Tales of a Thankful Mom

 “The Lord make His face shine upon you [with favor], And be gracious to you [surrounding you with lovingkindness];” ‭‭Numbers‬ ‭6‬:‭25‬ ‭AMP‬‬           My youngest when she was little used to try to pull me away from her older siblings, telling them, “My Mommy!” To which one of them would respond in an annoyed tone, “She’s our Mom too!” I would often tell my children that each one of them is my favorite. Even though, I do not always perfectly show this truth. The Father’s love for each of us amazes me. We are His favorites! Not because of anything we have done, but because of Jesus’ sacrifice for us. God cares about us so much that He knows the number of hairs on our heads. I have read that it is important for our children to be able to rest in our love for them. This truth reminds me that God is our strong tower. We can run to Him and be safe. What is your favorite verse when you need to be reminded that You are God’s favorite? Please share in the commen...

           I have been diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD.) The reason for the PTSD is many years of physical and emotional abuse before friends and family were able to rescue my children and I from that horrible situation. Because of my past, I see threats when they are not really there. My counselor has encouraged me to tell myself that I am safe, when I am struggling with anxiety. Life is not an emergency. I do not need to be afraid of making simple mistakes. Mistakes are a part of learning and growth. I want to have a growth mindset. I do not want to be stuck in the past. There will no longer be dire consequences for a simple mistake. I do not have to agonize over whether I am making the right decision. I can let go of decision fatigue. Renewing my mind daily, by reading scriptures and focusing on truth are ways to surrender perfectionist tendencies and to immerse myself in God's grace.  

          Each day I have a choice. I can focus on my problems, or I can focus of the God that makes all things possible. If I focus on my problems, I will be grumpy and anxious, and this negative focus will impact my whole day, If I focus on God, even hard things are a little easier because I trust that He is withe me. Part of focusing on God is remembering all that I have to be thankful for. It si being curious about things going on around me, instead of assuming the worst. It is leaning in and continuing the conversation calmly, when someone bumps into my happy. It is remembering that God can use interruptions to draw me and others closer to him, and to handle interruptions with grace. It is remembering that the big eyes of the child, standing over the mess on the floor is more important than the inconvenience of cleaning up the mess on the floor, On days that seem to have more than their share of problems may I breathe in grace and breathe out praise. 

        I am a keeper of memories. My storage on my phone is always full, because I don’t want to delete pictures. Those pictures represent memories. I have boxes filled with paper memories. My youngest daughter is much like me. My Dad would call us pack rats. My son isn’t like me. He jokingly said he was giving away his childhood the last time we moved. He chose to donate most of his toys, at eleven years of age. He doesn’t really play with toys anymore. My youngest daughter also struggles with saving her allowance. The money “burns a hole in her pocket.”, as the saying goes. My son saved up his allowance and bought himself a chrome book. How does grace come into play in the description of my children and their personalities. I tell them and their older sibling all the time, we respect each other’s preferences and differences. Individual differences keep life interesting. If we were all the same life would be boring. So are you a saver? I would love to hear your tho...

 Acts 4:32 Now the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in common             When I saw that today's word was common, I thought of a reading lesson that I gave yesterday as a substitute teacher. "What was it that the two characters had in common, and how are they different?" Even children, I notice tend to focus on their differences and not their commonalities. I can understand this, differences make people special and unique. I wonder what the world would be like if people focused more on what they had in common. We are all human. I tell my kids to remember that everyone has feelings, and that if they wouldn't want the statement to be made about them, than they probably shouldn't be saying it. What would it look to focus on what we have in common with someone who does not look, think or act like us? What would it be like...

           God had a rescue plan ready for me before I even realized that I was in danger. When my eldest was a baby, my (then) husband and I decided to start attending church. I called churches in the area, and talked to a friendly secretary who told me about the church's cry room, when I told her that I had an infant. We visited this church the following Sunday, and the church secretary welcomed me, and introduced me to other young Mom's. We had found our church home. In the next three years, we added two more children to our family, but as time moved on I began keeping a secret. There were days that my husband refused to allow me to attend church, because social outings were something he thought I needed to earn. There were other days that he did not allow church because he knew that my friends might see the bruises from his physical abuse. His goal was to completely isolate me. But God gave me friends who did not give up on me, even when I gave up on my...

         This song brings me back to my college days. When I googled the song, it even showed a picture of a Wow Worship CD that I know I had owned in my days of community college. When I saw that today's word was adore, I wondered how to write about adoration from the viewpoint of grace. Adoration flows from a grateful heart that realizes how holy and awesome God is, and how much I need Him. I am thankful that my Pastor taught on this recently. The more that we adore God, the more we will want to adore Him. The more we invite Him into the quiet and even not so quiet moments of our days. The easier it is to remember that He is Immanuel, God with us. We can totally immerse ourselves in knowing Him and yet there will always be more room to grow in our trust, love and understanding of Him, this side of Heaven. I am also sharing the song "I want to go back." My personal story is that I began my walk with the Lord as a child. Life seemed simpler back then, and it is ...