Thankful...

This morning started off pretty low. Like one of those with a stuffy head and too many kids (where did they all come from!) and tiredness (or is it chronic fatigue?) and depressiony thoughts and yelling over the stupidest things. My poor hubby and kids that get to live with me =: )
I was unraveling fast. But you know what? I tend to do that when my focus isn't in the right Place. So after a desperate and childlike "Please help me God" (which is like, oh, the bazillionth time I've prayed that), I decided to have the boys tell me what they were thankful for as we unloaded the dishes. That helped. A lot. Listening to a 3 year old tell you he's thankful Jesus made him is pretty special, even for a grinch like me. Listening to the 5 year old say he's thankful for pretty much every aunt and uncle he could name at a moment's notice is quite something too.
Then as I started thinking about my family, how wonderful they are, my in-law family and how wonderful they are, that depression didn't have a chance. Listening simultaneously to Shane and Shane sing "Revive me! Revive me, not for me, but for your Name...in your mercy deliver me!" helped too, as you can imagine. In that moment God saved me from myself. My selfish-ness really gets in the way of Joy. My family, my children, my friends, my husband, these are gifts God gave me, that I did not earn. I cannot credit myself for any of that wonderfulness. Reminder to myself: He must increase, I must decrease = One Happy Lady. Workin' on it!
It's a daily struggle...scratch that. It's an HOURLY struggle sometimes. But it's one that we can win when we turn our eyes upon Jesus, and look full in his wonderful face! How easily, how quickly I trade in that reality for this temporary one that pretty much stinks anytime I put myself in charge.

So from the morning to the evening my day took a 180 degree turn. That's what God does. He turns us around and gets us back on the Path. He's pretty good at that. And I for one am so very grateful for his graciousness that never ceases.

So here's a little of what I can be thankful for today:

~Children that laughed and played together for almost two hours without fighting! (A little miracle around here!)
~A handsome partner-for-life...even when he's stressed or messy or we're arguing I'd still rather look at him than anyone else in the world (even Hugh Grant).
~Being able to spend time reading my brother's novel...I love having more then three minutes to sit down and indulge!
~For a peaceful and quiet evening all to myself! At least for an hour til the rest of them come back. There was a time when spending any part of a holiday evening alone with the sleeping baby would've depressed me, but I'm in my glory tonight! (I even got to go to the bathroom undisturbed!)
~Oh, and MY SISTER'S HAVING A BABY!! Boy did that make my night/ week/ year!!!

God is good.


Hey can we have more than one Thanksgiving a year? Maybe like 6, or 52?