Get Them Started While They're Young

As many of you know, being a full time Nanny has been my occupation for the past several years. Recently, after reading the article linked to my previous blog post, I was confronted with the embarrassing fact that in all those months of journaling my blessings, I had never shared the idea with my children, nor did I encourage them to start making their own list. 

Though incredibly blessed with perhaps more indulgences than needed, their mother and I had often discussed the fact that, like most children, they could be rather unappreciative at times. When I read the article on ways to encourage an “attitude of gratitude” in our children, I was stumped as to why I had never thought of doing this before!   

So this week I purchased two note books, uniquely suited to their personality, wrote their names inside the cover flap along with the reminder to “Count your blessings, name them one by one. Count your many blessings, see what God has done”, and we immediately got started with the challenge to write five blessings at the end of each day. They took to it immediately and I have been so impressed and encouraged by some of the things they have recorded.  I’ll just share a few:

Parker and Piper, ages 6 & 4

 Parker:

1. Thank you, God for letting Robin play my favorite game, shooting targets.

2. I am thankful for God creating us and giving us a heart so we can love each other.

3. I am thankful that God lets our mommy & daddy buy me stuff & for all the toys I have & for God letting me give them (mom & dad) special gifts for holidays.

4. Thank you, God for my macaroni and beef for lunch.

5. Thank you for Robin helps us make a special card for mom and dad’s anniversary and that I can remember those things in my brain and then say it in a good sentence.

Piper, age 4:

1. Thank you that we love our God, that He’s a fun God, & I always love Him & hope He has a good day in heaven.

2. Thank you for Robin, helps us close our eyes and take naps. 

3. Thank you for my teacher not make me take naps and I love her so much.

4. Thank you for my two kitties. They kinda bite & scratch but you can get better.

5. Thank you for mommy & daddy make good food and thank you for the goodest soup for lunch.

How cute is that?!  I hope this inspires you to get your children started on their own “Thankfulness Journals”. If you’re consistent, before long you’ll begin to see positive results in their attitudes.  They may surprise you by how much they are thankful for but simply forgot to put into words at the moment it occurred.  As a parent or childcare giver, it’s always a blessing to know that your children do appreciate and acknowledge the things you do or have provided for them.  They just need to be reminded to articulate their thankfulness daily so that it becomes a habit throughout the rest of life.

So what are some things that you are thankful for this week?  Do you have any ideas as to how to encourage an attitude of gratitude?  Please hit the “comment” button and share with us! It’s always a blessing to hear from you.

Encouraging An Attitude of Gratitude

A while back, I was contacted by a lady who'd been encouraged by my blog. She shared with me an article which had recently been posted on her own blog, titled "How Nannies Can Encourage an Attitude of Gratitude".  I was thrilled to receive this email and, being a Nanny myself, was eager to read the article which I thoroughly enjoyed and found to be very insightful and beneficial not only for Nannies, but also for any childcare giver; parent, sibling etc...

Linked below you will find the article which includes many creative ways to encourage your children to have an attitude of gratitude at an early age, greatly benefiting them in years to come. So check it out and feel free to share your thoughts or any blessings which you have experienced this week in the "comment" box below.

http://www.4nannies.com/blog/how-nannies-can-encourage-an-attitude-of-gratitude/

Blessings on your week!

Nature's Revelation

These words welled up inside my heart late one night after silently observing the beauty of God’s creation while traveling to Michigan. The magnificent wonder of it all causes me to pause and thank Him for blessing us day to day with such splendor, be it simple or great.  May these words inspire your heart as well, to worship our Creator with thankful hearts.

“The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament showeth His handiwork. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night showeth knowledge. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard.” –Psalm 19:1-3

Glowing sun orb, fiery orange

Awakes the earth from sleep

Bursting forth so gloriously

‘Ore shadows of the deep

Rising slowly in the sky

Dispersing the shrouds of night

Casting smashing shades upon 

The clouds of purest white

Soon we find the midday sky

Reflecting in waters blue

And skirting the calm, tranquil pond

An awe-inspiring view

Luscious slopping hills of green

Tall pines which stand erect

A host of wildlife gather ‘neath

Strong limbs of which protect

A moment later, ominous clouds

Roll in as if on duty

A crack of lightning, peel of thunder

Form its own majestic beauty

Sheets of rain descend

The earth’s refreshed once more

A rainbow’s vivid rays appear

An end to the down-pour

And each reflecting droplet rests

Upon both leaf and flower

Catching the glint of sunlight

Following the sudden shower

And as the sun begins to set

Upon a sky of grey

It melts into such soft pastels

And slowly fades away

Then just as if out of a dream

Floats in the blackening sky

Enchanting silvery moon

And twinkling stars shooting by
 

Fireflies like pixie dust

Gleaming in the night

Shimmering magic through wooded forest

Mystic sparkling light

All creation moves

With such miraculous wonderment

And fills a soul with questions

Of the Creators true intent

To bless our form of life

Though perverse in all its ways

With such surpassing beauty

Causing awe-inspiring praise

The intricate magnificence

Reveals the Master’s hand

In ways our eyes can see

Yet often fail to understand

So blessed are we to wake

Each morning to its view

A heavenly masterpiece composed

With love for me and you

© 2012 

More Then Can Be Numbered

It began as a challenge to count my blessings - at least 1,000.  I never imagined what a tremendous impact it would have on my life. Growing up, I use to journal every detail of life around me, but for whatever reason there came a day when I just couldn’t write another line.  I closed my journal and never picked it back up again. 

This past year, a dear friend gave me a book called “A Thousand Gifts”.  The general concept was not a novelty to me, however I accepted the challenge contained within and began to journal once more. This time, however, I would only number the blessings of life; every single thing, big or small, that I was truly thankful to God for.

So I began.  At first I thought it would be a breeze.  I’d reach 1,000, easy.  Well…it proved to be a much greater undertaking then I had imagined it would be.  So I began this blog, which you are now reading, first & foremost to encourage others, but also to keep myself accountable.  I also invited several young ladies I knew to attempt it as well.  After the initial incentive wore off, I was left to try and keep myself accountable.  

After the first week I had reached a whopping 30 blessings.  Honestly, it was a great first start but at the time it looked miniscule in comparison to the 1,000 I had imagined whipping out.  But rather than give up, I began to search a little deeper into God’s beautiful and awe-inspiring creation, the everyday miracles that happen in our busy little lives.  I took it day by day, blessing by blessing and as a result each step lifted my spirits and filled me with inner joy.  I began, and am still learning, to gain an attitude of gratitude.  Trust me, it doesn’t happen overnight.  It’s a work in progress.

It has been months since this all began and at long last I reached the intended 1,000^th blessing in my journal this week.  I was elated to say the least.  I immediately messaged a few friends and shouted the news across the house to my sister.

I don’t know if God was showing off more than usual this week or if, through counting my blessings and searching hard to find them, I have begun to actually see things I had missed before, but this week was filled with an incredible number of answered prayers.

Now that I have reached 1,000 I will continue to journal my blessings, perhaps for the rest of my life...hence the blog title "A Thousand and Counting". It keeps my thoughts on things above and helps me to be aware of how much God loves me & how much I am blessed.  After all He's done, one of the greatest things I can give back to Him is a heart of thanksgiving. There have been weeks where I have lost focus but He continues to draw me back through His constant blessings that are impossible to miss.

When I look back over my life I desire only to remember these blessings - the "God things" rather than the "me things" - to find beauty in the simple and great. Before, my journal entries seemed naturally to center around my life, but now each journal entry is centered around God & how I see Him through the blessings in this life, which is where the focus of my writing should have been all along. 

True, God's blessings are innumerable, but I desire to count them because by doing so I have begun, ever so slowly, to change from the inside out into what God intended me to be all along; a God-seeker, worshiper, and servant with a grateful heart. When I pray, I begin with thanks rather than immediately asking for Him to bless me or answer my prayer requests.

How fitting that I should come across the following verse in my morning devotions this week:

“Many, O Lord my God, are thy wonderful works which thou hast done, and thy thoughts which are towards us: they cannot be reckoned up in order unto thee: if I would declare and speak of them, they are more than can be numbered.”  -Psalm 40:5

“So count the ways He loves, a thousand, more, never stop, that when you wake in the morning you can’t help turn humbly to the east, unfold your hands to the heavens, and though you tremble and though you wonder, though the world is ugly, it is beautiful, and you can slow and you can trust and you can receive each moment as grace.” –Ann Voskamp “A Thousand Gifts”

If you are interested in the challenge I have undertaken but do not have the time to read Ann’s book, please take a minute out of your busy day to watch this video.  It is a summary of her book in four minutes. I believe it will inspire you to count your blessings too:

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GhOUaszMGvQ&feature=player_embedded#!

Long Time Coming....

Hey, friends!  Okay, so I know this post has been a long looooong time coming and I apologize for leaving you all hanging for months on end.  I promise I didn’t give up on the whole “count your blessings” idea; I’m still keeping record of all that I am thankful for and am ecstatic to have almost reached the 1,000th blessing in my Thankfulness Journal! 

Not sure how many of you have continued to check this blog for new posts but for those of you who have, I thank you from the bottom of my heart and again, I apologize for not posting regularly.  Life happens and continues to happen, internet access isn’t always attainable, and I was out of state for several months caring for my grandfather.  But now that I’m back I hope to be able to post more often.

I have experienced hundreds of incredible blessings over these months but I’ll just share a few of the highlights with you.

1. As I said before, it was a great blessing for my sister & I to serve our Grandpa, but being so far away from our family & friends over Christmas, birthdays, and other special events ‘caused us to feel very isolated and lonely but the Lord blessed us through a couple from our Grandpa’s church who treated us like their own children & ministered, loved, and encouraged our hearts greatly over those winter months.

2. Two of my sisters were recently married and now one of them is adopting three children who have come from a broken home and difficult past and we have been blessed to welcome them into our family and surround them with love.

3. The Lord has provided two great job opportunities for me over this summer.

4. I have been given many opportunities to witness & minister Christ’s love to others around me.

5. Because of what God has been doing in my life through counting my blessings, I have been able to encourage several of my friends to begin their own “Thankfulness Journal” and have been overjoyed to see how it has affected their lives!

I could go on forever, but I’ll stop there because I would like to hear what God has been doing in your life.  Have you begun your own thankfulness journal?  Would you like to?  It’s simple.  All you need is a paper and pen and you can begin writing blessings down every time you encounter one.  I promise it will greatly impact and enhance your life and way of thinking.

You can start right now by clicking the “comment” button and telling me what you are thankful for today!  Be it big or small, I want to hear it all!  So what are you waiting for?  Post away!!

Thankfulness Linked to Positive Changes in Brain & Body

I ran across a fascinating article online today which was recently broadcast on ABC's “Good Morning America”.  Health Reporter, Mikaela Conley shares how being Thankful will not only effect our attitude; it also has a very positive effect on our physical being. 

 "Do you feel grateful? Write it down. Think about it. Talk about it. 'Tis the season of thanking, and not only will you spread those positive vibrations to those around you, your health will benefit, too.

For those who tend to be more Grinch-ish than grateful, there's some hard evidence that might make you want to turn that frown upside down. A positive outlook and feelings of thankfulness can have a direct and beneficial effect on the brain and body.

"If [thankfulness] were a drug, it would be the world's best-selling product with a health maintenance indication for every major organ system," said Dr. P. Murali Doraiswamy, head of the division of biologic psychology at Duke University Medical Center.

While the act of being thankful is not a substitute for a proper medical diagnosis and treatment, Doraiswamy said it's certainly a strategy that can be used to enhance wellness.

Studies have shown measurable effects on multiple body and brain systems, said Doraiswamy. Those include mood neurotransmitters (serotonin, norepinephrine), reproductive hormones (testosterone), social bonding hormones (oxytocin), cognitive and pleasure related neurotransmitters (dopamine), inflammatory and immune systems (cytokines), stress hormones (cortisol), cardiac and EEG rhythms, blood pressure, and blood sugar." -Mikaela Conley

Perhaps this explains why those who are focused on all the blessings of life, who view everything as a gift from God and live in an attitude of gratitude, they are often more healthy, happy, and blessed.  Ungratefulness will eat away at you and destroy, not only your relationships, but also your life; physically, spiritually, mentally, and emotionally.  God has given us so many innumerable blessings, we have all of our life time to enjoy them and thank Him for them.

"Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow."  ~ Melody Beattie.

"In everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.” -1 Thes. 5:18 

“Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth. Serve the Lord with gladness: come before Him with joyful singing. Know that the Lord Himself is God: it is He who has made us, and not we ourselves. We are His people and the sheep of His pasture. Enter His gates with thanksgiving, and His courts with praise.  Give thanks to Him; bless His name. For the LORD is good; His lovingkindness is everlasting, and His faithfulness to all generations.” –Psalm 100

 

Count Your Blessings...

This week I just want to list some of the things that I am grateful for and I hope that since it is so near Thanksgiving many of you will also have things on your mind which you are thankful for and would like to share as well!

This week I was blessed by…

1.       God’s protection after all the tornadoes and earthquakes in Oklahoma

2.       Encouraging and productive conversations

3.       Being able to find gifts for dear friends and having just enough money for postage.

4.       Mother’s delicious homemade pecan muffins

5.       People who love me for who I am and make a point to encourage and bless me.

6.       God’s protection over my sister in the Lord, Hannah during a car accident.

7.       My sweet brother, Ben who blessed me by having lunch with me.

8.       For a letter from my friend in Germany

9.       Having lunch and encouraging fellowship with my dear friend, Marianne.

10.   The Lord’s blessing upon my work.

11.   Friends who take the time to read what I write & give their honest opinion in a positive way.

12.   For a phone call from my friend, Alisha & for the amazing things God is doing in her life.

13.   The lovely 79° degree temperatures in the midst of a very cold week.

14.   Bursting fall colors which seem more beautiful than all the years before.

15.   Taking a walk on our property with my siblings like old times.

16.   Singing with my dad and leading worship at our church.

17.   Egg-drop soup, sushi, & a game of Scrabble with my sister, Sara on a cold rainy day.

18.   Sunflowers which remind me to turn my eyes upon Jesus!

19.   The Lord’s blessing in helping me write a new song.

20.   Visiting with my amazing sister, Amy over the phone & being so blessed by her.  

So tell me, how have you been blessed this week?  It encourages my heart just to hear how blessed you have been so please share! 

His Beloved

I can’t believe it’s been three whole weeks since my last post! I have been out of town and away from internet connection but even though that has kept me from blogging it has not kept me from journaling the things I’m grateful for.  I have finally reached 400 in my thankfulness journal and I am beaming as I reflect over the 400 blessings the Lord has bestowed on me and awaiting anxiously the next new blessings which I can begin to record in my journal.  Who knew what a blessing it could be to record blessings?? haha

As I sit reflecting over the past three weeks, of all the lessons on Thankfulness I have learned recently, there is one that really stands out at the moment;  learning to be content and thankful for who and why God made. 

A new and dear friend in my life recently shared with me a vision God had given her which she felt to pass on to me.  As she sat in a state of prayer one day, the Lord showed her a grayscale vision of a field of Sunflowers. Suddenly the still frame seemed to be flooded with color, similar to the scene with Dorothy entering the Land of Oz.  As the sun began to rise in the east, each delicate sunflower popped its droopy head up briskly and faced the sun, following it from sunrise to sunset.  God spoke to my friend’s heart and told her how she was like a sunflower who, instead of turning her beautiful face up to behold the sun, was turning to look at all the other sunflowers around her, comparing herself and thinking that if she were more like them then perhpas she would be more special, useful, or honoring in God's eyes.  But the Lord spoke gentely to her heart and reminded her to stop comparing herself with those around her. He loved her just the way He had made her and she was perfect in His eyes. She needed to take her eyes off of herself and look up and follow God from sunrise to sunset.  It is when our eyes are focused completely on the Lord that we will finally be content.

This inspired my heart because so often I feel unworthy, insignificant, and not as special, gifted, or as useful to God as the other flowers, or people, around me.  Sometimes I feel like if I only had that person’s strength and joy, and maybe the vocal strength & singing abilities of that person, maybe then I could be more useful or glorifying to God.  But God shakes His head and says; “My child, I love you just as you are. I made you just the way I want you to be and there is nothing you can do to make me love you more or less. When you keep your eyes on me, only then can I use you to bring me glory. My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness.  It’s not about performance so stop trying to find your identity and worth in what you do and be content and satisfied in the fact that YOU, my precious child, are my beloved.” 

What a joy it is to be called His beloved. I am so grateful that the Lord loves me in spite of all my faults, failings, mistakes and weaknesses and that in His eyes I am perfect because He’s looking at my heart.  He made me for His pleasure and He delights in me when I turn my eyes upon Him and trust completely in His strength and not my own. 

I am thankful that I am a child of God and that His salvation and love is not something I can achieve or maintain by my works ; “For by grace ye are saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God; Not of works, lest any man should boast.  For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.” –Eph. 2: 8-10

So now, beloved, what are you thankful for this week?

Sorce of Wonder

"I will give thanks to the Lord with all my heart; I will tell of all Your wonders. I will be glad and exult in You; I will sing praise to Your name, O Most High." -Psalm 9: 1-2 NASB

"I would maintain that thanks are the highest form of thought, and that gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder." -G. K. Chesterton

"May our lives be illumined by the steady radiance renewed daily, of a wonder, the source of which is beyond reason." -Dag Hammarskjold

"The love of the Father is like a sudden rain shower that will pour forth when you least expect it, catching you up into wonder and praise." -Richard J. Foster

"Dear Lord, grant me the grace of wonder. Surprise me, amaze me, awe me in every crevice of your universe...Each day enrapture me with you marvelous things without number. I do not ask to see the reason for it all; I ask only to share the wonder of it all." -Joshua Abraham Heschel

Be Still My Soul

This week I confess I have struggled to keep my eyes focused on Jesus and all His blessings and benefits. It's been one of those times when, like Peter in the Bible, I begin to look at the waves about me instead of at Jesus' face and I begin to sink in my fears and doubts. It is so easy to become discontent and fearful when trials, grief and pain, heartache, financial trouble, death, betrayal, brokenness, disappointment, tears, and sorrow come like crashing waves, one right after the other.  But we must not allow them to consume us. We must keep our eyes on Jesus and listen as He calms our waves of fear, speaks to our heart and soul and says "Be still, and know that I am God."  Nothing else matters.  He is in control.  He leads us gently by the hand and pulls us up out of our grief, helping us to stand victorious and walk over the watery trials of life. He is ever ready to be our strength, hope, life, joy, and peace.  He is listening for our voice to cry out "Abba, Father! I need thee every hour." 

When we begin to lose focus of Him and look down at the waves, we will sink.  And if we continue to allow them to consume us instead of calling out to our Savior, then we will eventually drown.  It is through the trials of life that we become stronger, draw closer and learn more about our Savior and mature in our walk with Him.  If it takes trials and tribulations to get our focus onto Jesus then we may have to go through quite a bit before we learn to continually keep our eyes on Him, to make Him our all IN all. When we turn our eyes upon Jesus and look into His wonderful face, then the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace. 

This week as I was praying and the waves of tears were beginning to well up in my eyes, Jesus sat me down at the piano and I opened the Hymnal to this song...

Words By:  Katharina A. von Schlegel 1752

“Be still, and know that I am God.” Psalm 46:10

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Be still, my soul: the Lord is on thy side.
Bear patiently the cross of grief or pain.
Leave to thy God to order and provide;
In every change, He faithful will remain.

Be still, my soul: thy best, thy heavenly Friend
Through thorny ways leads to a joyful end.
Be still, my soul: thy God doth undertake
To guide the future, as He has the past.

Thy hope, thy confidence let nothing shake;
All now mysterious shall be bright at last.
Be still, my soul: the waves and winds still know
His voice Who ruled them while He dwelt below.

Be still, my soul: when dearest friends depart,
And all is darkened in the vale of tears,
Then shalt thou better know His love, His heart,
Who comes to soothe thy sorrow and thy fears.

Be still, my soul: thy Jesus can repay
From His own fullness all He takes away.
Be still, my soul: the hour is hastening on
When we shall be forever with the Lord.

When disappointment, grief and fear are gone,
Sorrow forgot, love’s purest joys restored.
Be still, my soul: when change and tears are past
All safe and blessèd we shall meet at last.

Be still, my soul: begin the song of praise
On earth, believing, to Thy Lord on high;
Acknowledge Him in all thy words and ways,
So shall He view thee with a well pleased eye.
Be still, my soul: the Sun of life divine
Through passing clouds shall but more brightly shine.

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