Thankful Thursday

As I was sitting here with my grandson this morning, listening to his endless chatter, I became completely overwhelmed with gratefulness once again. I was reminded of what a blessed woman I am to have these amazing children be a part of my day to day life.

Just some of the things I am thankful that I am able to experience with them around:

• lots of snuggles
• endless chatter
• amazing company
• loud squeals of laughter when they are chasing each other around the yard (or through the house)
• wrestling matches
• fun teaching moments (6 year old Devin - referring to sandwiches: "Two halves + one whole = 'a double whole'.")
• lots of snuggles
• lots and lots of artwork (Even the artwork on the coffee table done with a black sharpie pen reminds me of how blessed I am to have them around.)
• the new things I learn every day (This week I learned that hand sanitizer will take a silver sharpie mural off of the lamp ;), but it won’t take black sharpie off of the coffee table.)
• did I mention all the snuggles and love I am blessed with????

So anyway, as I was sitting there basking in the blessedness (is that even a word?) of my life and feeling so incredibly thankful for so many things, I realized it is only ONE WEEK until Thanksgiving!!!! Seriously, where has this year gone?!?

As we celebrate this season of giving thanks, what are you finding yourself thankful for?

Thankful Thursday

I just can't help but be thankful this morning. Thankful for a God who looks beyond all outward appearances and talents and goes straight to the heart of His people.

Last weekend Pastor Frank continued his series entitled 'Psalms ~ Desiring God'. In order to better understand the author, David, he took us to the book of Samuel; all the way back to when David was still a boy, working in his father's field. The Lord had sent Samuel to anoint one of Jesse's sons to be the future King of Israel. After Samuel assumed it would be Eliab, the obvious choice, comes this verse:

But the Lord said to Samuel, “Don’t judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him. The Lord doesn’t make decisions the way you do! People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at a persons thoughts & intentions.” 1Samuel 16:7 New Living Translation

I don't know about you, but that is very encouraging to me.

God sees things inside of not only me, but each one of us that we can't even think or imagine. Take David for example. Of all the sons that Jesse had, David was the one least likely to be a candidate to be anointed as the future King of Israel. He was so unlikely a choice that Jesse didn't even call him out of the field when Samuel had him call his sons in. After all, he was the youngest. And it's not like he was already out leading people, showing his leadership skills at an early age. He worked out in the field, watching over sheep. And yet God saw in him a heart that would follow hard after God. He didn't see one who would be perfect or who wouldn't make mistakes. But, God saw something that no one else saw. He saw a future King.

The truth is, it's the outward appearance and abilities one has that impress people. But it's the thoughts and intentions within the heart that impress God. People have the ability to look ahead and see where someone's abilities may take them. But it's what is deep in a person's heart that can take one to places that only God can fathom.

I think this is a great lesson for all of us Moms. To not only be open to God using us in ways we can't imagine, but also being aware of this thought as we raise up our children. It's a great lesson as to how we should be as parents, not just noticing what is obvious in our children, but also seeing into their hearts and recognizing things within them that they don't see for themselves.

Let's let today be a day of believing God for things that seem unimaginable!!

We're Baaaaack....And Thankful Thursday

Well, Hello Moms!!! I have to say that I have missed getting together with you all over the summer and I am so looking forward to mom2mom cafe starting back up in just 12 days. Yay!! September 22 to be exact. But, we'll be posting more information on that in the days to come.

Even though I really did want to keep the blog updated over the Summer, I have come to realize that I am just no good at posting in the summertime. I know, I know...acknowledging the problem is the first step to overcoming it. ;)

Well, Fall is here and with it are my very best intentions to do better. Our heart for this blog here at mom2mom cafe is that it would be a blessing to you. So...what I would like from you is to know what is on your heart? What are your biggest concerns as a mom that you would like us to address? Just leave us a comment or email us at mom2momcafe@citybiblechurch.org and let us know what topics you would like to see posts about.

Until then, I will leave you with a few of the things I am thankful for on this Thankful Thursday...

1. Jesus ~ And the grace of God that flows over my life.

2. My husband ~ He is the most amazing man I've ever known. And he really is my hero!!

3. Having my youngest grandson all snuggled up to me watching a movie as I type this. :)

4. My family ~ I have truly been blessed.

5. My prayer partners ~ Don't know what I'd do without them.

6. My Church.

And last, but really one of the things I am MOST grateful for today is:

7. Answered prayers ~ Jaycee Lee Dugard was found and returned to her family. (For 18 years I have prayed for this family.)

What is it you are thankful for today?

Thankful Thursday

This morning our City Bible Church Kids Camp comes to an end. I am so thankful to have had the privilege to spend some time out at the camp each day. I am reminded again of what an amazing team of Children's Pastors and leaders we are blessed with. This is a group of people that does what they do because they truly and deeply care for the children and families they serve. If your child was one of the ones out there I can assure you, they have been well loved and cared for.

Thank you Children's Ministry team!!! Once again, you have done an amazing job!!

Thankful Thursday

I am so thankful to be part of such an amazing church.

A church that is constantly looking for ways to reach out and share the love of Jesus and meet the spiritual and physical needs of our community.

A church that provides a safe environment for us to raise our children in the ways of the Lord; complete with a dynamic children's ministry that is staffed with great leaders who truly care about the children and families they serve.

A church that has dynamic worship and bible-based preaching.

A church that encourages each one of us to take personal responsibility for spiritual growth in our lives and not just rely on a Sunday sermon to make it happen.

A church that encourages community within the body of Christ by providing hundreds of small groups so that no one should ever feel they are going through life alone.

A church that hosts world-class conferences like the one being held this week. If you have never attended a CBC Conference I would encourage you to come out this week. The conferences really are life-changing events.

These are just a few of the reasons I am thankful for my church. What about you?
http://www.citybiblechurch.org/cbc-conference2

Thankful Thursday

It must be Spring.

I know this because two things happen to me every Spring. First, I always feel the need to go get a fresh new haircut. Second, I start having the desire to fire up the grill and BBQ for dinner every night.

It must be Spring, because today both of those things happened. I went and got myself a shorter, springy haircut and then came home and barbecued dinner.

Springtime gives me so many reasons to be thankful. Here are just a few:

• Warm, sunny days.

• Streets lined with trees that are in full bloom.

• Watching things that appear to be dead start coming back to life again.

• Tulips.

• Warm, sunny days.

• The renewed energy I feel when it is warm and sunny.

• The sound of my grandchildren laughing and playing outdoors.

• Daffodils.

• Waking in the morning to the sound of birds singing.

• Working in the yard.

• Firing up the barbecue.

• Warm, sunny days.

Oh yeah, and I'm also extra-thankful that I get to go see Beth Moore at the Living Proof Live conference this weekend. :)

What is it you're thankful for?

Thankful Thursday

“Enter his gates with thanksgiving,

and his courts with praise!

Give thanks to him; bless his name”

~ Psalm 100:4 (NIV)

Today I am thankful for:

• Another day of sunshine!
• Having grown daughters who like to hang out with me.
  
• Watching those daughters become the women God created them to be.
  
• All of the wonderful and amazing friends God has blessed me with.
• Finding old friends on facebook.
• Only three more weeks until my new granddaughter's expected arrival.
• Beth Moore bible studies.

What is it you are thankful for today?

Thankful Thursday

Today I'm finding myself thankful for simple things, like:

-I am over that flu bug and my energy has finally returned to normal.

-Waking up to sunshine on so many mornings this winter.

-My wood burning fireplace on chilly nights. (can you hear it crackling?).

-Christian music that ministers to my soul.

-Most of all I am thankful that God, the King of Glory, pursues me with His love. I was reminded of this today as I was driving home. I had the radio on and the song 'King of Glory' by Third Day began to play. 

Who is this King of Glory that pursues me with his love, 

 And haunts me with each hearing of His softly spoken words

My conscience, a reminder of forgiveness that I need
Who is this King of Glory who offers it to me

As the song played and I listened to these lyrics my heart was filled with such a gratefulness for all He has done for me. Not only does He pursue me with His love, He offers me the forgiveness that I need. 

What are you thankful for today?

Thankful Thursday

Today I am so thankful for the Bible and it's message reminding me of just how amazing God is...

1 Chronicles 29:10-13 (The Message)

David blessed God in full view of the entire congregation:

Blessed are you, God of Israel, our father from of old and forever.

To you, O God, belong the greatness and the might,

the glory, the victory, the majesty, the splendor;

Yes! Everything in heaven, everything on earth;

the kingdom all yours! You've raised yourself high over all.

Riches and glory come from you, you're ruler over all;

You hold strength and power in the palm of your hand 

to build up and strengthen all.

And here we are, O God, our God giving thanks to you,

praising your splendid Name.

Isn't it reassuring to know that everything in Heaven and Earth belong to God?  No matter what is going on around us, the victory belongs to God. 

Sometimes the circumstances around us blind us to the fact that God is in control. But I would like to remind you today that if  you are in the midst of a storm, do not take your eyes off Jesus. Remember Peter in the storm on the sea? As long as he was looking at Jesus and not the storm, he stayed on top of the water; but as soon as he took his eyes off of Jesus and focused on the raging storm, he began to sink.

Here are a few of the many things that I am thankful for today:

I am thankful that my husband is home safely from Japan. 

I am thankful for the almost 7500 young people that had their lives touched through the Generation Unleashed conferences.

I am also thankful for the hundreds of volunteers that made the conference happen. You are amazing servants!!

I am thankful that this sickness that has been raging through our family looks like it has almost run it's course. (Now if I could just get rid of the lingering cough)

I am thankful for all the snow we've had this winter. Nothing like a blazing fire with snow falling outside. :)

What about you? What are you thankful for today?

Thankful Thursday

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever. 

I Chronicles 16:34

We hear so much around this time of year about being thankful and counting our blessings. But, what about the rest of the year? 

And how do we teach our children to have a heart that is filled with gratitude?

First, and foremost, we moms must model to our children what we want from them. They need to see us regularly acknowledging the things we are thankful for. It needs to become a way of life to us. 

Here are a few things I thought of just off the top of my head that we can do in our daily lives to teach them by example:

-At dinner or bedtime each night have each person tell about one thing they are thankful for. 

-Always thank people when they have done you a service. Whether it’s your server at a restaurant or the clerk in the checkout line, let people know you appreciate what they have done for you, even if it is a job they are getting paid to do.

I figured a Thankful Thursday post each week is a good way to help us all to be thinking about the things we have to be thankful for.

Here are just a few of the things I'm thankful for today:

1. Salvation ~ The fact that Jesus died on the cross for ME is something I am still amazed by. John 3:16

2. My husband ~ He truly is my hero.

3. My children and grandchildren ~ That they live within minutes of me and like to spend time with me.

4. My church ~ I am so thankful for my church for so many reasons I don't even know where to begin. So I'll just go with the two things that have been on my heart this week. First, I am so thankful for the amazing team of leaders in our Children's ministry department. I had the privilege of joining them for a bit on Sunday night during Super Sunday night service and I'm still thinking about it. I so appreciate the heart each of them have for children. They have a gift at not just doing church, but bringing kids into the presence of Jesus. Jeremy and Debbie, Melissa, Jason and so many others, THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! And second, I am also thankful that the people that make up this church are some of the most generous, giving people I know. Even in slow economic times. Because of that generosity, we got to put together 250 Thanksgiving food boxes to hand out at church Sunday. 

5. The Internet ~ Without it there would be no blogging.

6. Nate Scott and Flying Rhino ~ Thank you so much for the amazing blog header and everything else you guys do to serve the body of Christ.

Your turn. What are you thankful for today?