FINDING THE BLESSING FROM THE MESS

This morning I woke up after only 5 hours of sleep. 5 very restless hours. I am exhausted. Dark circles and bags under my eyes, body sore, I feel like I could fall asleep and sleep for days. Yet I make my way through the house to begin my day. My bedroom has a large pile of dirty clothes that need to be washed sitting on the floor and a large pile of clean clothes on the dresser that I need to fold and put away. I walk into the kitchen and see a sink full of dirty dishes and a dishwasher full of more dirty dishes. I go to start the dishwasher, thinking I'll tackle the sink later, yet I find that I am out of dish soap. I look at my kitchen. Cups everywhere, a gallon of sweet tea left out of the icebox, crumbs on the table and a trashcan so full the lid is hanging off. I groan. My house was spotless just 2 days ago! Then I walk through the dining room and see 2 bags sitting there from our Independence Day celebrations. I know those bags hold many items that need to be washed and put away. Then I enter the living room. This room isn't too bad. Mostly it just needs to be dusted and vacuumed. But I think of all this that needs to be done and I think of how insanely tired I am. I begin to have feelings of anger, sadness, I am not really sure what you'd call these feelings. But they are not joyful, grateful feelings.

Then I feel God prick my heart. He reminded me of my yesterday. Of getting to sleep in with my husband by my side. Of having a day with my grandparents, parents, siblings and their crews, my husband and my kids. Of hearing the laughter and splashes of my kids and nieces and nephews swimming. Of eating my favorite summer foods, fried green tomatoes, watermelon, and homemade ice cream. Of coming home for an afternoon nap before our evening events started. Of watching fireworks with friends. Of watching my 4 teenagers sit on a blanket on the grass talking and laughing. My heart goes from bitterness of these messes and my tired eyes to full of the great blessings He has given me.

Those piles of dirty clothes, that sink full of dishes and bags of things to be put away are all reminders that our family had a great holiday. That we were blessed. Sometimes we need to step back from the mess and see the blessing. A sink full of dishes is a reminder that we have been blessed with food. Think of all those who are starving, not hungry but literally starving. Those wet towels and bathing suits are reminders of fun and laughter. The late night is a reminder that we celebrated with family and friends. It is hard to grumble and complain when we are busy counting our blessings.

Today I challenge you to step away from the mess and look at it. Really look at it. What blessing is that mess showing you?

Let's Rejoice Together

Studies show the number 1 cause of marital fights is finances. Money is necessary in life, so how do we deal with money as a couple, but not fight? Join me today at Woman to Woman Ministries as we discuss the 5 ways to take the fight out of finances. Click HERE.

Continuing to count the ways God is good...

1656. Safe travels for my teens and their youth group as they went to youth convention this past weekend.

1657. Some special time with our youngest while his older siblings were away.

1658. Camping out in the living room in front of the fireplace.

1659. Sunday afternoon lunch and movie with family and friends.

1660. Little reminders that Jesus loves me.

Your turn! Share in the comments something you are praising God for! It does our heart good to share God's blessings and rejoice with one another.

Give Thanks

Continuing to count my blessings because God is worthy to be praised...

1616. Seeing the new movie, The Song. A great new marriage movie. See my review here.

1617. Getting a mixup/misunderstanding straightened out.

1618. An unplanned Saturday nap when I was too tired to even think. I literally sat down for just a moment and fell asleep for an hour. It was nice. {smiles}

1619. Our children's church helper, a teen, preach in the children's service. We love seeing young people working for God,

1620. Worship music playing each morning in my home.

What are your blessings? I want to praise God with you! Share with us in the comments!

Linking with:
A Holy Experience

A Falling Star

This may come as a surprise to you, but your husband is a human. And guess what? Humans mess up. They make mistakes. They goof up. They fail. Since your husband is a human, it is inevitable that he will fail at some point in your marriage. What can a wife do when her husband falls? Join the discussion at Woman to Woman. Click HERE.

I am thrilled to have another week to count the ways God is moving in my life...

1611. Seeing a falling star late at night.

1612. Windows open and cool breezes.

1613. Spiritual conversations with my girls on the way home from church.

1614. A fun game night with friends from church.

1615. Morning devotions with my children.

What are your blessings? I want to praise God with you! Share with us in the comments!

Linking with:
A Holy Experience

17 Years

Continuing to count my blessings...

1591. Celebrating 17 years of marriage with my husband.

1592. Celebrating 18 years together with him.

1593. My husband's commitment to providing for our family.

1594. My husband supporting me to fulfill my dream of being a stay at home mom.

1595. His desire to see me smile and hear me laugh.

Today I want to wish my husband a very happy 17th anniversary. You are the love of my life, Jeremy, and I am so very grateful for you. Always & Forever.

What are your blessings? I want to praise God with you! Share with us in the comments!

Linking with:
A Holy Experience

Monday Blessings

Life gets so busy sometimes. But if life is keeping you too busy to invest in your marriage, then it's time to reevaluate your priorities. Join the discussion over at Woman to Woman Ministries. Click HERE.

Continuing to praise God for His sweet blessings...

1586. First week of school.

1587. Learning a new high school curriculum with my two high schoolers.

1588. Going back to our favorite curriculum with my two middle schoolers.

1589. A fun night out with the ladies from church.

1590. A new quiet time spot in my home, for just me and Jesus.

What are your blessings? I want to praise God with you! Share with us in the comments!

Linking with:
A Holy Experience

Anniversaries & Nursing Homes

Today at Woman to Woman we are discussing being a wife to our husband. This should be interesting! Join me HERE.

Continuing to praise God for my blessings...

1581. My wonderful grandparents who celebrate 57 years of marriage today! Happy Anniversary Mamaw and Papa!

1582. My wonderful parents who celebrate 38 years of marriage this week! Happy anniversary Mom and Dad!

1583. Wonderful examples of love and marriage to look up to.

1584. Taking our children's church to the nursing home to visit the residents.

1585. Getting my computer back from the repair shop! It's so nice to have it back and working.

What are your blessings? I want to praise God with you! Share with us in the comments!

Linking with:
A Holy Experience

Should I Continue To Count My Blessings?

Today at Woman to Woman Ministries, we are continuing with our series titled Fruits of the Spirit in Marriage. Today's fruit us faithfulness. Join the conversation HERE.

Several years ago I accept a challenge from the precious Ann Voskamp at A Holy Experience. Ann challenged us to count our blessings. Each Monday she posted her own blessings on her blog and called it Multitudes on Monday. I loved this idea of counting my blessings and I really loved the idea of being intentional and dedicating a day of the week to focus on thanksgiving. So I began to count my blessings.

Every Monday I would come to this blog world and think back over the week on how God has blessed me. This practice has become a blessing in itself.  One year I had gotten close to 1000 blessings. Then with the new year, I started over and have continued to count to where I am now over 1500 blessings. Blessings in everything. The big things, the little whispers of God, everything. His sweet blessings.

But lately, I have felt more like I was going through the motions, than really praising God. I don't want that. I have been considering giving up on the whole thing.

I will give thanks to the Lord because of His righteousness;

I will sing the praises of the name of the Lord Most High.

Psalm 7:17

Enter His gates with thanksgiving

and His courts with praise.

Give thanks to Him and praise His name.

Psalm 100:4

God is so good. He blesses us continually. We need to praise His holy name. We need to intentionally thank Him for His wonderful works in our life. There is a saying that goes, "what if we woke up tomorrow with only the things we thanked God for today?"

Counting our blessings is not bragging. It is not boring. It is not a bad thing. We need to praise God, He is worthy of praise. We need to thank Him. We need to hear others thank Him. I love hearing others praise God for His goodness.

I've decided to continue counting my sweet blessings. Continue to praise God for all He has done. And I want to do it with a heart of gratitude, not out of routine. I want to rejoice in His goodness. I am going to renew my commitment to count my blessings and I am so excited about it!

I want to challenge you to continue counting your blessings with me. Each Monday leave a comment with how God has blessed you this past week. Let's rejoice together!

Continuing to count my blessings...

1559. A relaxing week off from the regular busyness we have had.

1560. My husband's hard work over the weekend to get our church office remodel finished and everything moved in.

1561. A new baptism and salvation at church. Praise!

1562. Lunch with family.

1563. My son's end of season baseball party and watching him get his trophy.

1564. Clouds. I love clouds!

1565. Early morning time alone with my Daddy God.

What are your blessings? Share with us in the comments!

Linking with:
A Holy Experience

Are We Really Grateful?

We continually talk about living a life of gratefulness. We talk about counting our blessings and praising God for all He has done for us.

Then, we complain.

We complain that we don't have 'enough.' We say we are 'broke.' Money is tight and we can't pay the bills. We complain that our vehicle isn't new, we can't go on vacation or the house is falling apart. We complain over and over again.

We all have a different idea of what 'broke' really is. I hear people complain of having no money but I look at their lifestyle and wonder how they can possibly complain about having no money or going without. Then I wonder if people look at me and think the same. We all have different ideas of what going without is.

We are all so very blessed. So what if the house or car isn't new? So what if we shop at the discount store instead of the mall? So what if we have pb&j for dinner instead of eating out at a restaurant? Why complain about these things? God has blessed us over and above what we deserve.

Are we watering down the blessings of God when we complain?

Don't praise God for His blessings in one breath then complain about your lack of blessings in the next. Praise God for all of His sweet blessings. Be content with where He has you right now. Your car may not be brand new, but be content and thankful you have a car. You may not have the money to eat out often, but be content and thankful you have food to eat. We can't complain when we are truly praising God for His blessings.





Linking With:
Woman to Woman's Word Filled Wednesday
Winsome Wednesday
Wise Woman

Helping Her Be Grateful

We are upon the season when many of us strive to be grateful for all God has done for us. But gratefulness is something we should have in our hearts all year long, not just for a holiday. It is something that should be natural to us, something always on our lips.

It is hard to teach our children gratefulness when we are ungrateful. Strive to be grateful yourself. Like a smile, it is contagious.

Have you ever asked someone what they are thankful for but you only get a generic answer? Of course we should be thankful for our family, friends and food -the typical answers- but we need to be thankful for all things. Even the mundane. 

To continue reading, please join me at Whatever Girls.