With a Thankful Heart.

Thankfulness. Gratitude.

It turns what we have into enough, and more.
It turns denial into acceptance,
chaos to order, confusion to clarity.
It can turn a meal into a feast,
a house into a home, a stranger into a friend.
Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today,
and creates a vision for tomorrow.

 

 

We took time today to be thankful. My heart has been heavy with grief lately as life presses in with persecution for the ones that I care about. In so many ways, there are a multitude of reasons to feel despair, hopelessness and even anger.
And yet, I know God is in each and every situation. Praying for peace for today. And hope for tomorrow for so many of my dear loved ones. And learning to still be humbly thankful at all times.

 

And so, the girls {who feel the weight of sadness so much more than we realize} and I put on a Thanksgiving Feast as a surprise for their dad this evening. And yet, really, it was just a regular dinner – and yet with a slight change in attitude, it became a happy feast. A joyful celebration of Autumn and our blessings. The girls literally ran from the kitchen to the dining room as they helped prepare the table and decorate. They counted the hours till their dad walked through the front door so they could surprise him. Lucia called it “Happy Joy Day!”

For our ‘feast’ of a {simple} ham and scalloped potatoes, Lacey (8) and Lyla (6) made the cornbread, the apple-peach spice bundt cake and helped with the making of the caramel sauce. {These recipes are from my homemade mix stash – gotta say, these are lifesavers!}

 

 

They set and decorated the table.

 

They collected leaves from the backyard and wrote what they were thankful for on the colored autumn leaves.

They did all of this with childhood joy and innocent excitement.

 

 

 

 

{We hung the ‘Thankful’ leaves in the dining room where we do school, eat and play. They are good reminders for us.}

 

 

 

This Autumn, I am so very thankful for so much. I can’t even write out a list of what I am thankful for as it would make this blog post a gazillion words long. All I know is the Lord is good – and He brings us through the mountains and the valleys of life. God is so big, so strong and oh so mighty, I am so thankful for his mercies and grace. Thankful for the knowledge that He will carry the burden that is weighing so heavy on so many.

 

And yes, I am thankful for my children and my husband.

 

Be thankful this weekend.

Let your grateful heart turn confusion into clarity and your meal into a feast.

 

Pin It