Overflowing with Thankfulness

"So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness." Colossians 2:6-7

I wanted to take some time this year and make a list of all I'm thankful for. May God receive the Glory in the blessings he has given our family! Here it goes...in no particular order.

1. A God who directs my steps and patiently loves me

2. The health of our family

3. Continued healing for my eye

4. My parents who constantly love, support, & do life with me

5. A faithful, loving friend through every season of my life

6. A patient, God-fearing, humble husband

7. The joys of seeing Cohen grow and mature

8. Hearing an unprompted, "thank you for lunch Mommy," "I love you Mommy," or "Bless you Mommy" (from the backseat)

9. A warm, comfortable home

10. God's protection over my Dad during his motorcycle accident

11. My brother's marriage to a woman who loves the Lord and who influenced my niece to give her life to the Lord

12. Provision for my brother and sister-in-law (jobs, new location)

13. A group of high school students I love to serve and teach

14. The colors, crisp air, and refreshment of Fall

15. Protection over Hector as he has travelled so much

16. A husband who leads our son in generosity, humility, fun, and the fear of God

17. Hector's time off earlier this year! Many cherished memories!

18. Quiet moments when my Lord speaks gentle reminders of His love and sufficiency in my heart

19. God's provision for our family

20. An awesome set of in-laws who make me laugh and help me enjoy life

Now for a few silly things:

Pinterest.com

Scents of cinnamon and pumpkin

Chick-fil-A

Pizza

Veggie Tales

I could go on and on but just wanted to name a few.

"Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen." Ephesians 3:20-21

A heart of thanks

My mouth begins to water when I think about pumpkin pie and how close it is to Thanksgiving. However, when I'm at the grocery store or our local craft store, it appears as if I've missed it all together. I won't harp on the ridiculousness of Christmas decorations and music adorning stores on November 1st, but it's rather frustrating! Thanks to retailers' money-hungry tactics to breeze through Thanksgiving, I'm finding it difficult to teach Cohen what Thanksgiving is and the importance of stopping and thanking our Lord for "every good and perfect gift that comes from Him." (James 1:17)

So we have begun the journey of teaching our selfish-by-nature two-year-old to stop and look around at all God has given him and give Him thanks. We are reading books about it, doing crafts to emphasize it, and helping him think about what it means to be thankful. I pray these early efforts help him to develop a thankful heart! Today we shopped for our Operation Christmas Child box for a "little boy who doesn't get Christmas presents." He really got into picking things out for him. It was sweet! However, we got home and he wanted to play with a little car we got for the box. I let him, only after reminding him it wasn't his and he would have to put it in the box tonight before bed. He got rather attached, most likely because he knew it was a temporary toy, and had a melt down before his nap. Realizing just before naptime wasn't the time to discuss it, I waited until later to readdress the issue. To my surprise, just before bedtime he wanted to go find the car and put it in the box "for the little boy." I was humbled by his concern for the car and pray this was just the beginning of him having a heart to give! I tell this story, not to brag on me or him, but as a first memory of him willingly giving something for someone he doesn't even know. May the Lord draw Cohen into a relationship with Himself that he recognizes all he has as blessings and desires to give out of the abundance God has given him. And may Hector and I model that before him and lead him to generously give.