A Thankful Heart

Thanksgiving is over, and the preparations for Christmas are in full swing. Each day in November I had the kids tell me one thing each that they were thankful for and we wrote it on a paper leaf and placed it with the others on our refrigerator (which has also become a bulletin board/learning board around here).

Their thoughts varied from child to child and from day to day. We got the usual: Mom and Dad, Grandma and Pappy, and then the more spiritual: our church, Jesus dying on the cross, and Jesus raising from the dead. And there was also the typical 4, 6, and 10 year old responses of my baseball bat, my new monkey, my Rudolph puppet, and my favorite from Zach "gluten-free everything", and yes, I agree with him, I am so thankful for "Gluten Free 'Everything'"--it certainly makes feeding him gluten-free much more manageable when I can purchase GF Wafffles, GF Pizza Dough and even GF Doughnuts. But, I am off the subject, so back to being thankful.



Each time we talked about being thankful I tried to emphasize to the kids that we should not just be thankful during the month of November, but we should have thankful hearts all year through. I need to remember this thought myself! The Bible teaches us to be thankful in everything. We have I Thessalonians 5:16-18 posted in a couple of places around our house. The verse says

Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you

I want this to be how my family lives their life. I want this to be how I live my life. It is so easy to forget that God gave us everything. I was born in America, the best country in the world. I was born to parents who loved me, and sacrificed to give me a better life then they had. I was in church and saved at a young age. I met a Godly young man, the man of my dreams at only 17 years old, and married Him 3 years later. I have three amazing and healthy children that God gave us in miraculous ways. All three of them have unique personalities and unique characteristics that I love more than anything. God gave me a sister and a brother that are healthy. He gave me a wonderful church that I can raise my children in. He gave me a wonderful set of in-laws, He gave me a husband that supports me in all aspects and leads our family spiritually! He gave me great friends all along the way. God gave me more than I ever deserve. Most importantly God gave me my salvation; He gave me eternal life! I want to always remember these things that God gave me. These things and so many more that I can't even list them all.



Not only do I want to remember these things, I want my children to see how thankful I am to Him for all these blessings. I want them to be thankful and have thankful hearts. I want them to "Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In everything give thanks..."


So, tonight, with a thankful heart, I write this simply to say how thankful I am for all the many blessings in my life. We are blessed beyond belief. I did nothing to deserve it and I know it could all be taken away. But, I am truly thankful for everything in my life.

-Michelle