Stepping Out

I feel the need to make a change...

Though my kids' pictures have not been updated since January, and it drives me CRAZY that 3 weeks into Spring, my blog header is still a snow-covered landscape, I am stepping out.

A few weeks ago, I began nibbling on a new and incredible book, the first ever written by my all-time favorite, most inspiring blogger, and my heart is being stirred.

I have been seeing a path laid out before me, a tying together of bits and pieces that have been sprinkled into my life over the past few months. Maybe it began longer ago, but who knows? All I see is that something has been in the works and the time has come for me to act on it, to accept the challenge, and to see what happens next.

I remember the urging of a friend on Facebook, the suggestion to post a 'thankful thought' on each day of November. What a great idea - a perfect prelude to Thanksgiving, an ideal way to prepare our own hearts and inspire others to truly recognize the multitude of ways we are blessed. So I did it - and I LOVED it! I even did it again the following year, and brought it to my dining room table by encouraging each family member to share something THEY were grateful for as we shared our meal together each day.

Trouble is, after November ended, after the season of thanks had passed, the newfound habit quickly disappeared as well. This didn't settle well with me, and every now and again, I would try and revisit the issue and request to hear more reasons for my family's gratitude while sharing my own as well. Each time, it was SO wonderful and encouraging, but it just didn't stick...

A few months ago, I was brought to a verse in Philippians that I thought was meant for a friend - so I shared it with her. She was blessed by it, and I was encouraged to have been able to share, but the verse became etched in MY mind as well, and I have returned to it again and again.

In chapter 4, verses 6 and 7, it reads, "Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He has done. If you do this, you will experience God's peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand."

Wow...really? The only requirement for peace of mind, God's peace, is that I talk to Him about my troubles and thank Him for His goodness? Is it really that simple?

He continues to stir in me that it is.

See, I am pretty good at telling Him my troubles - now, I may not always go to Him first, which I know I should, but eventually, one way or another, He hears about the things that challenge me.

But to 'thank Him for all He has done'? Do I really understand the fullness of ALL He has done? Yes, I thank Him for my husband, my children, my family and friends. I thank Him for my home, my health, and for what He provides. But the more I read of Him, the more I hear about how others see Him, the more I am reminded that He is in the details. The big picture of life may seem quite messy, and it often is, but in the midst of the mess, I miss the simple ways that He is there.

I don't want to miss them anymore.

The book I am reading is by Ann Voskamp, entitled 'One Thousand Gifts.' Ann was once challenged to take note of the ways that she could find God in her daily life - the mundane, the usual, the predictable and yet not-so-predictable life of a stay-at-home Mom.

And God knocked her socks off.

He woke her to the fact that "As long as thanks is possible, then joy is always possible...The holy grail of joy is not in some exotic location or some emotional mountain peak experience...Here, in the messy, piercing ache of now, joy might be - unbelievably - possible! The only place we need see before we die is this place of seeing God, here and now."

And so, like Ann, I am stirred to allow my heart to take notice of the when and the where that God is present in my life, in my home, in my walking-blindly-from-one-task-to-the-next-because-there-is-so-much-to-do-today way of living. I am tired of missing it! I am tired of missing HIM...I KNOW He is there, and every now and then I get a glimpse, but I just don't let myself slow down enough to really see.

And now everything around me is screaming at me to change that.

From the Facebook challenge to the verse in Philippians, to the book, and now an amazing sermon this past weekend, I am clearly being told to do something different. And I am saying yes.

So, starting today, I accept the challenge. I will begin using this blog to take note of the things I am thankful for, the ways I am blessed. And I hope that by doing so, God will soften my heart to be able to see more of Him in everything.

(And maybe, just maybe, I will get more pictures posted of my incredible family!)

Thus begins my journey towards a true 'attitude of gratitude'...

1. Sunshine - how I have missed the sunshine!

2. A son who inspires my children to search for 'treasure' in our backyard (and secretly hoping they find something - anything - just for the thrill of it!).

3. Forgiveness for my selfishness.

4. Friendly neighbors.

5. A teenager with an open heart.

6. The discovery of sugar-free lattes when I have given up sugar!

7. Dinner made by my husband.

8. A son that loves to hug.

9. "I love you, Mommy."

10. Snuggling on the couch with my hubby who helps get the kids to bed early.