{a late} Thankful on Thursday

I am sorry my post is coming to you a little late.
These past two weeks have been so.... full.

In the days I was unable to post, we experienced so much.

Lincoln turned ONE. And we had a little party to celebrate his first year.

Thomas's grandpa went to be with our Lord and we laid his earthly body to rest. And we celebrated and remembered his life.

We got a fish named Giselle and a puppy named Ruger, and Our family grew by fins and 4 paws.

I organized a Secret Santa Gift Exchange and a Thanksgiving potluck for my co-workers.

The Lord spoke to me so honestly and clearly, convicting me to my very core, and daily, I have been working on my calling as a mother.

Among other things {and on top of everyday life as a wife, a mom of 3 kiddies and working full time}
I hosted Thanksgiving at my house.

So now, coming out of two weeks full of life and loss, conviction, celebration and growth, hustle and bustle, organization and hosting, and the multiple gatherings of family and friends, I come to you with a very full heart.

A heart that has felt the pure joy of a whole year with my son. My son who is a prayer answered after long suffering. Who is a miracle and a blessing from our God who is faithful and good.

A heart that is encouraged by being reminded and truly knowing what awaits us when we leave this life and join our Lord in Heaven.

A heart that has seen the giddy-ness and the glisten in my girls eyes over their new fish and puppy. 

A heart that has felt overjoyed at being able to do a little of what I love by planning and organizing fun festivities at home and at work.

A heart that has heard the voice of God. 

A heart that has been so effectively convicted and is in the middle of many transformations by the Grace of our patient and loving God.

A heart that is so blessed to have a home, a place where our family can gather. 

A heart that fell in love all over again with my husband as he lifted our family up in prayer before our Thanksgiving meal.

A heart full of new realization of what really matters.

 I am thankful for my full heart.

A few of you have noticed my absence here on my blog, and to that I am truly touched.
I pray the Lord is speaking to you through me, and I thank you for taking the time to ready my heart.

I hope as you reflect on your past two weeks, you are able to see where The Lord has shown Himself to you. I hope you can see where He has touched your heart and feel where He has breathed life into your soul.

I hope your heart is full.

Thankful on Thursday

Last week, I locked myself out of my car.

I was at a gas station 20 miles from home. It was 540 in the morning.
To make this even more spectacular, I didn't just lock my keys inside my car- I locked my keys, my purse, my phone and my jacket inside as well.

I had to run inside the gas station and ask the attendant to borrow his phone so I could call Thomas and ask him to call AAA to come to my rescue.

What's even better is, I left my phone, my keys and my purse {with my wallet} on the front passenger seat of the car, all in plain view, so I had to wait for the tow truck outside, next to the car... in the freezing cold... without a jacket {I was in a tank top..}

yeah.
that morning is definitely not making my list of top ten greatest mornings.

Lately, I feel like things of this nature have been happening to me so often.

I slept through my alarm and was almost late to work every day last week.
The car wouldn't start for me on Sunday {operator error and I was way to rushed to notice.}
I completely forgot about my scheduled Parent-Teacher conference last Thursday with McKynlie's teachers.

No matter how hard I try, I cannot keep up on my household chores. I try to clean the floors and I can only get as far as removing and shaking the rugs out and sweeping... I can't seem to get to the mopping part.
I try to scour the bathrooms and I am only able to finish the toilets.

Laundry? I wont even go there...

I feel like I can't catch a break. Like I can't catch up... I feel like waves of struggle, frustration, desperation and defeat keep crashing over me and all around me. I feel like I am drowning.

I feel stuck in circumstances I desperately want out of. I feel helpless, unsure and panic-stricken. I feel my mind constantly being crowded with thoughts of hopelessness and discouragement.

Sometimes, the cries of my son and the whines that slip out of my young girls' mouths are enough to push me over the edge.

And the thought of repeating myself one more time or cleaning up one more unnecessary mess makes me feel like I am on the verge of insanity.

My body is listless and overcome by exhaustion.

I am overwhelmed.

I feel like I am about to break and crumble. 

The circumstances of my day-to-day shout out, "You can't do this!"

and you know what... they're right.

I can't do this... Not alone atleast.

But, even through these {ever-so-often} times of struggle, I have hope. And I am thankful.

Because God promises I can do this with Him. 
He promises I can do ANYTHING with Him.

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

{Philippians 4:13} 

God promises He will always be with me. He will go before me and He give me rest when I am weary and overcome with exhaustion.

"...and lo, I am with you always, 

even to the end of the age."

 {Matthew 28:20}

 The Lord replied, 

“My Presence will go with you,

 and I will give you rest.” 

{Exodus 33:14}

The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you;

 he will never leave you nor forsake you. 

{Deuteronomy 31:8}

 Come to me,

 all you who are weary and burdened, 

and I will give you rest.  

Take my yoke upon you and learn from me,

 for I am gentle and humble in heart,

and you will find rest for your souls.  

 {Matthew 11:28-30}

 

I have hope and I am thankful because our God is He. The great I am. The true and living God. The Almighty. The Kings of Kings. Our loving Father.

And even though we have bad days, weeks and sometimes longer,

He is gracious and kind. 

He is our Savior.

 Even to your old age and gray hairs
    I am he, I am he who will sustain you.
I have made you and I will carry you;
    I will sustain you and I will rescue you.

{Isaiah 46:4}

As I am growing in my walk with the Lord, I am becoming more and more thankful for the difficult times, because I know that through them, God is working in me. And He wants to rescue me.

He is molding me and shaping me.

He is gently disciplining me and showing me the way I should go. 

He is leading me and catching me when I fall {and boy, do I fall!}

Everyday, He is whispering this verse to me over and over and over...

“My grace is sufficient for you, 

for my power is made perfect in weakness.”

{2 Corinthians 12:9}

 His power is made perfect in MY weakness.

If I didn't have days and weeks full of trials {like my last week} I would never know my weaknesses. I would never know just how much I need my God.

I am so thankful to know I need Him.

And so, I leave you with a verse I have shared before on Thankful on Thursdays...

.. be thankful in all circumstances; 

for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.

{1 Thessalonians 5:18}

Be thankful in the hard times my friends, God is trying to speak to you. 

  

Thankful on Thursday

I have been waiting all week for this day for two reasons.

Because one, I get to share my thankful heart with all of you.
and two, today is my Saturday. Yay!!

I had a pretty eventful past seven days...
I'm not going to lie, not all of what happened in the course of my week was pleasant.
{post about this to follow, stay tuned my friends}

But, regardless, I praise my God.

I praise Him because I know He was with me

...for the Lord your God goes with you; 

he will never leave you nor forsake you.

{Deuteronomy 31:6}

and because He is opening my eyes, my heart and my soul to be joyful always... especially in the midst of tough, trying and overwhelming times. 

 Always be joyful.  

Never stop praying. 

 Be thankful in all circumstances,

 for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.

 {1 Thessalonians 5:16-18}

  

So today, I come to you with a truly thankful heart. Here are some reasons why.

• Kennedy sharing with me just how great of a mom she thinks I am. She climbed into my lap and said, "You're the BEST, Mom!" countless times this passed week. This means so much to me because I never really knew how she felt about me- she is a hands down, Daddy's girl and he usually gets all of her love and attention. 

• Lincoln gives hugs and kisses! I am bursting at the seams with all of his cuteness wrapped around me!

• God is really moving in our life. He is guiding us and rearranging our perspectives on a lot of different things. As we release more and more control over our life and circumstances, He is taking the reigns and blessing us. He really is SO GOOD!

•  I am blessed to watch the sunrise every morning on my way to work. Have you ever truly watched the sunrise? It is the most beautiful thing. It is so peaceful and honest. It is a promise of new mercy fulfilled, a masterpiece created for our pleasure from our Lord. 

• McKynlie's teacher called me and complimented me on how well Thomas and I must parent. She told me how remarkable, intelligent and well-behaved McKynlie is in the classroom. I am a very blessed mommy because of McKynlie. 

•  My mom and my mother-in-law. They are always there for me and willing to help.

• Starbucks red cups {....what? ... just being honest}

•  my hands. I am so thankful to have my hands to hold, create, type, write, comfort, love, embrace, and all the other things hands do. God was so thoughtful when He created us, and so generous when He made me with them. 

• For Thomas telling me exactly what I need to hear, when I need to hear it. Sometimes it is the sweetest things and sometimes it is harsh truths. I am thankful either way. I am thankful for Thomas. 

•  The orange, yellow and red falling leaves of Fall. They're not so abundant here in California, but they are here, and boy, do I love them! 

 What are you thankful for this Thursday?