A Life of Gratitude

I began writing this blog 8 years ago. That absolutely blows my mind! How has it been 8 years? Honestly, deciding to write this blog and sticking with it for 8 years has been such a blessing to me. I truly believe Living a Life of Gratitude has changed my life!  Gratitude has changed me.   Here's why--- It is our tendency, as human beings, to focus on what we don't have, what we dislike about a situation, and what we wish could be different. Choosing to seek out all the things we are thankful for (even when it seems like there isn't much) will completely change our perspective. Changing our perspective will cause fear to flee and trust to rise.  When we are trusting in the Lord, believing He is who He says He is and will do what He says He will do and then pointing out to ourselves and others all the sweet blessings we have, suddenly there is an abundance that we never noticed before. It might be an answered prayer, much-needed provision, or even a ch...

Tonight as I was driving the boys home from Cub Scouts, I turned left to get on the highway. I got about half a mile down the highway when I saw something in the middle of the road. It took me a minute to make out what it was but I finally realized that a deer was crossing through the middle of Hwy 311. It was headed away from my lane but I slowed down anyway. As soon as I started to press the break, for some strange reason, the deer turned and darted in front of my car. I slammed my foot on the break as hard as I could but I couldn't stop in time. The front passenger side of the car rammed into the deer. I pulled over as soon as quickly as I could. My entire body was shaking.  My 7-year-old and 10-year-old were freaking out in the back seat. This is the first time any of us had been in a car that hit a deer. It was terrifying for them. Once they realized everything was ok and some of the shock faded, I overheard them saying, "I really hope that wasn't one of Sa...

 Every now and then I take a step back and stand in awe as I watch my life. It's funny because I never, ever dreamed I would homeschool my kids. When I graduated college my plan was to teach Kindergarten in a public school forever! I thought we would probably have 2 or 3 kids and they would attend the elementary school I taught at. I could have never, ever imagined the path God had planned. I have to say though, His plan is so much better! I absolutely love the life He has blessed me with. Today as I took a look at my life, I was overwhelmed with gratitude for the opportunity to homeschool my kids. One of the things I love most is the ability to move at our own pace in the mornings. Ankylosing Spondylitis causes me to have overall muscle stiffness and in terrible pain in the mornings. It takes an hour or two to be able to move around the house without pain. It would be next to impossible for me to get the kids to school by 8:00am. God knew all along that I wou...

Gratitude is something I find very valuable.  That might be obvious since I've been writing this gratitude blog for 8 years now!!! (That is super hard for me to believe!!!) Each November I try to find something fun for my kids to do that helps to develop an Attitude of Gratitude. For each day of November, the kids and I have thought of one person that we are thankful for. On that day we are writing a special thank you card to that person, letting them know how much we appreciate them. If you receive a card from us in November, its because we are thankful for you! If you don't, its because there aren't enough days in November! Today I am grateful for all the lovely people God has placed in our lives. My boys had no problem filling up the calendar with the names of folks they are thankful for. We have so many beautiful friends and family which is truly a blessing! I am also thankful for that my kids enjoy doing projects like these with me. They think it...

Have you ever met a very determined, very stubborn 4-year-old? If not, you are welcome to visit our home! Our Tyson is the sweetest, most loving, most gentle, little boy I've ever met but, he is also the most headstrong! Lately, if we ask Tyson to do something that he doesn't want to do, we hear, "But I don't want to" over and over again.  Yesterday, Tyson took a toy from Allison while she was playing with it. She started crying because she was broken-hearted, of course. I asked Tyson to give the toy back to Allison and he immediately screamed, "But I don't want to!"  He probably said that sentence at least ten times. Each time I would respond with, "It doesn't always matter what we want to do." This continued for a while and eventually, I took the toy from Tyson and gave it back to Allison. It took a bit but Tyson did end up getting over it and found something else to play with. I seriously believe that Tyson would have argu...

Today the Students of the Spirit visited a local nursing home to share love and joy with the residents that live there. One of the perks of being "in charge" of this amazing homeschool co-op is getting to pick where we do our service projects! Brookedale is my family's favorite nursing home! We visit often and love so many of the residents. So, I couldn't wait to bring the Students of the Spirit to visit! My favorite part of our trip to Brookedale was waiting on the older girls (not pictured in the photo above) and hearing that hey hadn't come outside yet because they were praying with an elderly woman. These young ladies were laying hands on a woman that is 6 times their age. As we were all leaving, the girls said that the Holy Spirit caused this special woman stick out them and they were drawn to her. How incredible is that? Today I am grateful to be a part of a homeschool co-op that is being used by the Holy Spirit to pour ...

Today, as I did my Bible study, I read a verse that I've read so many times before but I noticed something that hasn't ever really stood out to me.  Psalm 91:4 says, " He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings, you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart." I've always focused on the part of that verse that says, "He will cover you with His feathers." It amazes me really, to think that God, as big and powerful as He is, would be willing to bend down and cover us the way a swan covers her babies. It's such a beautifully gentle metaphor for our God. I love the reminder that I can find refuge under His "wings." It sort of makes me think of big ol' grandpa arms wrapping up a little granddaughter in safety and love. She is sheltered, embraced, and unaware of whatever is happening outside of those arms. Today my attention was drawn to the latter part of the verse. "His faithfulnes...