"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God." Phil. 4:6
I’m not a fan of the holiday season. In fact, it’s the most common time of year I experience my depression. When I look back on my early adult years I remember feeling a lot of turmoil and chaos once my parents divorced, especially during the holidays. So even in my adult life I still have feelings of dread when the holidays come around.
The closer I get to Thanksgiving my eyesight begins to get foggy and I fail to recognize God’s hand of blessing in my life. I tend to focus on the negatives and let them pull me down. At times I even find it hard to find any positives in my situation. So this year over the last month to help counteract the negatives, I decided to post my thankful list on face book. (It was not an easy task, but very humbeling to say the least) During this month I deliberately found things to be thankful for every day. It was very enlightening for me and it allowed me to see how God always gives blessings even though I may not see them all the time. Here is my Thankful list!
18. Words. They are literally my life line. I would not be me without them.
19. Music. It's one of those things I literally cannot live without.
20. Acceptance. I'm so thankful to those who accept me for who I am.
21. Hope. Sometimes it's hard to find, but it's always there, waiting to lift me up.
22. Patience. I don't have very much of it yet, but I'm getting better at it every day!
23. Prayers that turn into deep conversations.
24. A future in Heaven.
24. A future in Heaven.
25. brokenness which helps me turn to the Lord.
26. women in my life so willing to mentor. Thanks to my God Mother, and many others…
27. Quality Time. When you get to spend really quality time with someone, it's sooo fantastic.
28. Sleep. There's nothing like a soft pillow and a warm blanket after a long, hard day as a mom of toddlers.
29. Plans. I love knowing that fun things are coming up. Putting plans in place is great!
30. Emotions. Sometimes it's scary to feel things deeply, but it's also very wonderful.
31. New Places. As Russell and I celebrate our fourth year in Frisco, I’m thankful I’ve been able to overcome new things and meet amazing woman in my life. It was very scary but it’s been exciting as well.
32. A shower! It's super great when I can take one with no interruptions!
33. Strength. I do feel like most of the time I have a lot of internal strength that I need to be thankful for.
34. Gratitude. Without it, I don't think I would be nearly as happy as I am right now.
35. I met a blind mother of five last night. What an amazing woman...Today I thank God who gave me eyes to see the beauty all around me.
36. Good conversation and wonderful friendship. There is no way I could survive without them.
37. Photos, there is nothing quite like a beautiful image to capture a moment. (My sonogram day)
38. Yea for Encouragement! So many people have supported me in my life. It always amazes me how God uses each of our different journeys to help each other. I thank God for the people he has placed in my life and those who have given me a hand in my time of need.
39. Questions. Most often one of the most exciting but busy task as a mom is answering questions. I love the way my daughter thinks and many times I learn so much from her questions.
40. I have so many things to be thankful for but one of the biggest things is my husband. He is a phenomenal Dad and an incredible person.
what a beautiful song....
ReplyDeleteI love that you wrote down every single thing you are grateful for right now in this time in your life. Now you can look back on it and see how all of those hardships in your early years that make you sad helped build you and mold you into the wonderful woman you are today. A woman who can appreciate so much of what she has. That's such a good thing Diane!
Always look at the bright side of life! And you can list up to 40 points! That's why women are awesome! :)
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