A blessed life...

I don't always have a thankful heart. This past Sunday in church I was reminded that I am, as a Christian, to be thankful to God in every life circumstance. Is it just me, or is that really hard? It is so easy for me to dwell on the one thing that feels stressful or overwhelming in life at the moment and let that consume me. How foolish is that? Why do I ignore God when I know He is the only answer? What a sinner I am! I spent the better part of the Sunday service (and this week) thinking of all of the things in my life that I have to be thankful for…and let me tell you, the list is long.

Things I thank God for...

The beauty of His creation….from the intricate design on a monarch butterfly, to smoke covered mountains, to changing leaves on trees. I feel so happy when I’m able to spend a day outside hiking or playing at the park with my kids. There are so many tiny, intricate details in nature that fill my heart with happiness and peace and remind me that I serve a pretty powerful and creative God.

Our ability to provide for our family…Mike and I both have great jobs that fit our personalities and talents (aside from our #1 priority of being mom and dad). We have a place we call home in a great neighborhood and city. We can afford to put food on the table and clothes on our backs. All of these things are easy to take for granted, but today I am so thankful for the basics in life.

The blessing of Godly parents…two sets who have each been married for over 30 years and who have taught me (and Mike) so much about relationships, parenting, and life through their example…but more importantly they've taught us about the importance of having a personal relationship with God.

The blessing of giving and loving grandparents…what a gift they are to us in so many ways…from caring and loving on our children while we work, to making us meals or doing our laundry just because they love to help...sending us cards with special notes about why they love us…and the list goes on.

The love of siblings (and their spouses and kids)…Adam, Jenny (and Emma!) , Eric, Brad and Christina fill our lives with lots of love and fun. We love spending time with them…whether it’s hanging out watching a football game, sending goofy text messages, going on vacations together, singing dumb songs, or just making each other laugh. They aren’t just family…they are friends.

The extra special gift of extended family….and boy do we have a lot! We have 31 aunts and uncles between us (that’s crazy…I know!) and I can’t even begin to calculate all of our cousins. All I know is that some of my most valued friendships are family. We don’t see all of them as often as we’d like, but they hold a special place in our hearts and have contributed in such a huge way to who we are. (I love each of you..sorry I can't include every one of your faces here!)

The blessing of friends…how thankful I am for friends who know me…don’t fault me for my weaknesses…pray for me when I’m struggling…encourage me and love me.

The gift of being a wife and mother….my little family is at the very top of my list of things to be thankful for. God has blessed me with a life partner who loves God, loves me and loves our kids. Four and a half years ago God changed me forever when he entrusted me with a funny, smart, sensitive and loving little man, Ben. He blessed me, yet again, when he gave me a sweet, snuggly baby girl, Natalie, just 10 months ago. I can not thank Him enough for these two precious little people. They have filled my life with more joy than I can adequately put into words.

My life is filled to the brim with blessings…more than I can list here…blessings I don’t deserve. I have a Savior who loves me, even when I forget that I need Him…even when I forget to thank him. He is the reason for everything good in my life.

“Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Ephesians 5:19b-20