God is highlighting the issue of thankfulness in my life and in turn I am highlighting it to the kids. It seems no matter what, there is always going to be a circumstance in life that would like to steal from the ability to have a thankful heart. It is crazy how just one small area of disappointment or otherwise can taint my stance in life just enough so that I am not able to remember all the good things. When in fact, there is much more in my life to be thankful for than not. And Jesus talked about thankfulness a lot. Now that my eyes have been opened to this, I see it in my kids and ungratefulness is ugly. I want my kids to learn this lesson early in life. There is always something to be thankful for and really we need to cultivate a heart of thanks, which in turn will create JOY. I have been on the lookout for things to be thankful for. This morning it was simply that I had the opportunity to clean the bathroom floor. (I think any mother of small children (not to mention 1 of them in process of potty training) knows why this would make the list :-)
One thing I am learning at Bethel Church is that when we know God's heart on an issue we need to declare it over our lives. Hence, the reminder on the chalkboard. (The chalkboard came with the house and is mounted on the wall in our dining room.) To see this reminder all throughout the day reminds me that I am thankful....even if I don't feel it, I can still declare it over my life and eventually, my heart will be overflowing with gratitude & joy. So, what about you, are you thankful?
Here are a couple more pics of the house.
