Thankful beyond the holiday...

Well, Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I hope that you had a wonderful day with family and friends, but more importantly that you were able to reflect on God's goodness to us. Even though we should always be thankful, I love that we take a special day to really reflect and thank God for all he has supplied. He has not only given me my needs, but also my desires.

I think everyone that reads this blog reads our other one as well. So you probably know that we are expecting #3. We are especially thankful for this. We know MANY couples that stuggle to conceive. God has chosen them for a special reason. I don't begin to understand it all. But I can't help but think that God knows what others can handle and that they can bless others through their struggles. I have learned so much and been blessed when THEY are faced with dark days. I only pray I have the courage to do the same.

We are also especially thankful because getting to this point has been difficult. I will spare all from details, but we have had our share of struggles with this pregnancy that have been scary, painful, and all together unsettling. But God gave me a peace early on. Not my will, but HIS be done. And that is where we stand. I want only His name to be glorified through this child. And whether I carry it full term, or we lose the baby, I know he can make it to be good.

I want to add just a few more things I am thankful for. I have a list in my Bible that I pray over and thank God for what he has given. Here are some:

My salvation: Without Him, I would be lost and hopeless.
My Husband: I wouldn't be lost without him, but most definetly hopeless. :)
My Samantha: She brings me joy. And patience.
My Molly: She brings fun and excitement.
My church family: They bring me encouragement and help.
My Bible: I am so thankful that I have multiple Bibles in my home and that no one is taking them away. Thank God for the freedoms we still have.

There are many more, but let me end here. I encourage you to think on what you are thankful for. And more importantly, tell God. He loves to hear your praises.

Humility

I don't know why I continue to be amazed by how God works. If I believe His word is true, then I know that He will supply what I need exactly when I need it. I have been struggling lately with getting it right. I see so many areas in my life that need to be worked on that it is just overwhelming. At times, I just want to give it all up. It appears from the outside that it would be easier to just take the broad way and not fight in this battle that we are in. But I need to come to my senses. The facts are these: we ARE in a battle. And I have been blessed beyond belief to be a child of God. Chosen to fight in HIS army. How dare I complain??

I have been seeking God's direction in where I specifically need to work on. But my own strength (or better yet, weakness) gets in the way. I again become overwhelmed. Fast forward to last night. We had a new preacher in. I had heard him preach a couple other times, and I knew I was in for some good preaching. To actually hear from God, and not a man.

God delivered. He gave me just what I needed. Where do I fail? Humility. Matthew 5:3 says,

Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Poor in spirit is where I fall short. It doesn't mean you cower to others and feel unworthy. It's knowing your God and seeing all HE has done. All HE does. And realizing how amazing it is that we are even a part of the big picture.

Pastor gave us a list of 6 things to know if you are truly humble. I would like to share them. Really just to brand them even more on my heart.

When you are truly humble,
1.You are lost in the wonder of it all. Remember when you first got saved? Remember how exciting it was. And the Bible. How you could not get enough of it...
2.You won't complain, regardless of the situation. I could write pages on my wrongs in this area.
3. You are going to see others strengths (not weaknesses) more clearly. You know... take the beam out of your own eye...
4.You are thankful for everything God has put in your life. This includes the so called bad stuff.
5. You will surrender to God multiple times a day. This one is my favorite. It clicked with me. I have heard this and even said it before, but have I done it?
6. You will be lifted up. James 4:10 is my verse of memorization for today. "Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up."

I could write forever. I am so thrilled that God gives us second, third, three hundredth chances!! I just pray that this is me. I truly want to be humbled. I want him to be exalted. Lord help me...

With God it is possible

As I came across this verse in the Bible, I was challenged to look at myself and see if I truly believe this. My mouth says that I do, but my actions show that I do not. Jesus said that if I really believed, I could move mountains. Where is my belief? What is my confidence in? Not God, because if it was, I could get through my daily challenges.

I decided, since I am a very simple person and I like lists, to make out a list of things that ARE possible. Things that I struggle with. Things that I don't give to God to conquer. Here are a few that were on my list:

1. My children can learn to obey. (We've had some days of struggle lately, and at times I feel like giving up. But God promises that our faithfulness will pay off in the end.)

2. They can come to the Lord. (I have a few people in my life that have no regard for God and who he is. I have been burdened to pray for them more because I know they still can turn to the Lord.)

3. I can make it through today. (I realize this is very general, but on those days that I had been sleep deprived the night before and I have a heap of laundry, I have been known to say out loud, "I am not going to make it today." But remember, with God...

I have some other ones on my list, a bit more personal. But I think this is a good start. I know now, that with God, I can do it, no matter what the task. Even move a mountain!!