Having a Thankful Heart

This is the time of the year that we try to be intentionally thankful. It's when we make thankful lists and do cute thankful crafts with our kiddos. I admit, I fall into that category and there's nothing wrong with that. I love a visual reminder of something. The Holy Spirit has been speaking to me about being thankful and having a heart that is grateful through an online study I have been doing. Some of the verses we have studied during it really opened my eyes to how much I have to be thankful about. I wanted to share some of the verses and some thoughts on each one.

Thank Him For His Compassion

The Lord is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy. Psalm 145:8-- This verse is so powerful. God was so gracious towards us by sending His Son, Jesus, to die on the cross so that we could be reunited with Him. That is love. Instead of letting His wrath kindle and then pouring it out on us, He pours out compassion on us. He sees us through the eyes of a loving Father. I have much to learn from Him. He is full of compassion for us and wants to love us beyond what we can comprehend. Being thankful should be a state of mind and a way of life. A grateful heart can carry us through the good and bad days.

Thank Him For His Mercy

 It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness. Lamentations 3:22-23-- I love this verse. Because of God's mercy we aren't consumed by His wrath. Even though I break His laws daily, He shows me mercy. He holds back what I do deserve. He gives me instead what I definitely do not deserve, which is His mercy. Wow. If that doesn't humble you, I'm not sure what will. We should be ever so grateful that God has set aside His wrath towards us. Sweet friend, He lavishes us with His mercy and compassion every single day. We don't even have to ask for it, it's there.

Thank Him For His Salvation

But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8-- This verse really hit me hard. Oh what a God we serve. He gave us a way of escape through Jesus Christ even while we were yet sinners. He extended salvation through Jesus to us so that we may not perish. How awesome. I want to shout it from the rooftops how awesome our God is! Though we fail and disobey Him, God still pursues us and makes a way of escape from our self-destruction. If He never does anything else for me, I still can't thank Him enough for what He has done.  

Birthdays and a Field Trip

The Field Trip

We went on a field trip this past Thursday with our home school co-op group. We loaded up and all met at Welford's Farm Pumpkin Patch that morning. The boys were so excited! It was a beautiful Fall morning here in South Mississippi. All the kids had a good time running around and playing. It was our first field trip this year and it was very successful. They grabbed a few goodies from the General Store and then took a hay ride ( By the way, I can't believe how big my boys are getting and how independent they're becoming). Around noon all the families laid out blankets and had lunch in the pumpkin patch. It's such a blessing to have wonderful families to gather with and have a good time with. We're so thankful for our group, though we don't know them all that well.

Pumpkin Patch fun.

 

Hayride time!

Johnathan in the corn crib.

Tabitha enjoying lunch.

Telling a few jokes while eating our picnic lunch.

Birthdays

This past week my middle son, Aaron, turned five years old. It's hard to believe that it's been five years since I gave birth to him. Thursday was his official birthday. We celebrated with his brothers and Daddy with just some cupcakes and a gift. He is such a sweet little boy. He is tenderhearted, kind, thoughtful, funny, and loves to serve. We're so blessed to call him our son.

Michael Aaron turns 5.

We pray every day for God's will to be done in his life. We desire to see God do great things in him every day of his life. He still has a ways to go obviously because he's only five years old, but we cover him in prayer daily.

We also celebrated my oldest nieces birthday that evening. Tabitha turns 13 November 1st. It's hard to believe she is a teenager. She's a lovely young lady that we love very much. We had a great time with my brother and his family, my sister and her family, and my parents.

Tabitha the birthday girl.

What fun things does your family and friends do this time of the year? We're eagerly waiting for Thanksgiving. We love to gather with our family and friends to give thanks for the years harvest. Have a blessed weekend!