30 Days of Thankful -- Day 1

"Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows." James 1:17


Today is the big day!  Today we start our 30 Day Thankfulness Challenge, and I'm so excited!  I believe that God is going to do something great in each of our lives as we strive to keep our focus on Him and His blessings.  And that's really what being thankful is all about -- recognizing blessing for what they are -- gifts from the Almighty God.  Personally, I want to use this month as a constant reminder that God has blessed my life immensely and not take it for granted. 

If this is your first visit to Confessions From a Christian Mom, click here to check out the original challenge post.

Here goes!

 

1.     Personal

 I'm thankful for my health.  I suffer from Rheumatoid Arthritis, but I am on a weekly injection and feel no pain!  Praise the Lord!

2.     Work/School (wherever you spend the majority of your day)

 I'm thankful that God has provided a roof over my head.  So many people are not as fortunate.  My house might not be fancy, I have pink carpet throughout alot of it (it came with the house..lol) and it's not anywhere near as clean as it should be (but probably as clean as it can be with 5 year-old, 4 year-old and 10 month-old tornados living in it!).  But the mortgage payment is made each month, and God provided it when we were house hunting 6 years ago, and for that, I am grateful.

3.     Church

It may sound vague and simple, but today I'm thankful for the church building.  Because we have a building, we have a place to hold ministries, specifically the amazing Bible study I am involved in now.  Because we have a place to meet, I'm getting to know some amazing women a little bit better each week!  They are truly a blessing and encouragement to me.  (Check out The Life Ready Woman, by Shaunti Feldhan if you have a few minutes...I feel like this study has the potential to be life changing!)

4.     Family

Today especially, I'm thankful for my father.  His birthday is this week, and I wonder sometimes if he knows how very much I love him.  Now that I'm a parent, I recognize the sacrifices he made to provide for his family.  I see the things he went without so that we had food, clothes and a roof over our heads.  We did not grow up with alot of money, but he made sure we had what we needed and I never really realized the struggle it must have been for my parents at times.  Now that I have 3 kids of my own, I see how expensive my 2 sisters and I  must have been!  He is one of the hardest working, honorable men I have the privilege to know.  He's a great Dad and a great Poppy to his grandchildren (all 6 of them!)  I love you dad!


Now, I hope you'll do what I've chosen to do: take a few minutes to pray and thank God for these specific blessings.  Think about the verse above, James 1:17, and about how everything good in your life, every blessing, is from God.

Have a blessed day!

Heather