Day 7 - You Never Outgrow Them

Parents, that is.

There have been many situations during my adult life where I've needed my mom and dad and they've willingly dropped everything to rush to my aide (just this past week for one). And I am so very thankful for them - although I'm sure my expressions of gratitude are quite inadequate. But that doesn't seem to matter to them. Because I know the next time something comes up - preferably something a little less stressful and a lot more fun - they will be right there ready to lend a helping hand.

Day 6 - Dinner's Ready

At first glance this post may appear to be about food - but it's not. It's about so much more than that. (Although don't get me wrong - food is a wonderful thing and I am very thankful to have more than enough to feed myself and my family when so many others do not.) It's about being thankful for time spent together during family dinners regardless of what's on the menu.

Eating dinner as a complete family unit is very important to each of us, but it's not always easy to pull off. Between conflicting sports' schedules, work, meetings, and a two-year old, it takes commitment and sometimes the willingness to eat at 8:30 p.m. There are certainly many other ways to get in quality family time - but for me, nothing can replace coming together around the table to share the day's highlights, complaints, revelations, laughs, and just life in general.

Day 5 - Who Are The People In Your Neighborhood?

I don't know about you, but the people in my neighborhood are some of my best and dearest friends and for that I am truly thankful. They are always willing to bail you out of life's little jams (i.e., need a cup of sugar) or see you through life's biggest trials (i.e., waiting on your child's diagnosis) - whatever the need they are there. I am without a doubt blessed by their presence in my life.

Day 4 - Hi Ho, Hi Ho, It's Off to Bed I Go

Another long day = another short post.

As I type this, I am sitting in my nice, comfy, large bed and for that I am very thankful. My baby is home and I am fortunate to not have to sit watch again in a most uncomfortable hospital chair. Thankfully I was there only one night, but there are so many parents who do that night after night for weeks on end. I can't even imagine. And because of those parents, I will not take sleeping in my own bed for granted anymore.

Day 3 - Little Post, Big Thanks

Whew what a day - but what a good day! There are soooo many things I could put on here today but I'm going to keep it short and sweet.

I'm thankful that my sweet baby boy (OK, he's almost 13 but he's still my baby) did not have a cancerous mass in his cheekbone. Huge praise and thanks to God that it was something that was easily fixable with no long-lasting repercussions. And how could I forget the two other beautiful babies that are at home with dad and the grandparents right now. I'm so very blessed - and after being on this pediatric ward, I won't take that for granted.

Day 2 - Vocation and Location

I am so thankful that there are people in this world that God has called to spend many years of their life in school to become things like pediatric neurosurgeons. I can't imagine the time and energy it takes to do something that requires that much dedication and discipline. The knowledge and skill that these men and women are blessed with simply amazes me.

I am also thankful to live in a town just 30 minutes away from one of the best children's hospitals around. The people that work there definitely have a special gift to make you feel at ease in sometimes a very uneasy and scary situation.

Day 1 - Give Thanks in ALL Things

30 Days of Thanks

Today begins my "30 Days of Thanks" challenge. Here's an excerpt from a devotion that I put together for a women's church group meeting last Tuesday that explains the background for the challenge as well as the challenge itself.

Oct. 26, 2010 - A Single Act of Thanksgiving to an Attitude of Gratitude

We’ve had quite the flurry of activity in our close-knit little neighborhood this last week and a half – everything from major brain surgery and a miraculous recovery to the birth of a beautiful new baby. During major events like these, it’s not very difficult to remember to give thanks for all that our amazing God can do and does. But the reality is – whether good or bad – normal life for most of us is not characterized by such mega events, at least not on a daily basis.

“Normal life” – for me anyway – is cleaning finger paintings done with toothpaste on the bathroom cabinets, making sure homework is done, sweeping up mud tracked in on stinky cleats off the floor, cooking, grocery shopping, paying the bills, removing shoes from the front-porch roof, etc. So where does thankfulness fit into normal life? I think all too often it gets shoved in a corner (I know I’m guilty of this) and then life rolls along with its little bumps and twists and it’s not until something big happens that we remember to purposely thank God for all that He is and does.

So my question that I’m putting out there to all of you is “How do we transform those moments of deliberate thankfulness into lives characterized by ‘an attitude of gratitude’?

Even before all the recent activities, I had been thinking about thankfulness for several weeks. It seemed to be a common theme in devotions I had read, Scriptures that I ran across, blogs that I had been reading and then just last week the Bible study that I am doing.

In her book Becoming More Than a Good Bible Study Girl, Lysa TerKeurst says that “thanksgiving is the secret to attitude adjustment” and “a person whose life is characterized by constant praise and thanksgiving despite their circumstances will shift from just verbalizing their praise and thanksgiving to living it out loud through their courageous stance for Christ.”

I know we still have a month to go before the holiday that focuses on giving thanks. But how often do we get overwhelmed by all that there is to do surrounding Thanksgiving and continuing through Christmas? That leads to stress, which leads to grumbling and short fuses which leads to just general yuckiness and sometimes ungratefulness.

But this year I really want to make the effort to approach things differently. So I’ve decided to challenge myself with 30 Days of Thanks. Now I’m an on-again off-again blogger (would prefer to be more on-again but it’s funny how my family prefers clean clothes and food over random blog posts). But I have decided beginning Nov. 1 I am going to blog every day about the things that I am most thankful for – many of these things are not the ‘aha’ moments – they are simply moments woven throughout my daily life.

So I challenge you to also take a few minutes of each day throughout the month to let God know what you’re thankful for and pretty soon your intentional act of thankfulness will be transformed into an attitude of gratitude. Not only will that change us but it will go a long way to changing the lives of others around us – and as God’s disciples, isn’t that what we really want?

I knew stating this challenge to the public (i.e., all the women in my group) would provide some accountability for me. But hey, I have lots to be thankful for so how hard can it be other than the fact that I have to make time to document it each day.

Well, that's at least what I thought until last Thursday, just two days later. My whole world was shaken a bit. I was told by my kids' pediatrician that one of my babies could be facing a very serious health situation. Serious enough to be meeting with a specialist at a nearby children's hospital tomorrow (Tuesday) a.m. - just one week after writing my devotion.

To say that I have run through a gamut of emotions from last Thursday until today would be an understatement. My thoughts have been all over the place. In fact, I contemplated 'postponing' my challenge. But then these verses kept coming to mind.

"Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus." I Thess. 5:16 - 18

So while I admit I'm not thankful for my current circumstance, I can still be thankful despite my circumstance. I look forward to sharing the many things - both big and small - that I'm thankful for during the next 30 days.