Thankful Friday!

It was 4:30am and my son yelled for me... "Moooommmmyyyy!!!" He wanted milk and to snuggle. I was already awake for some reason so I was prepared for a decent snuggling session- which is just what we had. He and I snuggled together while I rubbed his back, and he even rubbed mine a little while! It was one of those moments that will stay with me for a long time...

I read Joy's post above and realize that tucking in and spontaneous snuggles are not going to be requested forever, making them so sweet when they happen.

Today I'm thankful for:

• A marriage conference held at church this weekend!
• Sweet snuggle times
• Seeing my niece performing in her high school play as one of the leads. She was amazing!
• Mucinex
  
• Puffs with Lotion
• The hope that spring is just around the corner
  
• Daylight Savings Time!

We all have much to be thankful for... what is on your list?

Thankful

Thankfulness is not in the forefront of my mind this week. Enough has happened that I'm focusing heavily on the things that I'm not happy about and on my worries about the future. I think we all get like that from time to time but this week I've had it badly.

In Alcoholics Anonymous they have a phrase "Fake it til you make it" which basically means "think thankful thoughts and you'll start to be thankful" (and, in the converse, "think worrisome thoughts, and you'll start to be worrisome!) Thinking unthankful, selfish thoughts as I have this week has just brought me lower and lower into self pity instead of paying attention to all of the reasons I am blessed.

Isn't it just like God to have me scheduled to write a blog post about thankfulness this week? He, in his sense of humor and perfect timing is giving me a good opportunity to refocus. So here I am going to start to fake it 'til I make it and can list some of the obvious things for which I am thankful. Even as I start to write these, one of my favorite hymns "Seek Ye First" (which quotes Luke 12:31) runs through my head:

• My warm home
• Food in my fridge
• Snow in which to play
• Good health in my family
• The promise of eternity when I'm gone from this earth
• My sweet husband and son
• My employer who has worked around my crazy schedule and the job I love

Wow, now that I've started... I think I could keep going!


Then Jesus said to his disciples: “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life? Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?

“Consider how the wild flowers grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you—you of little faith! And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them. But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.

Luke 12: 22-31

Just a List

Good Morning.
As we get closer to Christmas, could we all make a list of the gifts we've already been given.

:: raisins in oatmeal ::

:: getting out the Christmas music ::

:: advent calendars ::

:: cinnamon smells ::

:: cuddles in flannel sheets on cold mornings ::

:: snow and sleds and little people made big in snow clothes ::

:: thinking much about Jesus ::

:: red and green ::

:: time to make memories ::

:: fully charged cameras with plenty of room on memory cards ::

What's on your list?

Something to be thankful for...

Thankful: Hard Times


I remember cradling my first child in my arms. She was a beautiful petite baby girl, already complete with her daddy’s brown eyes and her mother’s strong opinions. I remember dreaming what her life would hold, how she would grow, who she would become. Would she be artistic or analytical? Shy and reserved or colorful and flamboyant?
Would she become the first woman President or live a quiet life tucked away in the country?

But for all my dreams for her, they never once included her going through hard times.

In the ensuing six years, that naiveté has been swept away. I’ve realized that like every other soul on this earth, my precious, vulnerable baby girl will have her share of hard times. Whether it’s that first rejection by “mean girls” on the playground or the ultimate realization that some of her dreams will never come true, her little soul is destined to sorrow.

As a mother, my every instinct is to protect her from this. But as a human being, I know I cannot; for I cannot protect her from the very things from which I cannot even protect
myself. Hard times come to all of us.

And at the risk of sounding like a sadist, I confess that slowly, I’m learning to be thankful for that. To be thankful for hard times. Thankful, because they remind me of what’s really important – my husband, my children, food on the table, clothes on our backs. Thankful, because they make me appreciate and enjoy the easy times. Thankful, because they force me to grow up and think less about myself and more about others.

I’ve come to realize that, unlike my short-sighted dreams for my daughter, my heavenly Father’s dreams for me were big enough to include hard times, times that He would ultimately use to shape and mold me into the image of Jesus Christ.

And that’s something to be thankful for.


~Written by Hannah Anderson

Thankful!

These past few weeks, my husband and I have been sorting through stuff in our basement. I have truly saved every note, card and letter (and bill and bank statement) I've ever received, which makes for some intense sorting. I have felt the whole gambit of emotions: annoyed (why did I keep all of my bills from my first apartment?), amused (wow, did we pass some stupid notes folded in odd, football shapes in junior high!) disgusted (ewwww...why did I save the foot from my frog dissection in high school?). But most importantly, throwing all of these things away has given me a great chance to see what has happened in my life in the past 20 years. Many people have been born or died, many have married or divorced, many have grown up and many were at one time very prominent in my life but have gone our own ways since. Letters from my in-laws when we lost our baby, notes about our wedding, a newspaper clipping from a great weekend in Washington DC, letters from my aunt with whom I was so close. It's been both happy and sad.

When I saved these memories, I promised myself that I'd go through them and toss them by the time I was 40. And as I approach that milestone next summer, I'm doing as I said. But over the years that I saved them, I knew that I would have these very experiences. In 1994, as I tossed the baby baptism announcement about my niece into a box, I knew that someday I'd look on that and smile. That niece is 16 now, and I did! There is so much that the younger me knew the older me would cherish.

And so I realize today how thankful I am for the chance to see how cheap my bills were in my first apartment, I'm thankful to chuckle at junior high "problems", and even my frog's foot! I am thankful to the me who has persevered in saving, to my husband for moving these momentos 3 times in our time together, and to everyone who wrote to me over the years. The memories have been priceless!

Thank you, Lord, for building my life as you have. You planned me long ago, and I am grateful for the memories I have. Sometimes it's been hard to know where I'm going or why, but it is neat to look back and see it woven together.

"You have searched me, LORD, and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue you, LORD, know it completely. You hem me in behind and before, and you lay your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain." Psalm 139:1-6

Veterans, we thank you!

A forest of clouds pass over the cresent moon struggling to light my darkness. The radio fails to distract my thoughts as I wander through a quaint neighborhood alone.

The sweat finds its way onto my brow from beneath my USMC headband. I ponder another life far from what I know and realize finally that the age of 29 years 11 months and 15 days is precisely when time and change demand that I open my hands and release my longsuffering ambition to be a bona fide United States marine.

One year later, teetering on the precipice of age 31, I've less than a week until I fulfill my dream for one day by running the Marine Corps marathon on October 31, 2010.

Still I contemplate whether I could actually achieve so high a goal – to serve my country and live for the welfare of others. My body still allows me to run outlandish distances but feels noticably more tired and beaten than she did in earlier times and places. Nevertheless, physcially I’m confident, willing and certainly able for the task if it were set before me. And the sacrifice – the sacrifice of my freedom for others is one I desire – even long to make – but that sacrifice touches not the one I’m unwilling to make for the corps. No, no, there is a bigger price at stake in exchange for the prize here – one I’m unwilling to pay.

My writing is interrupted by three tiny voices needing help down the stairs. “How ironic,” I think to myself. They need help using the potty and they are hungry. They want me to watch a cartoon about farm animals with them so I sit and type in between the E-I-E-I-O’s. I am their whole life.

Several years ago I presented myself to a marine recruiter. As he began asking all the preliminary questions he said, "Why do you want to be a marine?" I thought for a minute and replied with wide eyes and a less than jaded 25 year old passion, "Because it's best the job I could have. It's the highest calling I can think of aside from following Christ. It means something to be a marine and I want my life to matter."

The recruiter looked down and paused from his hurried questioning. I remember seeing tears in his otherwise dark and distant eyes when he looked up and seemed to be abruptly finished with his inquiries.

You see, when you’ve decided to pour out your life for someone else, it’s a commitment you simply cannot renege on. I guess the Lord chooses who our lives will be given to – not us. My sacrifice – my freedom to choose what I will – what I desire – has been removed from all ambitions out of love for my Savior, my husband, my children and my mother. His sacrifice, along with every other service man and woman in this country is given for the greater good of each and every one of us. Their ambitions and what they desire have been removed by their love and sacrifice for all of their brothers and sisters in America. What a gift! What amazing people must our soldiers and sailors be! They have sacrificed what I am not willing to sacrifice and much more than that. The tie that binds us together is the same, though. The weight of our sacrifice lifts off the second we realize how blessed we are to have something or someone we love enough to sacrifice for.

Thank you soldiers and sailors for considering me and sacrificing for me. Thank you for my protection, my freedom, and my country. You are they who make this country worth sacrificing for. You do not sacrifice in vain. We who watch your courage desire to live as you do with all heart, no fear and constant sacrifice. You lead by example everyday of your lives.

So, am I the best example of sacrificial giving? Certainly not. Am I true to the core and “ever faithful"? Most definetely! I am striving to become more like those who've considered others to be of more importance than themselves. When my freedom is sacrificed for others, even in small ways, I have succeeded. Semper Fi.

"This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends. 14 You are My friends if you do whatever I command you." ~John 15:12-14

~Written by Lori Rodeheaver. Lori is the mother of three preschoolers and attends our Cherry Tree MOPS group!

Thankful...

Thankful! What an easy word to say but a hard word to put in action at times. Mortgage payments, bills, crazy schedules and daily life take control and distract us. The past year and a half has really taught me what thankful is about. I am thankful for the mortgage payment that comes each month. My family has a home. I am thankful for the bills. We are able to have the luxuries that some don't have. I am thankful for the crazy schedule. My kids are healthy and able to participate in sports, plays and birthday parties. I am thankful for daily life. God has put amazing friends and family around me to share this rollercoaster ride! Next time you have something that completely overwhelms you, try to let God show you the part to be thankful for!

What are you thankful for in the midst of the stresses of life?!

~Donna Galderisi

Thankful...

Thankful... that waiting brings great rewards!

At the moment our family is eagerly awaiting the birth of a baby boy who will make my husband and me grandparents, our son and his wife parents, and our other children aunts and uncles. It's hard to think of anything else and our phones are always right near us as we await the news that labor has begun and Liam John will be making his appearance. I am very thankful that nine months of pregnancy does come to an end!! I know my daughter-in-law is very ready for this waiting time to be a memory and to be holding her baby son in her arms. Waiting is never easy, but it's incredible how often it brings good things to our lives. I've always felt that the nine months of pregnancy prepared me in so many ways for parenting my babies. There was something about the patience and perseverance it required that stretched me (yes, I even have some marks as evidence!) so I was ready for sleepless nights and all the demands a new baby brings to the life of a mom.

It's been the same in so many other areas of my life! In marriage, my husband and I have not always understood each other, but our willingness to stick with each other has produced the precious reward of a deepening closeness and rock solid relationship. In disciplining our children, we never saw instant results, but over the years we are amazed - truly amazed - that our kids have become caring, loving, well mannered, independent individuals! In my personal life, I have so often fallen short of who I long to be, but I have forgiven myself over and over, and with time, am becoming the person I had hoped to be! Most profoundly, I have found that as we waited through times of heartbreak, light and hope eventually conquered the darkness and allowed us to become stronger people.

The waiting is intensely difficult and we wonder if we will break under the pressure at times. The rewards are indescribably, exhilaratingly worthwhile. As we experience the rewards of waiting, I find that I become more comfortable and patient in the waiting process. There is always a lesson to be learned if I am willing to take time to just relax and reflect. Time, even when it seems like it is moving too slowly, becomes our friend as we accept waiting as a gift. I also become increasingly thankful for God's patience with me as He molds me into the person He created me to be.

Soon I will be cradling that darling grandson in my arms and I'll be whispering to him that he was worth the wait. As I seek to invest in his little life, one of the qualities I hope he will see in me and emulate is a patient acceptance of waiting.

~Written by Joy Herman

With Thanksgiving

I've prayed many desperate prayers this week. When I've felt at the end of my ability to rejoice over another picture for the fridge, or to soothe yet another bump from the pursuit of another interest. I wait for God to answer, to give me the desire or the joy, to make me a happy mother as Joy said earlier this week.

The verse I cling to, that I've memorized, that I've highlighted and made bold says,

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God that surpasses all comprehension, shall guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7

 The bold is my own doing. You see, so often I forget the with thanksgiving in my days. Then I wonder why I am less than happy in this motherhood adventure. Do you ever struggle with with thanksgiving in your days? If so, would you join me in making a list today?

::husband at work::

::ladies welcoming little girls::

::the way Operation Christmas Child turns her heart to compassion::

::squash in a pot::

::fried cabbage::

::sleeping late::

::pulling out fall quilts::

::white cats purring on laps::

::black dogs joining us for tag::

::hitting the two year mark with big black dogs::

Happy Moms??

Happy Moms??

There's a beautiful promise in Psalm 113:9 that I regularly pray for my friends who long to conceive and have children - "He settles the barren woman in her home as a happy mother of children." As I've reflected on that verse, I have often had the words "happy mother" grab me. I am one of those women who has been blessed several times over with amazingly wonderful children, but does the "happy" part describe me?

I would more often describe myself as a "busy mother", a "worried mother", a "weary mother", and even a "proud mother" or a "loving mother". Happy is a little more challenging! There's just so many things that can rob me of my happiness - disappointments, loss, pressure, unmet expectations of others and myself, unwelcome change, and of course, just the daily stresses of life.

I know I'm not alone in this struggle to be happy and stay happy, because every time I open a woman's magazine, I find a self help article on how to de-stress, how to manage a busy life, or how to be happy. I've read enough of the same hints about carving out time to relax, lowering expectations, and getting organized to make life more manageable, that I feel like I should be the most carefree mom ever! Many of the tips are wise, but they still fall short in allowing me to consistently be a happy mom!

Although I have certainly not arrived in this area, I have found an answer to my quest for happiness. (Having the name "Joy" has definitely added to my intensity in this quest!) I can best define it through another verse from the psalms (146:5), "Happy are those who have the God of Israel as their helper, whose hope is in the Lord their God." Each morning, usually before my eyes are open, I give my day to God and ask Him to help me. Sometimes this is a calm, cheerful request and other days it is a desperate plea, "Please help me!!" As I ask Him for help, I choose to believe that the One who created me also knows what I need, how much I can take, and what the best plan is for me. My circumstances are not always what I might choose, but my happiness goes deeper than that. My life is safe in the most capable, loving Hands there could ever be! Depending on God, my Heavenly Father, fills me with hope, and allows me to be that "happy mother" that I so want to be.

~written by Joy Herman

Embracing Uniontown

I have spent many years protesting the fact that I live here in Southwestern Pennsylvania. I won't list all of my grievances, but the weather has taken a top seat. I love big cities, I love warm weather, I love an educationally stimulating and cultural environment. And while sometimes I feel that my complaints have been legitimate, I am humbly learning how poor my perspective has been when looking at God's plan for me. Today, I awoke at 3:15am thinking about how grateful I am to be living here. I cherish what the Lord HAS given to me by living in this small town:

Beautiful seasons
A great church
Kind-hearted friends who are educationally and culturally stimulating
Great neighbors
The librarian who lets me check out books even though I have a late fee on my account
How it takes less than 10 minutes to get anywhere I need to go
The check out lady at the grocery store who mentions something we talked about in the past
The fantastic winter we had last year with tons of snow for playing
The fact that I wouldn't have met my husband had I not lived here
The guy I ran into downtown yesterday who asked me about my trees he'd planted in our yard last year
Ohiopyle-an amazing treasure that is a mere 15 minutes away
The fact that we now have a Target (the lack of one was a complaint in the past)
God, in the midst of it all...

And while I do hold hopes of someday moving somewhere warm. For now, I cherish the blessing of living in Uniontown, PA. Thank you, Lord, for giving me such a well knitted life. Help me to recognize that no matter where I live, you are there with me and giving me just what I need.

"Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. If I say, "Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me, even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you." Psalms 139:7-12