Thankfulness

I kept thinking that I might chime in on all of the wonderful daily thankful posts on Facebook, but alas, I kept procrastinating. I think I may have told you all before that my family has a tradition of doing what we call our "thankfuls" quite often. We used to do them at the end of every day, but for the last year or so, we mostly do them on Monday nights as we all sit around the table at dinner. We go around and everyone tells one or more things that they are thankful for. It's not very hard and it is a constant reminder that we are all very blessed and we all have soooooo much to be thankful for. Today, I think I'll begin my list of thankfuls that could have been posted daily in November....Here it goes.....

#1-I'm thankful God chose me and loves me.

#2-I'm thankful that John chose me and loves me even though I am often not very lovable. My middle name is Rose, and that mostly means that you have to put up with all of the thorns. I know that I don't deserve you which makes me even more thankful! I love you.

#3-I'm thankful for my first born daughter, Emily. I love that you are my friend and that, because of you, I have a son-in-law and two grand babies.  I love to watch you with them...You remind me of me when you were little...and those memories are precious to me.

#4-I'm thankful for my son-in-law, Sam. How wonderful you are to my Emily and what a great father you are to my grand babies! God placed you in Emily's life at the perfect time and I'm so thankful that I get to love you, too.

#5-I'm thankful for my second daughter, Loressa. What a treasure you are! I love the wonderful, strong woman you have become. You amaze me in every way. I'm so thankful that you allow God to use you...I miss you terribly!

#6-I'm thankful for my first born son, Halton. You have taught me so much about how to trust the Lord in EVERY situation. I love our long talks and how we "get" each other. I love that you find joy in music and I'm so thankful to share the gift of music with you.

#7-I'm thankful for my middle child, Bethany. You have the purest of hearts! I think everyone should want to be like Bethany! I enjoy my special driving time everyday with you and I love that you listen for God's voice above every other voice-even above mine:)

#8-I'm thankful for my second son, Hunter. What would I ever be able to do without you? You are becoming such a Godly young man. You challenge me and encourage me. You make me laugh and you put me in my place all the time. You are a perfect picture of what a servant looks like. I'm so glad that I get to see that every day!

#9-I'm thankful for my precious Mackenna. I wouldn't be a very good care giver to Violet and Henry without you. You pour yourself into them and do so much of the hard work that allows me to love on them that much more. I love that you still sing with me every night and that you do all that I ask of you and more. You are so sensitive to God's leading in your life and I get to see, first hand, what an encouragement you are to others.

#10-I'm thankful for my precious Destiny Faith. You were my very special gift from God to allow me the joy of still having a young one in the house. God knew how much I would need that. You bring me joy and love. I love how your hand fits inside of mine. I love that you still blow straws on me at chick fil a and get out on my side of the van. You make me very happy.

#11-I'm thankful for my parents, Clyde and Nancy Jeffus, who love me unconditionally and have shown me what it means to give of yourself. You have shown me what a faithful marriage looks like with your 58 years of marriage and still holding hands and taking care of each other. You are my heroes and I want to grow up and be just like you!

#12-I"m thankful for my sisters, Becky Terry and Tricia Deaver, I'm so thankful that we are friends and that I know I will always have your love. It gives a girl a source of strength knowing she can turn to her sisters if and when she needs to. I love you both!

#13-I'm thankful for my husbands parents, family and extended family. They love me and my children and take me as I am, with all of my many flaws. I'm so thankful for that.

#14-I'm thankful for my two GRANDbabies! I'm so thankful that they live nearby and that I get to help take care of them have them in my life. Their smiles and love are all a grandma could ever ask for.

That brings me up to today...I may have left a lot of things and people out, but...November isn't over. I still have lots of days of thankfulness left, but, of course, I actually have all year to proclaim it because thankfulness is a way of life, not just a few statements in November.

I hope that you are thankful about the many wonders in life that God has brought your way and if you have trouble thinking about what to be thankful for...look to your left and then to your right and then right in front of you. I'm sure you will find something to be thankful for!  

Love to you all,
Pam                      

About Life4Him-Moms Encouraging Moms: Busy and Blessed

About Life4Him-Moms Encouraging Moms: Busy and Blessed:                                                 It's been a while since I've taken the time to write on here. Summer began and ended with b...

Busy and Blessed

                                               
It's been a while since I've taken the time to write on here. Summer began and ended with busy schedules and tons of ministry opportunities. It really felt like we were on a never ending roller coaster. Don't get me wrong though, our summer was amazing!

Here's a quick recap in order for you to fully grasp what our kind of busy looks like...LIFE trip to San Antonio, Mission Trip to Oklahoma, Grandson Henry Houston Fulks was born (more on that later), Mission trip to Kosovo, Youth camp with the whole family, Mission trip to Canada, Destiny to GA camp, Loressa to collegiate week at Glorietta,  rehearsals and the performance of the musical that I wrote over the whole last year called "The Church Around The Corner", family vacation to see both sides of our families and then taking Loressa back to Lubbock for college...and, knowing me, I probably forgot a few things.

Like I said...we were super busy, but in the midst of such a busy summer, we were all given the privilege to be God's servants and feel His blessings on our lives.

Busy and Blessed...that was the story of our summer.

I know many of you would not have had a list as long as mine of your summer events. Most likely, just like my summer mirrored my lifestyle, your summer would have mirrored yours. We have a large family and lead busy lives...It's okay, though, because we accept and love that as part of the package of who we are. The best part of it all is the fact that we get to serve the Lord together...AND...It already makes me really sad that my kids won't always be around to keep me this busy.

Whatever your agenda was for the this past summer, I hope you ended it with knowing you were right where you should have been and that you faithfully did all the things you were supposed to be doing.

I know that if you are reading this, since it is the middle of September, you have already organized your school year with all of the different things that you hope to accomplish. I hope your list of events includes time for you to serve the Lord by serving your church, your community and your family. Remember...there are lots of things that can keep you busy, but try to do the things that really matter because when this school year is over and you are looking back over it all, you are going to want to be able to say, "I wasn't just busy, I was blessed."

About Life4Him-Moms Encouraging Moms: Being a mom can be...

About Life4Him-Moms Encouraging Moms: Being a mom can be...: I want to share just two words about being a mom.... It's hard! Sometimes it seems like moms are the good guys, but unfortunately a lot of...

Being a mom can be...

I want to share just two words about being a mom.... It's hard!

Sometimes it seems like moms are the good guys, but unfortunately a lot of the time, moms seem like the bad guys. Sometimes, we have to say things that would be easier to leave unsaid and sometimes we make mistakes and jump to conclusions that are incorrect. There are even times when we say and do the wrong thing, thinking it was the right thing...yet, sadly, it is still the wrong thing and it crushes their spirit. It's funny that the most rewarding job in the world is also one of the hardest jobs. We plan and work to try to make our children's lives wonderful, but sometimes wonderful just doesn't happen...and life is difficult instead.

One thing that I have learned through the years is that even when being a mom can be hard, it is worth any headache that it can bring. No one can fill your shoes for your sons and daughters except you, so even though it would be easier to give up...Even though it would be easier to give in... And even though it would be easier to ignore the difficult things...It is still great to be a mom and to have been given the responsibility of loving and raising our children...If it were easy, it wouldn't really be such a huge honor to have been entrusted with the children that God gave us....So, when life seems overwhelming and being a mom seems like a job for someone else, remember that God chose you because He knew that you were the right woman for the job. Whether you gave birth to your sons and daughters or whether you were chosen to adopt your sons or daughters, He knew it would be you that would be pouring your life into your children. He knew, so He can be trusted to help you through any difficulties you might face as a mom.

We can trust Him. He can carry our burdens. He can help us be the best mom we can be.