Choosing Thankfulness

Tonight our pastor preached a wonderful sermon about living a life of gratitude and thankfulness.  He made a comment that stood out more than the others in light of the fact that my mother passed away this past January.

He said speaking words of thankfulness when you don't exactly feel it does not make you a thankfulness hypocrite.  

I began to cry right there in my seat. 

My emotions have been all over the place this week.  Just this afternoon I had finally told my husband I was really sad.  He held me as I choked out how I missed the calls and texts that my mom and I always shared as we discussed our Thanksgiving preparations.  

We haven't lived near each other in ten years, but you would never know it by how close we were.  My father misses her companionship and I have to agree.  Without belaboring the point, it's the little day-to-day conversations, snippets of texts or emails or phone calls, I miss the most.  

During this week of thanksgiving remembering my mom has left me almost not feeling thankful, but yet forcing myself to sit and thank God for all the things I have to be thankful for.  

The fog that seems to surround my head has lead me to almost feel like I'm forcing the thankfulness issue;  and, of course, that makes me feel bad.  

But tonight I sit and write that once again God heard my prayers, and I am truly thankful.  

He knew I almost felt bad for not feeling completely happy and thankful all the time and he used my pastor to minister words of encouragement that it's okay to profess thankfulness even if you're not totally feeling it.   

I'm not a hypocrite for saying I'm very grateful for all God has done.  [contented sigh]  I'm simply a woman who needed a reminder that choosing thankfulness is the better option, and it can only lead to feeling more thankful even when life deals a harsh blow.  

Work is Work

A few weeks ago my pastor made this comment:

"Work is work, because...its. work.  you don't say, 'I'm going to fun today, Honey'.  You're going to WORK."

I'm a stay-at-home mom and I thought...ouch.  Many times I'm guilty of not wanting to do my wife and mom "work duties"  because I'd rather do what is fun.  As a stay-at-home mom with a large interest in crafts and socializing it's so easy to get caught up in fun projects and let things slide around my home.  

In fact, I've recently been thinking how I need to be careful to make good use of my time during the day; keep my priorities straight, so I'm not staying up late folding laundry because I didn't use my time wisely in the daytime...for one example.  

My husband and children go off to work each day and they stay busy until they come home.  Since I've been given the blessing of being a stay-at-home mom I feel I need to be careful to not use the extra time I have at home frivolously.  I need to make sure to do my "work" as well, even if it is not always fun.  

There's nothing wrong with letting things slide once in a while to complete a project, like the Christmas stockings I'm currently trying to finish for nieces and nephews, but I've recently found things sliding more than a bit and realize it's because I allow too many distractions into my day.  

My children and husband could not get away with allowing distractions to take them from their work and do well at what they do and neither will I. 

So, it's something I'm going to work on.  Believe it or not, I'm actually busier with driving teenage children to and from school, practices and the like so this takes more planning than I'm used to, but I know it can be done.  I just have to stay focused and work.  

"She watches over the affairs of her household

and does not eat the bread of idleness."  Prov. 31:27

This Veteran's Day I Remember

With it being Veteran's Day I'm reminded of how God provided for me through my church family when my husband had to leave for a time to go serve our country. 

I am a proud Navy wife and last year my husband was deployed for eight months on a ship.  This was preceded by months and weeks of training off and on prior to his deployment.  The joke is that they are really deployed almost two years from the beginning of training through the completion of the actual deployment. 

One of the things I will never forget during the actual eight months of deployment is how the church we belong to rose up and made sure to check in on me and our three children regularly.  Not a service went by without someone asking how we were doing and if I needed anything. 

God has always been my strength in time of need, and this proved true once again when the physical head of my home was absent for a time.  God's provision was also displayed by the strength of friendships of the men and women in our congregation.

Remember that scripture about taking care of the widows in the Bible?  Well, I learned that the church body's care of the "deployment widows" can be just as vital.  

Whether it was the "How are things going?" or stopping by to check on an electrical need for me I was never left completely alone during deployment.  It was so reassuring to know that at any time I could pick up the phone and call and help would be on the way if needed.

Thankfully I never really needed to call on someone to help me with any major issues, but the simple act of greetings and reminders of being in their prayers brought a strength they may never know.

I'm very proud of my husband, along with the thousands of other men and women, for serving our country, and I'm also very grateful for a church family that was there for us 24/7.   It's a gift  I will never forget and I hope to pay onward over and over in the future to those who continue sacrificing so that we may live in freedom.  

Happy Veteran's Day and God Bless America!

My Pew

I am a born-again Christian woman who gave her life to Jesus Christ at five years old.  It was the simplicity of the gospel that spoke to me.  I knew I was a sinner and I knew Jesus died for my sins.  I also understood the only hope I had of making heaven my home was to surrender my life to Christ and accept Jesus as my Lord and Savior. 

Once I prayed and accepted Jesus into my life I can honestly say I never turned back.  A couple of years later I was baptized and then filled with the Holy Ghost.  

To say I never turned back is not to say I was never distracted, tempted or considered leaving the church or God.  Growing up in a Christian home I knew what was right; however, life puts temptations in our ways and forces us to really think about why we believe what we believe. 

The easiest way for me to explain how I've managed to stay a Christian is this.  Turning my back on God, and thus condemning myself to hell by doing so, just never made sense.  Why would I throw away my salvation for a few moments of fun, or out of anger and bitterness?  I never have and I don't plan to in the future. 

What I do plan to do is continue on in my journey to live a life pleasing to Christ and to share a few thoughts that pass through my mind as I sit in my pew each week.  

"I press towards the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus." 

Phil. 3:14