#2 of the Thankfulness journey.  I am thankful for my husband!!!  He is such a wonderful man!  God knew exactly what He was doing when he joined us together.  We have been through alot over the past 10 years but each year it has gotten better.

Here is a list of why I am thankful for Shawn
1, He is Godly
2.  Loving
3.Compassionate
4, Funny
5. Smart
6. Puts up with my moods!!!!!
7. A great father
8. He will cut my steak or chicken up for me!
9. He does the dishes.
10. He helps me with the laundry
I could keep going but there are 10 things that makes me thankful for my husband.

A Thankfulness Journey

I have decided to spend the next few months finding something hopefully every day that I can be thankful for. I have been reading a book by Ann Voskamp called A Thousand Gifts. So here goes for day 1.

Day One: I am thankful for my God. Psalm 28:7 says "The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to him in song." God has done so many things for me over the past 34 years of my life. He is always faithful. There every step of the way. Even when I stray He seems to be right there.

As I sit here saying that I am thankful for God, I am also convicted. How many times do we take God for granted? We just leave Him behind and then wonder where He is at when we need Him. We then begin to blame God for not being there for us when we need Him. I just want to say to myself sometimes, "Silly girl, He is where He has always been. You were the one to leave Him behind. God has not gone anywhere, you have!" Too often we only run to God when we need something from Him. How selfish can we be? We treat God as an item placed on a shelf that we can just pull out when we need something. We should be thanking God in the little things as well as the big things.

I hope that by writing down 1000 things that I am thankful for, it will help remind me of God's grace and mercy that He has shown on me.


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Changes

To those that know our family is about to make ONE BIG CHANGE!! We are separating from the military. This is one huge and scary step that we are about to make. We are not separating on our terms. The Air Force is pushing us out. So that in itself can be very scary. I have had my moments of tears, anxiety, excitement, anger, and relief. As I sit here typing this the tears are running down my face. The military has taken us to many places that otherwise we would never have gone to. We have made lifelong friends that have become family to us. It is hard to say those good byes and yet still look forward to what God has planned for us.

When the news came down that we were going to be separated I immediately panicked. My first reaction. I cried out to God and His arms were instantly wrapped around me. I cried and cried but in the back ground God kept saying "Everything is going to be all right. I know what I am doing, just trust" Trust, that is a big thing for me to do. For those of you who know me well I like to control things and right now everything is out of my hands except for the way I react to the situation.


So what happens now..... Well we are moving home. Home, wow I thought it would have been years since I would be able to say that. Texas is home! We are headed that way. Shawn is going to finish his nursing degree and after that get a job. We plan on finally being able to buy a house after his school is complete and he is gainfully employed. Our adoption plans for a third child are going to be placed on hold for now.

There is a song that fits us perfectly for where we are at right now. Here are the lyrics:

when you don't want to face another day
seems like your life's one big mistake
failures from your former self chase you
listen close so you know what to do

you may not see it
you may not feel it
but I'm holding you tightly
your spirit is near me
so hold on hold on
it will not be long till its all over
child hold on hold on
lay your weary head upon my shoulder

the pain is beating down so faithfully
but my love is more faithful you will see
and the winds will show no mercy for your face
but your heart is safe secure inside my grace

and you may not see it
and you may not feel it
but im holding you tightly and your
spirit is with me so
hold on hold on it will not be long
till its all over
child hold on hold on
lay your weary head upon my shoulder

and you may not see it
and you may not feel it
but im holding you tightly and
your spirit is near me so hold on

hold on hold on hold on
child hold on hold on no
it wont be too long oh hold on
hold on it will not be long till its all
over child hold on hold on lay your weary head upon my shoulder
hold on hold on it will not be long till its all over
hold on hold on lay your weary head upon my shoulder
if you don't want to face another day hold on child hold on

I'm Back

I know that I have left for awhile and haven't updated so here goes.

The boys are growing like weeds!!! Owen just turned 2 and Ian is 3 1/2 now. I can't believe how time has flown by! Ian is like an old soul, ever pleasing and always happy go lucky. Owen is a handful. He is energetic and very independent. The boys are night and day from each other but each unique and special in their own ways.

I sat down right after Owen turned 2 and took an account of our lives thus far. Boy have we come a long ways. God has richly blessed us and sometimes we just get caught up on everyday life and forgot to count those blessings. So I have made a packed with myself that from this day forward we are going to count our blessings everyday as well as making sure we are thankful for what we do have. A dear friend of mine showed me a website called A Holy Experience http://www.aholyexperience.com/ As I began to read through Ann Voskamp blog I realized that I am not teaching my children to always be thankful. Yeah sure I make them say thank you after I give them something or say thank you to someone who has just filled their cup or watched them in the nursery. I want to raise thankful children. So starting tonight at the dinner table we are all going to right down/draw something we are thankful for. Then we are going to start posting them on our back door so that we can see just how thankful we are.

I will update on our new little project periodically.

The book that I am now reading is called Crazy Love by Francis Chan. I am really loving this book. Here are some highlights from Chapter 1:

1. Stop Praying: Stop talking at God but too HIM. Take a long look at God before we speak. Romans 1:20 says "For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse." So when Mr. Chan says stop praying he is just that we need to look at who God is before we start praying. We need to make sure that we are not just talking at God but too God (include Him in on the prayer) "The wise man comes to God without saying a word and stand in awe of Him." Francis Chan. Here are five things about God:
1. God is Holy-nothing and no one to compare to Him. "God said to Moses, 'I AM WHO I AM'; and He said, Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, I AM has sent me to you." Exodus 3:14

2. God is eternal-He always has been, is, and will be. WE have a beginning and an end. "But you, O Lord, abide forever, and Your name to all generations. But You are the same, and Your years will not come to an end." Psalm 102: 12, 27

3. God is All Knowing-He knows each of us deeply and specifically. He knows who we are and what we are about. "O Lord, You have searched me an known me." Psalm 139:1 "And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do." Hebrews 4:13

4. God is All Powerful- He does not have to explain Himself to us. "But our God is in the heavens; He does whatever He pleases." Psalm 115:3 "All the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, But He does according to His will in the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of earth; and no one can ward off His hand or say to Him, 'What have You done:'" Daniel 4:35 Could it be my ignorance that mes me think God owes me an explanation when He says no to something that I have asked for or when He shuts a door, or even when He disciplines me?

5.God is Fair and Just-God is the only being who is good, and the standards are set by Him. "The fear of the Lord is to hate evil; Pride and arrogance and the evil way and the perverted mouth, I hate." Proverbs 8:13

I want to encourage anyone who read this post to stop praying at God and start praying to God. Know who God is before you enter His throne room. You might be surprised by what you find. I know when I start to list the attributes of God I just stand amazed by His glory.