A Close to a Wonderful Thanksgiving

At the close of the day, I am so thankful for such a Gracious Thanksgiving. For the ability to bring to God an offering of thanks for the hard things and for the hardest thing. Now I will continue on my Journey to 1,000 things because Thanksgiving is not just about the season. I will continue until I reach 1,000 and then I will continue on to one million. I will continue to live my life thankful in everything because He gave His everything for me.

"When I survey the wondrous cross
On which the Prince of glory died,
My richest gain I count but loss,
And pour contempt on all my pride.

Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast,
Save in the death of Christ my God!
All the vain things that charm me most,
I sacrifice them to His blood.

See from His head, His hands, His feet,
Sorrow and love flow mingled down!
Did e’er such love and sorrow meet,
Or thorns compose so rich a crown?

Were the whole realm of nature mine,
That were an offering far too small;
Love so amazing, so divine,
Demands my soul, my life, my all."

Thankful for the Hardest Thing

I will praise you in this storm, and I will lift my hands.
For you are who you are, no matter where I am.
Every tear I've cried, you hold in your hands, and though
my heart is torn I will praise you in this storm.

We all have our testimonies, the things in life God has used to glorify Him. Some are triumphs, some are trials. Some are amazing blessings, but some come with unfathomable heartbreak. Today, on Thanksgiving, I praise God for the hardest thing: Tragedy. For the life taken before it really had a chance to begin. For a little boy, who glorified God more in his death than most ever will in a lifetime. In these moments when we cry out "Why?" but already know the answer.

My friend lost her firstborn son, Scout Russell Secrist, 3 days before her due date. Delivering him still on December 26, 2008. A beautiful life that some would consider lost, but that we know was purposed for the Kingdom. Jesus holds this little boy, loving him perfectly, until his mommy and daddy can finally hold him again and see his beautiful smiling face. And because of this little boy many new souls will enter into the throne room of God. Scout, I am so thankful for you, for your testimony, for the hope you brought to so many. I am thankful that in time of such devestation God showed up, God healed lives, and God brought life even through death.

Praise God for restoration, for healing, for life continued.
Rusty and Katye with their beautiful family,
Scout's loving siblings, Deacon and Charli Kate.

Half way to 1,000 things...journeying to one million

Thankful for the Hard Things

This Thanksgiving I challenged myself to truly think about what I am thankful for. For 25 days, to journal as many things as I can hoping to reach 250 things on my journey to 1,000, until I reached the point where I was truly thankful in all things. Along the way, I realized how awkward I felt lifting everything up to God, but found such freedom in the worship that came with vocalizing, journaling, and bringing all of my circumstances to the Lord in thanksgiving. I reached a point where giving thanks in even the hard things became more natural, where I learned to give thanks for the most precious gift God had given me but I had never brought before Him. And today, on Thanksgiving Eve, in preparation for my 25th Day, I will thank God for the one of my hardest things: Autism.

The journey through diagnosis and healing has not been an easy one, but who am I to be thankful for only the easy things? Who am I to discount the power, the testimony, the beauty, that comes from the trials? Who am I to tell God that when he created my beautiful baby boy that He made a mistake? In fact, if there's one thing I learned through this journey it's the perfection in His plan, including autism. If ever I was given the choice to change my son into the world's version of "perfect" I would not think twice. I would not think twice because the answer would be, "no." Why would I want to change who my son is? Just because it is difficult? Just because he's not "normal"? Why would I change the perfection that is my autistic son, just because the world does not see him as perfect?

Autism is the reason I love my son.  I do not love him in spite of his autism, I love him because of it. I love his Independence, his "engineer" mind, his quirks. Is it hard when he doesn't make eye contact, when he tries to hurt himself or others, when he didn't speak for the first 18 months of his life? Yes, but every parent deals with difficult behavior, does it mean they love their child any less?  Why would his behavior effect my feelings for him? Why would his autism make me love him any less? In fact, the things I love about him the most, the things that make him unique, are all attributes of his diagnosis. I love how he took my double stroller apart and I couldn't put it back together (what 2 year old knows how to successfully use a screw driver?) I love how he has such a teacher's spirit, spurred on by his therapies. I love everything about this little boy and everything he has brought to my life.
So today, as I thank God for the hard things, I will thank God especially for my son, for autism, for God's perfection brought to us in imperfect packages.

Gracious Thanksgiving

Sunday as we did communion I was amazingly caught up in the moment. I always associate Christ's death with Easter, but remember the joyous resurrection. I don't know if I have ever actually lingered very long on thoughts of Christ's death. I do remember watching the "Passion of the Christ" and while He was hanging on the cross begging Him not to do it, begging Him to show His power, to come off of the cross, to not let the bad guys "win". Obviously, His death was the only way there could be true victory, but as I ate the cracker and drank the juice I was caught up in what His death meant in terms of Thanksgiving. His death is the reason why I can be thankful, the reason there is hope. Because of His grace I can be grateful. So this Thanksgiving, I will add to my list of 1,000 a few things that I have never found myself thanking God for...

I am eternally thankful for Jesus's body being broken for me,

for His humiliation,

for the pain and torment He had to suffer,

for His blood that was spilled with no regret,

for His flesh torn with such hatred from His bones,

for the holes pierced into His body,

for the sheer pain God faced as His beloved son, the flesh of Himself, was killed,

for the heart that had sacrificed to become man,

for the heart that was forced to stop beating all because of me,

for the victory that was won that day,

for the hope His death brings,

for the purpose rather than worthlessness He has given me,

for the joyous resurrection,

for the love He has for me even though it is I who forced Him onto the cross, that it was I who forced Him to die,

for His abundant grace,

for His gracious provision so that I can be gracious to others,

for the gratitude He has brought to my life,

for sacrificial love,

for everyday reminders,

for the God of the Universe to think more of me than He does Himself.

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.***

On My Journey to 1,000

In high school I ran the 400. It is the hardest race physically for most people because it's the longest sprint. You have to give 100% of your energy for an entire 1/4 of a mile. If you slow your pace even the slightest, the odds of winning begin to dwindle. I guess there's something still ingrained in me about that 1/4 mark. I set a goal to finish 250 of my 1,000 things to be thankful for by Thanksgiving. That's a pace of 10 a day, completely do-able! However, when I started, I felt the need to "sprint" through the first 1/4. Of course, once I started getting the idea of reaching the halfway mark and completely smashing my personal goal it was too irresistible. I knew if I made it through the "hardest" part of the race (that first 1/4) that I could do it! Surprisingly, the lessons I learned on the track field, still apply to my everyday challenges.

Daily List of Thanksgiving

It is Day 8 of my 25 days of Thanksgiving and I am on #326 on my journey to 1,000. The funny thing was the first 250 that I thought would be "so easy" really weren't. Not that they weren't easy to recognize. In fact, they were the easiest to notice daily. Our beautiful home, our loving family, getting out of debt, etc. The easiest way to feel blessed is for me to think about the first 250 things. The problem was not in recognizing them or feeling blessed by them. I had a hard time being thankful for them. I know it sounds weird, but just imagine how much stranger it felt! How could I find it hard to be thankful for all of the amazing blessings in my life? I guess it wasn't so much the actual act of thankfullness that was so hard, but I felt pretty silly voicing to God just what I was thankful for. Like I said, weird, I know. It wasn't natural, it didn't come easily, and I felt like it was not doing me any good admitting to God how thankful I am for these obvious blessings in my life. But I did it anyway, and I did it quickly. I figured if I could get these "easy" things out of the way it would get easier to thank God because I wouldn't feel so silly. But it wasn't about what I was thanking God for, it was the actual act of thanking Him that I struggled with. And the amazing thing was, by the time I got to 250 it had become so natural, so easy to thank God for the daily blessings of my life. It no longer felt silly. In fact, the act of thanking God turned into an offering of praise to Him. I'm still thanking God for the "obvious" things (even on #326). The fruits of the Spirit, the promises found in scripture, the aspects of who God is, the physical blessings of my life...there truly is so much to be thankful for. Now that I've sprinted through the first 1/4, I'm excited about this new desire I have to slow down, pace myself, and enjoy the act of thanksgiving. And now, I can continue on my way to reaching my new goal of 500 things by Thanksgiving!

No More Excuses!

Too busy to have some daily time in the Word? Not enough time to memorize Scripture? Do you go to bed with a million more things on your to-do list? Do you have trouble staying focused on the good things? Not anymore!!! Here are some great finds to help keep you on track!

These chore planners are downloadable and printable from your computer (no need to add more to your shopping list!) and, of course, there's an app for that too! Not only does this keep your chores organized and include space for meal planning and appointments, but it also includes daily scripture readings so you can read through the Bible in a year! FABULOUS and for $4 you can't say no!

I don't know about you, but the last time I memorized scripture was during Vacation Bible School! So let's kick it up a notch and do it BIG! Would you believe me if I told you you could memorize an entire book of the Bible? 2 verses a day for a year, and you will know the book of Colossians here's a handy print out to keep you on track!

Do you have a hard time remembering all of the blessings God has given you? Print out one of these cute sheets every week or use your own notebook! Just write 7 things everyday that God has blessed you with. Simple, easy, life-changing!

Need help keeping your budget on track (or making one)? There's something here that should help with that! This site has more budget info than I can list!

Need helpful mom tips?  This site has great random tips for moms. After all, it is the name of her blog! And of course my friend Amy Bayliss has tins of great stuff on her site as well!!!

Do you have any handy resources you absolutely love? Feel free to share!

25 Days of Thanksgiving: A Journey to 1,000

revelation [ˌrɛvəˈleɪʃən]
n

1. the act or process of disclosing something previously secret or obscure, esp something true

2. a fact disclosed or revealed, esp in a dramatic or surprising way

3. (Christianity / Ecclesiastical Terms) (Christian Religious Writings / Bible) Christianity

a. God's disclosure of his own nature and his purpose for mankind, esp through the words of human intermediaries

b. something in which such a divine disclosure is contained, such as the Bible

[from Church Latin revēlātiō from Latin revēlāre to reveal]

revelational adj

I love the word revelation because it always seems to fit so perfectly with what I hear from God during my time with Him. He is always revealing truth in such an obvious way through many different sources, and there is never any denying when it is something that has been truly revealed from the Lord rather than my own thoughts. It's amazing how God always seems to weave together so intricately the fabric of my life. When God gives me a revelation, it seems there is continuous confirmation, affirmation, and an all-around sense of perfect timing that comes along with it. This latest truth that I have felt in my life is to be truly thankful. Thankful for what I do have, for what I don't have, for the good, for the bad. I feel God leading me to be thankful for every single aspect of my life no matter how small and no matter how hard it may sometimes seem. I am to be thankful for it all because my life has been woven together specifically for me by the Creator and Master of the universe, and He has woven it together to work out not only for my best interests, but for the best interests of the Kingdom.

This leads into confirmation #1, which just so happened to come only one day after I felt the Lord leading me to this heart of Thanksgiving. Since beginning this blogging adventure I have discovered an entire world of encouraging, godly women. One of whom challenges her readers to write 7 things you are thankful for every day (you can find a printable booklet for the week here or just use your own notebook or journal) with the goal of continuing on to 1,000 things and beyond as it becomes a habit in our daily lives. I would like to get to 1,000 things, which at 7 a day means it will take around 6 months. And as I began to think about this challenge I realized that today marks 25 days until Thanksgiving! I don't know about you, but when things like that happen it just leaves me breathless. What perfect timing to begin counting down the things I am thankful for! And with 25 days until Thanksgiving my goal is to reach 250 things (1/4 of the way to my total goal of 1,000) by recording every day 10 things that I have to be thankful for. I know in the beginning it will be easy with obvious things like my beautiful home, my amazing family, a great group of godly friends, etc, but I can't wait until I get to the point where I will be forced to start thanking God for the not-so-nice things in my life like our budget (which is very tight, but has never failed us) or like my son's autism (which has been a great blessing to us, but also one of our greatest challenges) or the not-so-obvious things that I think of every day. I can't wait until I get to the point where it truly becomes natural to begin thanking God for everything: the good, the bad, and the ugly (like these crazy grey hairs I am beginning to get!) God is calling us to be thankful for every single aspect of our lives, whether we feel like it or not. We are to be thankful knowing He is in control and He has it all planned out!

Matthew 6:25-34
25"For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink ; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing ?26"Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they?27"And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life ?28"And why are you worried about clothing ? Observe how the lilies of the field grow ; they do not toil nor do they spin,29yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these.30"But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith !31"Do not worry then, saying, 'What will we eat?' or 'What will we drink?' or 'What will wear for clothing?'32"For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things ; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.33"But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.34"So do not worry about tomorrow ; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

What do you have to be thankful for? What things has God given you that you refuse to think of as blessings? How often do you feel God's blessings have passed over you and on to someone else? Take this challenge with me as I journey to 1,000 things to be thankful for!

UPDATE: Check out where God has led me as I continue on this journey Day 8. Day 20 and my realization of such a Gracious Thanksgiving.