The Mommy Calling: The Journey Continues...

Saturday, November 19, 2011

The Journey Continues...

Have you been following along with my 25 Days of Thanksgiving? Where have you gotten on your journey to 1,000? Did you notice, like I did, the amazing (yet strangely difficult) act of worshipping God through giving thanks? I hope you have reached a point where giving thanks has become a natural part of your day, that it no longer takes much thought to remember what God has blessed you with daily, that you are able to give thanks in the good and the bad.

My confession is that I have not been journaling my list daily. It is so important for me to make this a physical act rather than a mental one so I have to focus on it while doing nothing else. Perhaps it's the fact that I got farther than expected so now I have the "freedom" to skip a day here and there and still reach my goal. I feel I need to hold myself accountable to a daily list, to make it about the time spent rather than the numbers reached! Maybe I should set a goal of one million things, so I don't have the excuse to slack on my list!

My encouragement about this journey is that I'm finding it easier than expected to thank God for everything. The recognition that God is in control of every detail, knowing that amazing things come out of hard situations, and feeling grateful for the trials has been an amazing revelation. In fact, this makes me linger on 1 Thessalonians 5:18 "In everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." How have I missed the message that it is God's WILL, His calling, for me to be thankful for every thing my life is made of? God has revealed to me that it is His will for me, not because He wants me to tell Him how great He is, but because He wants me to recognize His greatness. He wants me to have the freedom that comes when we are thankful for the bad things rather than overwhelmed and enslaved by them. When we recognize that God has a plan, that we just need to wait out the storm, we can thank Him for whatever it is He is doing. The focus is once again placed on God rather than ourselves. As I linger on my list, on #350 on day 20 of my journey to 1,000 things, seeing the thread of thankfulness God is weaving into my spirit, feeling the freedom of complete trust in Him, I can't wait to see what the day has to bring. I can't wait to add to my list. To make it to 1,000 and beyond.

***When I found this blog post this morning I was so excited! Knowing this was my scheduled post for tomorrow I had to edit it so I could link the post in here. What a great idea of worshipping with song...It especially spoke truth to me since I recently began singing through my gentleness challenge. Take a moment to read this post when you have a chance Living To Please God: Responding to Trials with Worship.***

2 comments:

RhodaNovember 22, 2011 at 2:41 PM
Thank you for linking to my post :) It is true that amazing things come out of hard situations. And I think one reason I blog so much about trials is because I'm learning so much through them!
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HeidiNovember 28, 2011 at 1:20 PM
Thank you for sharing with us over at NOBH!
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Thank you so much for stopping by and I hope you found encouragement and joy from my posts. I would love to hear what you have to say! It is my responsibility to make sure all of the content is uplifting, respectful, and true. Any comments that are viewed as personal attacks, false accusations, and any use of profanity will not be tolerated. Thank you, and please leave a comment that I will be able to post so others can be encouraged through your words as well!

Proverbs 31:10-12, 25-31

Who can find a virtuous wife? For her worth is far above rubies. The heart of her husband safely trusts her; so he will have no lack of gain. She does him good and not evil all the days of her life. Strength and honor are her clothing;she shall rejoice in time to come. She opens her mouth with wisdom, and on her tongue is the law of kindness. She watches over the ways of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness. Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her: Many daughters have done well, but you excel them all. Charm is deceitful and beauty is fleeting but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised. Give her the fruit of her hands, and let her own works praise her in the gates.

Titus 2:1-8

Speak the things which are proper for sound doctrine. That the older men be sober, reverent, temperate, sound in faith, in love, in patience; the older women likewise, that they be reverent in behavior, not slanderers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things -- that they admonish the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be discreet, chaste homemakers, good, obedient to their own husbands that the word of God may not be blasphemed. Likewise, exort young men to be sober-minded in all things showing yourself to be a pattern of good works; in doctrine showing integrity, reverence, incorruptibility, sound speech that cannot be condemned, that one who is an opponent may be ashamed, having nothing evil to say of you.

What did you do today?

Today I was an explorer. I went on adventures to see the wonderful secrets of God's creation. I watched as the birds flew across the sky, listened as the wind blew through the trees, and felt the warmth of the sun upon my face. Today I was a chef preparing gourmet four-course meals the likes of which the finest restaurants have never seen. Today I was a teacher conducting experiments, revealing hidden truths, and watching the amazement of these lessons being learned for the first time. Today I was a student, a doctor, a friend, a performer. Today I was a MOM. And tomorrow I get to do it all over again!

My Hope For You

My hope for you, my fellow mommies, is that you will go throughout your day encouraged by successes, challenged by failures, and thankful for your experiences. That you will learn to thank God in the bad as well as the good, that you will use the powers of the Holy Spirit to become the best you can be, and that you will live your life according to the purpose you were given when you were created in the image of God Himself. May you find encouragement here so you can face the hardships of being a mom, a wife, and an imperfect person trying to live purposefully in an imperfect world, with grace.