thankful thursday (on friday :) )

We had my daughter's kindergarten open house last night which consumed my thoughts all day and evening, so thankful thursday was forgotten :( But let's do a belated one because I could use a little thankfulness today...

I am thankful for...

29. the opportunity for Sydney to put a face to her teacher's name, that she's excited and liked her teacher, and that she got to meet her locker buddy on the playground after open house :)
30. knowing, that even in the midst of my anxiety over Syd going to school, that God is GOOD, that He goes WITH her, that He LOVES her and He will walk with me through this new stage of parenting
31.  awesome weather to do fun things outside this week (including a super fun day at the zoo!)
32. Josh's job. Even though it's a bit unpredictable and gives him a good amount of frustration...I'm thankful that he has it, that it provides opportunity for a future in the company, and that he has already been recognized and appreciated for his hard work.
33. cool evenings...I don't want to wish summer away but I LOVE fall and cool evenings are just a sign of its impending arrival!!
34. God's provision....I may have said it here before it but it blows me away where we are now compared to a year ago. Don't get me wrong...we are not any kind of wealthy by any stretch, but we are in a much better place with much less anxiety over how the next bill will get paid. God has provided our every need when we had little and now is providing "wants" as we have a bit more. I'm so thankful for His provision and KNOW that all I have belongs to Him!
35. answered prayers!! I have had the great privilege to pray for people I love and have seen two awesome answers to prayer this week. So thankful to be allowed a peak at what God is doing in other's hearts and lives!
36. Miles' new found communication skills. In the last month, Miles has grown leaps and bounds in his ability to understand us and respond using words. I LOVE the toddler stage and this has been SO fun!
37. the love my kids have for each other. I hope they always love each other this much :)
38. chocolate that tastes like coffee...I mean seriously that's just ridiculously awesome.
39. saving money! we were able to cut down our cable bill this week and I'm always saving with my awesome couponing skills ;)
40. flexible days...now I say this knowing that they are soon to be a thing of the past (once school starts) but for today I am thankful that we can go with the flow :)
41. the days I don't have laundry to fold :)

^"Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations."  Psalm 100:4-5

...in music

God has always used music to speak to me. This particular song has popped up on my Pandora radio a couple times, but when I heard it yesterday it was like God speaking directly to my heart. It was such a GOOD reminder of who my Almighty God is and the love that He generously gives...

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."  Matthew 11:28-30

"Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you" Deuteronomy 31:6

"For I am the Lord your God who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you." Isaiah 41:13

...in thankful thursday

The last two weeks have been full. It is GOOD to stop and take time to just be thankful :)

I am thankful for....
15. homemade mac and cheese (We had this with dinner tonight. The first bite was a reminder of why I don't make it...it's. just. too. good!)
16. when Miles is just the right amount of tired that he's super snuggly
17. two more weeks of summer to enjoy with Sydney before school starts.
18. Sydney's excitement for school to begin (because I'm a bit terrified...hopefully her excitement will rub off ;)
19. a great time in PA with Josh's family last weekend, time to see his Grandma, and good time/conversation with my sister-in-law
20. a new bedspread......feels like a bedroom makeover :)
21. finding the right medicine to help with my stomach/digestive issues. I had major reflux and ulcers after having Miles and had months of doctors appointments/tests before I quit it all and tried an all natural supplement. It's kind of been life changing for my stomach!
22. FRIENDS on DVD....that show never gets old (although Josh may argue that ;)
23. good friends (in real life :) that can support one another in prayer
24. the strength and discipline to continue getting up early every morning and spend time alone with my God (I've even bumped it back another 15 minutes!)
25. Lamentations 3:21-26. I studied this last week during my quiet time and it has given me SO much encouragement. I find myself repeating it in my head throughout the day...
"Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.” The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord."
26. that I have TRUTH (God's Word) that I can stand on, that I serve an Almighty God who loves me and wants the best for me
27. that my "to do" list actually got accomplished today!! (this is very rare :)
28. that the weekend, with sunshine in it's forecast, is just around the corner :)

 ^"Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations."  Psalm 100:4-5

...in the quiet

My life is busy and loud, as is the life of every mother. The day zips by before I get things done...and yet it drags and bedtime never seems soon enough. Since my hubs has started his job (in November) his work schedule has been unlike that of any other time in our marriage. His days have been LONG which makes our days LONG and last couple weeks it just really caught up with me. I was feeling worn thin. 

God knew this and the last two weeks of sermons at our church have spoken to this deep need within me to get alone with God and get quiet; to remove every distraction in my life and my heart, to trust that even in my complete exhaustion getting up an hour earlier will be JUST what I need, to see that the very thing holding me back from feeling better was valuing feeling better more than I valued making the tough changes to take better care of myself. 

So I did what I was dreading, what felt impossible: I sacrificed an entire hour of sleep. This may not seem like much, but to a mother of little kiddos rest is crucial. As soon as their feet hit the ground, I don't stop moving again until their bedtime. That's a lot of moving. My hubs kept pushing me to try getting up earlier to have that time for myself and for God. (He started it last week and it made a huge difference for him). So today I woke up at 6:30 and had a FULL 40 minutes to myself. I had time to read God's truth, to pray, to journal, to sit and be.

And when my little kiddo got up in his crib and started hollering for "maameeee", I was able to greet him with joy and a full heart instead of tiredness and regret of leaving my pillow so soon. Today was enough convincing for me that this is worth it and I will make it my new normal.

There is GOOD in the quiet. 

"Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning;  great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.”The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord."     Lamentations 3:21-26

...in thankful thursday

I'm going to continue a tradition I started here on my other blog. This will be an ongoing list of the things I am thankful for. I want to be thankful every day, but I'll take Thursdays to write it down :)

I'm thankful for...

1. first and foremost: my God, my Savior

2. my husband. I love him more each day.

3. my daughter. She is the kindest, funniest girl I know.

4. my son. He is just precious and so sweet.

5. my family and friends, near and far.

6. phones and computers to keep in touch with them!!

7. coffee. Iced, hot, flavored, or plain....I can't go a day without it. Well I guess I could, I just don't want to!! :)

8. sunshine and cool breeze. The last two days have been PERFECT!

9. flip flops. My go to summer foot wear...I'm going to be sad when fall comes and I have to give them up.

10. a new shade of fingernail polish

11. fresh flowers in my kitchen. (especially when I get them free! Caught the lady in the floral department at Kroger right before she was about to pitch some "old" flowers. She gave them to me for free and they still look great days later!!)

12. God's provision. We were in a much different financial place this time last year and it blows me away to look back on how God has provided for every need (and even some wants that weren't needs)

13. A new book to read.

14. how good my kids are in the grocery store. They get complimented often and it's well deserved because they are little shopping troopers! :)

 ^"Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations."  Psalm 100:4-5