Thankfulness

1 Thessalonians 5:18- In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

I must admit, I have been quite the "negative Nancy" lately; focusing on what I "need" (although they are really just wants) and what I don't have. It has made me ungrateful for the blessings God is bestowing upon our lives right now, and it has made me very discontent.

Yesterday, my pastor was preaching on Prayer, and used the Lord's Prayer as the template for how/why we should pray. One thing he mentioned that really convicted me when speaking on praying was for HIS will to be done, and not ours; and how we focus on what we want and what we don't have. That and other points brought up really hit home with how I had been behaving the last couple weeks. Usually I only act up for a few days (and then get spiritually rejuvenated Sunday), but we didn't go to church last Sunday due to a bug we caught. So, you can imagine how crabby I was. When a child does not get fed, they get fussy. The longer they go without being fed, the harder they will be to deal with. Boy, I know I've been pretty difficult to deal with these last couple of weeks. Thank the Lord I have a husband who is so wonderful, so patient, and even more, so forgiving. He probably should have wanted to get rid of me, but he didn't haha.

I've struggled with focusing on what I DON'T have this week;ranging from the small things(printer ink) to the very big things (new car/house). It all adds up and each thing weighs you down until you finally fall to the floor. I allowed those things to affect how I treated my husband, and I am very sorry for that. He is a wonderful provider, and if we can't get those things (even the small ones), it is because we are working so hard saving everything we can to get ourselves out of the financial rut WE put ourselves in; and here I am complaining. I've already asked God and my husband to forgive me for my selfishness. I'm so thankful they are BOTH very forgiving, because my eternal life and my marriage would DEFINITELY be in jeopardy.

So what did I learn after re-evaluating myself during service yesterday?
1) I need to REALLY improve my prayer life...I pray, but I don't pray as often as I could/should be praying.
2) I have not because I ask not....God tells us that sometimes we don't' get what we want because we don't ask him. I am guilty of this. Sometimes I am so caught up with trying to figure out how I/WE are going to get something, instead of just leaving it to God, and asking the provider of all!
3) If it's not HIS will, it probably won't be done!...I really need to learn to accept this! I need to realize that if I don't get something I want, it may just be that God has something better for me...or I may not be ready to get that thing just yet, and he's waiting on me to give it to me!
4)I need to be thankful for EVERYTHING! ...

Number 4 gets its own paragraph because this is probably the one thing I REALLY need to improve on the most. I'm praying that God will help me train my mind to be thankful for all the things, great and tiny. I know if I learn this and apply this daily, I won't be focusing on the negative things. In turn, I will be more thankful, a lot happier, more loving to my husband, and he will be a lot happier, too!

So I'm going to mention a few things that I am so thankful for this morning to get the ball rolling for the week..

I'm thankful:
because my husband, my little boy, and I were given one more day of life.
because we will all have food in our bellies today.
because our bank account has been and continues to be in the positive.
because we just simply have money in both our checking and savings.
because we have a home and a bed to sleep in.
because my husband has a job that allows him to provide AND to be with his family.
because we have a working car that gets us where we need to be.

Those are just a few.I am going to try to continue picking out things to be thankful for throughout the day. That should help me be a better person. Also, I am going to continue on in my reading of the bible (currently the book of Job;another thing I've been neglecting lately that I need to jump back on!)

Let's not let our own thinking bring us down to a state of discontent and unhappiness. Take it one day at a time, but try to focus on the blessings. Pretend you are doing a scavenger hunt, and continue looking for all the blessings-great and small-that God is giving you today. See if that doesn't turn that frown upside down!