Cultivating a Thankful Heart

  Fall colors, pumpkin spice, cooler days; what is there not to love about this beautiful season?  I REALLY love fall, and this month I have been thinking about this song of thankfulness.  I think it is so beautiful and conveys such an important message that my heart needs to dwell upon.  

My heart is filled with thankfulness
To Him who bore my pain;
Who plumbed the depths of my disgrace
And gave me life again.
Who crushed my curse of sinfulness,
And clothed me with His light,
And wrote His law of righteousness
With power upon my heart.

My heart is filled with thankfulness
To Him who walks beside;
Who floods my weaknesses with strength
And causes fears to fly;
Whose every promise is enough
For every step I take,
Sustaining me with arms of love
And crowning me with grace.

My heart is filled with thankfulness
To Him who reigns above;
Whose wisdom is my perfect peace,
Whose every thought is love.
For every day I have on earth
Is given by the King.
So I will give my life, my all,
To love and follow Him.

Stuart Townend & Keith Getty Copyright © 2004 Thankyou Music (Adm. by CapitolCMGPublishing.com excl. UK & Europe, adm. by Integrity Music, part of the David C Cook family, songs@integritymusic.com)

    I confess that thankfulness and gratitude do not always come naturally to me.  It is far too easy to let my thoughts be consumed with pressures, decisions, cares, and fears.  Thanksgiving is a beautiful opportunity for us to be intentional in dwelling on the faithfulness of our Lord and remembering His hand in our past, our present and our futures.

  I certainly think that thankfulness and gratitude are positions of the heart that we much choose.  It can be so helpful to make a practice of counting our blessings and remembering what God has done.  

  Sometimes it does a lot for our attitudes if we just start thinking through our blessings and possibly even writing them down.  When I think of the blessings I am grateful for, I certainly feel blessed to have been given the husband the Lord gave me.  I prayed many years for a godly husband, and my husband, Matt, is God's gracious and kind gift to me.  He is a sacrificial and loving husband and blesses our family with his fun loving personality and sacrificial love.  

  In addition, I am so blessed to be the mother of my seven children.  I grew up wanting to have a large family, and while I do not have a mega-sized family, I do have a large family and am very blessed.  Each one of my seven blessings adds their own uniqueness to our family, and I love each one in their own special way.  Truly the greatest treasures in this life are not things; they are relationships with the people we love.  Each of my children has a huge part of my heart, and I am praying for them that the Lord will lead and guide them through the seasons of their lives.  I am honored to be their mother.  Yes, right now I am pouring out myself and often stretched thin with all the responsibility of raising seven children, but I cannot imagine anything more worthwhile to pour all my heart and energy into than raising the next generation for the glory of God.  

  In thinking of treasured blessings I am so grateful for the gift of a godly legacy my parents gave to me.  They raised me to know the Lord Jesus from my earliest days and discipled me to follow Christ as I grew older.  They used the powerful tool of home education to teach me the ways of the Lord as we would lie down, rise up,  and walk along the way according to Deuteronomy 6:6-7.  

  Last year I published a book that tells the story of my journey through homeschooling in the early pioneer days of the homeschooling movement.  The books goes on to share about my heart to disciple my own seven children as I carry this legacy of home education and family discipleship into the second generation.  If you would like to read the book, you can find it through these links:

https://www.amazon.com/Legacy-Reflections-Homeschooled-Homeschooling-Mama/dp/1973737825/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1542054664&sr=8-1-fkmr0&keywords=reflections+of+a+homeschooled+homeschoolingmmaa

https://www.sonyelisechristianbooks.com/product/legacy-reflections-of-a-homeschooled-homeschooling-mama/

https://www.familyrenewal.org/store/product/homeschool-support-bundle-76-00-value-only-54-95/

https://graceandtruthbooks.com/product/legacy-reflections-of-a-homeschooled-homeschooling-mama-ruth-adams/

  Moving onward in my list of things I am grateful for, I am so eternally grateful for the hope I have through my Savior Jesus Christ.  I know that no matter what disappointments befall me, I am never without hope because the Lord will never leave me nor forsake me.  My hope is in Christ alone for all my todays and all my tomorrows.  As the old song says, "Many things about tomorrow I don't seem to understand, but I know Who holds tomorrow and I KNOW Who holds my hand."  

  I am reminded that I do not have to have all the answers for my tomorrows today, because I know Who holds my tomorrows and I trust His loving heart and His faithfulness towards me.  The faithfulness of the Lord endures forever!  He is the faithful God whose wisdom and love know no limits.  His heart towards me is ever only always good!  

  I am also thankful for the ministry opportunities the Lord has given me in different seasons of my life.  As a young lady I was heavily involved in church ministry through music, teaching, working with children, and much more.  When I had a lot of young children, my ministry was primarily just to them.  It was everything I could do to just meet the needs of a house full of children.  

  Last year, however, the Lord began opening doors for a new form of ministry.  With the encouragement of my husband I published my book, began a podcast, and took on a few speaking engagements this year.

   I grew up in a pastor's home and have always had a vision for being involved in kingdom work.  Even though serving the Lord has looked different in various seasons of my life, it is always a joy to serve Him and share His goodness with others.  Whether that be through playing music, teaching a lesson, caring for my children, or writing and speaking.  Life is exciting when we are a part of promoting the kingdom of God and His righteousness.  Life becomes boring when we just live for ourselves.  It truly is a privilege to serve the Lord and share His truths first in my home and then beyond as the Lord opens doors.  

  

  These blessings would be toppers on my list, but I could go on with SO many other things that I am thankful for.  Here is a sampling: 

*Health

*Home

*Church

*Friends

*Family

*Beautiful Days

*Vacations in Ohio!

*Hymn Sings with Friends

*Learning to Can This Year

*Times Sewing with My Girls

*Hymns that encourage my heart

*Amazon Prime that makes my life easier (: 

*The changing of seasons each year

  That is just a start to the things I am grateful for!  What are you CHOOSING to be thankful for as we enter into Thanksgiving next week?  There are so many blessings even in the small things that we often take for granted.  Will you share with me some of the things that are on your gratitude list?  May the Lord help us all to cultivate more gladness and gratitude in our hearts so that we can be good representatives of His goodness to others.