... And today I bring you baby steps in gratitude to help me rise above self pity at all times. Terri reminded me today that there is a beautifully simple command and promise in Hebrews that we often overlook. And here it is: "Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, 'Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.'- Hebrews 13:5Having Him with me should always make me content. And I think its interesting that focusing on God's comforting presence is presented as an antidote to discontentment.
And now a random assortment of things to be thankful for:
- David was supposed to be spending the next two weeks working non-stop getting ready for a trial. That trial just got postponed until January. Disappointing for him; very much a huge blessing for me as we get this house put together. I was really dreading not being able to put pictures on the walls and just not having him around the next couple of weeks. This is a huge grace for me.
- Drinking Dr. Pepper without much, if any, guilt. Hey, the dr. said I could have one a day, and I'm not doing that! =)
- A healthy, happy son who is a great napper.
- The overwhelming grace of being able to have another child. I am now about 11 weeks, and I'm starting to feel myself relaxing a little bit and expecting that there will be a child at the end of 9 months. Past miscarriage can easily steal joyful attachment from early pregnancy if you let it...
- Lots of fall comfort foods on this week's menu. David requested potato soup this week, and I'm embracing the joy of soup making and the delicious smell of baked apples. How often I overlook baked apples!
- Gratitude that I usually enjoy cooking. I heard another mom confess this week that she hates cooking, though she must cook anyway. What a blessing it is to generally enjoy doing something that you have to do daily!
- Getting used to the squeakiness of the upstairs floorboards after such a short time. And learning to enjoy sleeping with an eye mask on, at least until I come up with a blackout curtain solution for the east facing windows. =)
- The fact that I can see green trees and fall leaves in my back yard from any point on the back wall of the first floor of this house. We even have some new squirrel friends to replace the extended squirrel family at the last house. Ok, there aren't nearly enough to replace them. All the squirrels in the neighborhood lived in our last back yard. They made the cat crazy.
- A toddler who is currently waking up in a seemingly good mood. =)
4 comments:
I'm thinking of you and praying for you. Haven't commented much lately, I know, but I'm still reading. :) For over three years we lived in a rental, and just the fact that it was a rental really bothered me. I felt so unsettled. One verse that God kept reminding me of was the one that talks about how God rewards those who are faithful with what little He has given them. I tried to think of our three years there as a challenge: I was determined to be faithful with little so that perhaps someday God would allow me to be faithful with much! I don't know if that will help you, but it certainly helped me all those years...
just a black out curtain idea. I'm so bothered by light coming in that I always go and buy blackout fabric from JoAnne's Fabric - really thick heavy duty white fabric that let's nothing in (my MIL sews it onto the back of the curtains for me since I can't sew!) We've had to do this in every house - beats stapling a black curtain to the window!
Just an idea for the windows...I know you like to let the natural light in so you could get those rolling blinds. We used those in PA and if you secure them enough you can roll them up in the morning and you can't even tell they are there until you need them again. They make a really thick light blocking kind too. Just an idea. No sewing involved.
I think it is great to think about all the things we have to be thankful for. I know we (I) tend to blog about our difficulties or ups and downs rather than the everyday things that make us happy and that we appreciate.
Thanks for your post.
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