Being Thankful-10 Things

I’ve been participating in Wellness Wednesday’s this year over at Scoops of Joy, and I am happy to write about this week’s topic. One of the prompts was “10 Things To Be Thankful For This Week,” and I knew that was what my post would be about, because I have been making more of an effort this year to be thankful and show gratitude, even in the little things. I think it is so important to give thanks daily, and I know it helps many people to write down what they are thankful for so they can look back at their list when they are feeling overwhelmed or upset. I keep a little notebook in my Bible bag where I write down any verses that jump out at me from my reading, and a few months ago I was feeling very depressed and felt like nothing was going how I wanted it to. After reading my Bible, I felt led to write down what I was thankful for. At first it was just typical things such as my husband, my children, our home, etc., but I just kept writing every little thing that popped into my mind. I filled 4 pages of that notebook with thankfulness! And you know what, when I was done I felt 10 times better. I don’t even remember why I was so down in the dumps, but I really needed to get out of my own head and open my eyes to just how blessed I was!

If you are going through a season in life where nothing seems to be going your way and you are facing hardships at each turn, I encourage you to take some time today to write down what you are thankful for. Make a list, and include everything that comes to mind, no matter how silly or frivolous it may seem. I promise you that at the very least, you will see that you have more to be thankful for than you may know!

Now onto my list. Here are 10 things that I am thankful for this week:

1) The Cross– This is huge for me, and something I give thanks to God for daily. If He wouldn’t have sent His Son to die on the cross for my sins, I would still be lost in darkness, fumbling around with no hope for my future or the future of my children. Not only is this so personal to me, but it also shows how God really does work everything out for good, even if we can’t see it from where we are looking. The Romans and religious leaders that crucified Jesus thought they were doing it to hurt Him and hurt His followers, but in reality it was all in God’s plan. Jesus was able to conquer death and save us all from our sins, but in order to do that He had to die first. What everyone thought was the worst thing that could have happened turned out to be the best thing that has ever happened! If you don’t have a personal relationship with Jesus, please read this. It may be the most important thing you ever do!

2) Freedom of Religion– I am thankful that I am able to go to church, read my Bible, and talk about Jesus without fear of death. I don’t worry daily that someone is going to kick my door down and rip my children from my arms and put their heads on stakes. I don’t worry that my husband will be arrested and forced to recant his faith or die. My family isn’t running for our lives from terrorists that want to destroy us because of what we believe. But so many are living this nightmare right now in other parts of the world. I can’t imagine what they are thinking or feeling and I pray to God I never have to find out. May we here in America NEVER take our liberties for granted!

3) My husband– I really think I am so blessed because I have the best husband! No, our relationship isn’t perfect but it is pretty good. He works hard to support our family so that I can stay home with my children and he never complains that I don’t have a job or belittles me for not working. He knows that our children are better off having me home with them and that this is where I want to be. He also doesn’t force me to stay home. He supported me all through college, and I know that if I seriously wanted to have a career outside the home that he would support that decision as well. And he is such a good father! Even after working each day he has energy to play with our kids, help with homework, and tuck them into bed each night. He also isn’t afraid to pitch in with housework if I’ve had a super busy day or if I’m not feeling well. Yep, I don’t know how I got to be so blessed, but my man is pretty amazing!

4) My children– They bring so much joy into my life each and every day. I could just sit and talk with them and watch them play for hours. Each one of them has their own unique personality and their own way of doing things, and it is such an honor to be able to live this life with them. Sometimes I do feel overwhelmed with all of the extra chores and responsibilities that come with having so many children, but more often I am simply overwhelmed with the love I feel for them. I thank God each and every day for blessing our family with them!

5) My house– I have to admit that this is one I struggled with for a little while. Our city has pretty high house prices, and we almost moved into a less desirable area in order to get a house for cheaper. It would have taken us farther away from our church and all our friends. At the last minute, we pulled out of escrow to keep looking, and my husband’s brother found us this house in our price range in a very nice neighborhood. I should have seen it for the blessing that it was, but at the time I was pretty bitter about it. The other house had been newly renovated with a nice, open kitchen, fresh paint and carpet, and a nice yard. This house had been sitting vacant for 3 years and had become a breeding ground for rats, there was dry rot all over the place, the carpet stank, and the list goes on. Definitely a fixer-upper. But my husband saw the potential and we bought it. Now I am so thankful for our home, that we own! We have fixed it up little by little each year, and it has truly become our home, not just a house that we live in. I am thankful for my husband’s vision. It is far from being done, but I have heard that when you are a homeowner, your house is never “done” anyway. And it has been fun working on it together.

6) Essential Oils– If you’ve been following my blog for any amount of time, you were probably wondering when I was going to bring them up! But it is so true! I am so thankful for them, this week especially. There has been a seriously icky crud going around. Many of our friends have been so sick! And I mean crazy, body aching, head pounding, stomach churning, go wait at urgent care for hours to be seen kind of sick. I have been oiling my family up with our Thieves oil and spraying down every surface in public with Thieves spray. My husband started feeling icky on Friday night, so I made him some Thieves tea and a capsule with some essential oils to take, and just kept hitting it hard with oils for the next 2 days. He ended up staying home from church on Sunday because he didn’t want to spread the germs, but he wasn’t feeling too bad. He never got even close to as bad as I saw everyone else. I know the oils helped his immune system to do it’s job more effectively to prevent him from getting very bad. And since I was oiling up the rest of the family, none of us have come down with anything more severe than the sniffles. I know some people reading this are still skeptical, but it is just something you have to experience for yourself I guess. For more info, check out my page here.

7) Young Living– This might seem like a repeat of the last point, but I’m talking about the business. For years I had looked at many different options to make money while still being able to stay home with my kids. I did everything from surveys, to mystery shopping, to selling things online. You name it, I have probably done it or at least looked into doing it! But Young Living is different. Not only is it a company that I totally trust, but it is a company that has amazing products that I love and would be using even if I had never gotten into the business side. And the compensation plan is very generous! They don’t pay advertisers or middle-men, so all that profit goes to people like you and I. Now, it definitely isn’t a get rich quick scheme, but the income potential is ridiculous! There really is no limit to what you can earn. I’m not making a whole lot yet, but what I have made has been a blessing to my family, and this week has been great for me because I realized that thanks to Young Living, I am going to be able to give a good size offering for our church’s building banquet next month, which I am super excited to be able to do. If you are interested in earning money from home, send me a message. I can help you get started and give you access to many free business resources and  3 Facebook groups, all set up to help you succeed! The best part is, I have had so much fun sharing my love of essential oils with people. I truly enjoy what I am doing!

8) Homeschooling– I have so much fun learning with my kids! I enjoy the closeness it brings to our family, and the flexibility. Today we did some school in the morning, went to the park with a couple other homeschool families, then came home and did a little more school. Our lives aren’t dictated by schedule, and if something fun or important comes up for us to do, we simply work around it. I love watching my kids learn and being able to be a part of it.

9) My friends– God has blessed me with an amazing group of ladies to call my friends. We are all different. Some of us homeschool, some are stay at home moms, others work. Some are goofy and funny while others are more serious. But what we have in common is a love for the Lord and each other. I know that no matter what, I could call up any one of them and they would meet my need if they were able to. I know they all pray for me and my family. There’s not the jealousy and bickering that I’ve experienced with other groups of friends in the past. I know that God led me to these ladies and I am so thankful He did. If you are reading this, you know who you are! I love you and I’m so thankful for you!!!!

10) Today– “This is the day that the Lord hath made, I will rejoice and be glad in it!”

What are some things that you are thankful for this week?

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