A Page of Thankfulness

As I wrap up my Thanksgiving Day and get ready to head to bed, I wanted to share the things I wrote in my prayer journal this morning as a gratitude exercise. The last few weeks have been a bit of a "doozy", with lots of changes and attacks from the Evil One, so my emotions have been all over the place. In the last few days I've felt especially downhearted and "heavy", so I'm sad to say that gratitude hasn't been first on my mind. Today, though, I knew I wanted to at least try to focus on saying thank you to God for all of the things He's done, so I decided to just start with one page of things to be thankful for. That didn't seem too overwhelming, so I began. As I'm sure you've guessed, once I started, it got easier and easier to list things off. I'm so glad I was able to start my day this way, and now can end it by writing it all out here.  

~Salvation; being completely set free from every sin I've ever done or will ever do through Christ's death on the cross

~Sanctification; being viewed by my Heavenly Father as completely pure and good because He sees me through the lens of His sinless Son; the promise of being made more and more into His image

~Perfect love from my wonderful Abba God, and the resulting trust and peace that brings

~Being married; experiencing the amazing gift of having a husband (one who loves God, me, and our kids) and knowing I always have a teammate, protector, and friend at my side

~Motherhood, the blessing, honor, and privilege of raising up my precious, funny, sweet children to love and serve God

~Close, meaningful relationships with parents, siblings, and grandparents; the amazing gift of growing up in a family that loved God and me, and that continues to invest in my life and makes my days richer and brighter.

~Uncommon friends, "sisters" I got to choose (and who chose me). Women who bless me; build me up in the Lord; cheer me on; know & accept me; and bring great joy to my life.

~God's faithful provision of all that I need--physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Being able to trust that He gives me what is best; if I don't have it, then it isn't what is best right now.

~God's protection over me and my family; having peace knowing He is watching over us

~Health--the ability to see, hear, taste, smell, feel, and move. Having a body that almost always works as it should and that doesn't experience constant pain or sickness.

~God working in even my trials and sorrows to bring about good: using depression to draw me closer to Him; Satan's attacks to make me strong; loss to make me appreciate what I have more.

~All of the talents and gifts God has blessed me with and allows me to use to serve Him and to help others

I hope all of you had a very happy Thanksgiving, and are able to make your own "page [or more] of thankfulness". I'm thankful to each and every one of you who take time to share in this blog with me!