Gladitudes

My plan was to tell you I haven’t anything to blog about. We have a LOT going on — house stuff, ministry stuff, family stuff and just other STUFF — and while the process of blogging is beautifully cathartic, I can’t allow some of those icky inner thoughts to be published so publicly. Suffice it to say my plate is full, my emotions are taxed, my body is weary and my faith … oh, my faith is being stretched. I would love to share all of this with you, but wisdom censors me.

Then I read Gretchen’s post. Sure, I’ve got a lot of stuff to distract me from God’s goodness, but I will choose today to focus on Him and all the blessings that too easily become overshadowed.

• We still have a beautiful home. Even if everything falls through with the house really, really want, we’re still in a pretty good spot right here. Is it what I would choose? No. But it is enough and I am grateful for it.
• It has been gorgeous here lately! Granted: today is crazy hot for May in Jersey and Ellie has already outgrown her new swimsuit for the year, but I am grateful. My kids are healthy and growing and we’ve a wonderful backyard to enjoy!
• Speaking of swimsuits and days in the backyard, I am very thankful that our children inherited my German skin that tans and not Rick’s Irish skin that burns. (Don’t worry, Mom. They’re still covered in SPF 50!)
• Rick and I are reading Scripture together. There was a time in our lives when we read books together and did daily devotions together, but then we had kids and jobs and a mortgage and a yard and ministry responsibilities, and somewhere in all this we came to value sleep over a shared spiritual journey. Don’t get me wrong; we’ve always shared bits here and there, but consistency somehow fell by the wayside. Thanks to the insane stress of real estate, the Read with Me challenge (Thank you, Kellie, for making me do this!), and all our current life decisions, we’ve gotten back into a regular thing. I love it! We don’t read together every day, but we talk about what we’re reading. Praying together doesn’t feel forced or obligatory any more. It’s become much more natural … like it used to be.
• School is almost out!!! I love school and I love having my kids there, but I am so ready for a break from the routine. I’m ready to be done with extra activities. I’m ready to be done watching other peoples’ kids ransack the playground. I’m ready to be done writing class letters and coordinating activities and feeling so responsible if any of the kindergarten parents feel “out of the loop.” I’m ready for summer and THANK GOD it’s almost here.
• I’m grateful for friends who love me no matter what, for friends who have been where I am before and who gently offer their pearls of wisdom. I am grateful that one day I’ll be able to do the same for someone else.
• I got two new editing clients this week! I know, I know … my plate is already full. But I love editing and even though I call it “work” it often feels more like “me time” than an actual job. Right now my “job” seems to be packing and living in a house with 70% of my things in boxes.
• I’m thankful we’ve been able to pack 70% of our things (give or take) with relatively little effort or chaos. I’m also thankful that we’ve clearly labeled every box so that we can unpack them with ease — even if the unpacking happens in this very house.
• Most of all, I am indescribably grateful the GOD IS IN CONTROL. I haven’t a clue what’s going on most of the time, but He knows everything that has happened and everything that will happen. He knows where my heart is and He loves me. Of this I have no doubt. And in this I place all my trust.

What are you thankful for today?