Attitude of Gratitude

Attitude of Gratitude

                Thanksgiving time puts our focus on giving thanks. And on food! Before we pray and eat our dinner, we say something we are thankful for. It’s the usual things mentioned:  family, food, home, etc… We always tease our son-in-law that he says the same thing every year, but he does it unapologetically. It’s always his wife and children. Even though we tease, it is sweet because he is genuine in being thankful for them.

                Learning to be thankful is important because as we are thankful we become more content. When we are truly thankful, we need less. We want less. Because we recognize all we have, we don’t have to focus on getting more. Cultivating an attitude of gratitude is crucial to being happy and satisfied.

                What are we thankful for? What am I thankful for? We can say family, friends, home, vehicles, food, but can we be more specific? I am particularly thankful for a warm home, a spouse who cuts, splits and carries wood for my woodstove. I don’t like winter so this is vital to me. I am thankful for my children, but this year I want to say I am thankful for my adopted children whom God has used to teach me how He has adopted me into His family. I am also extremely blessed in that I have had in-laws I have loved and do love. Our family is enriched because of them. I have a teen daughter and a young adult daughter who like to be with me and do things with me. What fun we have together! There are so many other things I take for granted each day and don’t appreciate fully. I so enjoy a cup of hot tea in the morning, and a good book or my Kindle with it make it better. I love that my dishwasher has cleaned my dirty dishes while I sleep. A hot shower wakes me up and ready to face the day. My phone keeps me connected to friends and family on Facebook and with emails and texts. I can type on my computer and the internet lets me do my banking, helps me shop, and post on my blog. I am grateful for my clothes- that I have what I need for our variety of climates.  I am thankful my husband has a job. (And I don’t!) I am blessed he provides so well for us. I love having antiques and items of beauty around me to feed my soul. My life is so good and I recognize this as I start counting my blessings.

 When I am thankful, I start smiling because I know how pleasing my life is. It is not perfect. I have bad days, too. I have bad moments in every day. But cultivating that attitude of thankfulness pushes out the grudges, the “poor me” feelings, the frustrations, and even anger. You can’t be truly thankful and not feel positive about life. You will see good in something if you have a grateful spirit.

An attitude of gratitude is an exercise in liking your life. It is trusting God and seeing how He has blessed you. I am thankful we have at least a day to reflect on this. Happy thanksgiving! Give thanks!

Running from Religion to Relationship

Running from Religion to Relationship

                I grew up in church. I was baptized, confirmed, went to youth group, Sunday school, Vacation Bible School, missions conferences, everything. I was comfortable at church.  I liked it. It was part of who I was. My faith was real. I believed.

                But my faith didn’t change me much. I still lived like everyone else. I did stupid things, things I am not proud of. I didn’t share my faith with anyone. No one could see much of a difference in me because of it. I was a “good” kid, which meant I didn’t get caught. I didn’t want to upset my parents. Faith didn’t change my behavior, but I was careful to not hurt anyone.

                I would have called myself a Christian, a Lutheran. But it was only skin deep. Maybe it was in my mind, but not in my heart. It wasn’t satisfying or fulfilling.

                During my teen years, I had a youth pastor who challenged us and took us to visit other churches and religious groups. It was interesting, but didn’t mean a lot to me until we went to a “Jesus People” house. I saw something different there. The people worshiped with heart, soul, and mind. They talked to God in their own words, like He was right there with them. I felt something there I had never felt before. I believe I felt God’s Spirit come over me. For the first time I knew my sins were real and they put Christ on the cross.  I knew He had died for me. I wanted to truly repent. I cried; I wept until I was completely cleansed. I was changed from the inside out. I had a new desire to read God’s Word, to share my faith, to worship wholeheartedly, and to pray continually about everything. I actually wanted to live for Him. I didn’t want to do the things I did before that I knew were wrong, and not because I was afraid of getting caught, but just because they were wrong. I had a new relationship with my Lord that was real and exciting to me. However the religion I grew up in didn’t recognize this relationship. I was forbidden by my parents to tell people I had “accepted” Jesus because I had always been a Christian. They raised me that way. They didn’t understand for a long time. But as I lived it, (not perfectly, but fairly consistently) people saw my faith was real and different. I read my Bible to get to know God and to know His will. I memorized Scripture because I wanted His Word in me, not because I wanted to know more than others. It became important to me to learn and grow as a Christian.

                Another thing that made a big difference for me was I joined Youth for Christ Campus life. I had mentors and friends who understood and wanted to grow, too. Mentors and friends kept me consistent and learning more.

                I didn’t live it perfectly. We never do. I blew it many times, but I knew God’s grace and forgiveness and love through all my trials and temptations. He was with me.

                Religion gave me a framework, a foundation for faith. Yet it alone wouldn’t have held me. It wasn’t enough. Many people I have known through the years have let their faith fall on the wayside. They no longer hold to it as they once did. The religion that got them by at home or in Sunday school ceased to be important to them. They don’t go to church. They don’t take their children to church. While they may be good people, God is not present in their lives. Faith doesn’t change them or play a part in their lives. Religion is NOT enough.

                Religion is not enough because we need relationship, too. We need to know God, His people, His church. We need to have God be a part of our lives all day, every day. We need to live His way. We have to want to be more like Jesus.

                Religion has its function, but if you are stuck there and it isn’t satisfying, run from it. Run from the emptiness to relationship. Look for Jesus, instead of what religion demands and expects. Let grace fill you instead of judgment. God’s love is real and offered to you. Leave the parts of religion behind that keep you from God. While God has standards and laws that we must follow, His Spirit will lead you and help you to follow his ways. Run to Him; run forward to relationship, a relationship with Jesus. It will be the most important race you will ever run!

               

Roles We Live

Roles We Live

I am a stay at home wife and mother, homeschooling my 6th and last child. I cook, clean, do laundry, pay bills, buy groceries, plan meals, do holidays, and more. I bake bread and caramel rolls. I buy gifts. Sometimes I sew. I made the curtains. I decorate the house. I send in rebates. I plan the school year, homeschool, test, send in the forms for the state, and all the rest of the things that go with homeschooling. I help keep the homeschool coop going. That's some of what I do. I also volunteer, mostly with politics. I babysit my grandchildren and a neighbor child. Life isn't boring, but it's busy lots of the time.

My husband works full-time. He works long hours and provides well for us. He fixes our cars and motorcycles and anything in our house that needs it. He builds anything I ask for. He does the heavy lifting I can't do. He eats what I cook. He massages my neck. He prays with me every morning before he goes to work. He does jobs I don't like. He built me a camper. He cuts wood so we can burn wood and not propane. He helps with the grandchildren when they are here.  He drives when we go on vacation. My husband is very busy, but not too busy for us.

We live with our traditional roles and we like them. I don't have to change tires; my husband doesn't have to make the bed. We don't feel cheated or stuck in traditional roles. We choose it. I am free to do so many things that my friends who have full-time jobs can not do. They have schedules to be kept, hours that belong to someone else. I have so many more hours with my children; I am blessed by this choice.

I have had to live on less than those who have two full-time incomes. We don't have the financial security that two jobs would have provided, but that only means I have had the opportunity to be creative in supplying our needs and desires. It hasn't been a bad thing for us.

When President Obama recently commented about full-time stay-at-home moms, "We don't want that." I was shocked and outraged. To take my life's calling and degrade it by seeing it as lessening my economic impact was frustrating, maddening. My job is important, too. I am raising the next generation, impacting the one after that, too. I am volunteering where others cannot. I take pride in who I am and what I have done. I enjoy my 'traditional' roles and I will teach other young women that it is a good thing that they can take pride in. They can be anything they want to be, even a stay-at-home wife and a mother. It's their choice and their calling; however they do it.

A Day Without My Phone

A Day Without My Phone

Yesterday I hurriedly got ready for church and grabbed everything I needed for the day. We were not only going to church, but to a house showing with our son, a political rally, shopping, and back to church for a celebration. I brought extra clothes and shoes. I grabbed treats for my grandchildren. I had my Bible, and my book. I got a water bottle.  I made sure I had a warmer jacket in the car. I thought I had everything I needed until we got about halfway there. I didn’t have my phone.

Now I am notorious for putting my phone in the wrong pocket or bag so when I said that I had forgotten it, someone always calls it so I can find it. My husband’s phone rang and rang to no avail. We didn’t hear mine. I really didn’t have it. Since we were 15 miles from home, we were not going back for it. I could get along without it for a day. Right?

I borrowed my husband’s phone to let my son know I didn’t have mine and if he needed to contact us, he should contact his dad. We got to church and we didn’t know whether to save seats for my son and family. My daughter texted my daughter-in-law to see if they were coming to church. When church got over, there was a lunch afterwards. I had to check my daughter’s phone to check the time to see if we had time to eat before the showing. Then we needed the address for the house showing. Again I used my husband’s phone. I don’t wear a watch anymore so I use my phone for the time and so I didn’t know the time all day.

We got to the political rally and I couldn’t take pictures, facebook it, or tweet about it without my phone.  Fortunately others took pictures and sent them to me later.

During the church service, a former worship leader mentioned he used to be in a band. I so wanted to look him up, but no phone, no internet.

After the service, we decided to go eat. I couldn’t look up the hours of the restaurant, coupons, specials, or anything. We chose a restaurant that I had a printed coupon for.

When we got home, I immediately went in and found my phone. It was sitting on the bed where I left it. I had only one missed call. (from my husband when he was checking to see if I really had left it!) There were a few Facebook notifications, new tweets, but nothing earth shattering that I couldn’t miss.  I had survived a whole day without my phone! Sure glad my daughter and  my husband had theirs!