Changing my {Wishes} into {Gratitude}

It's crazy to me to think how it has become a "tradition" of sorts to rush out and buy more the day after {and now even the day of!!} the day we spend being thankful for all that we have.

We do live in a "more is better" society and are daily bombarded with messages that "we need more", "we aren't enough", "we'll be better once we have ______, be ______" the messages go on and on.

It is these messages that drive our need, our desire even, to rush out on Black Friday to score the big deals so that we can meet these wishes for ourselves, but our kids as well. And in that, I believe that we are only teaching our kids that these messages are true.

Let me tell you --- These messages are NOT true.

You have everything that you need. 

You ARE enough. 

Having more will not make you be a better person, a better employee, a better friend, mother, wife, etc.

Now, I realize that there are families and children and individuals out there who don't have everything that they need. But I also am confident in saying that those who have found themselves in that situation, are NOT the ones rushing out to buy more. They are the ones hoping and praying that they will just have food to put on the table, clothes for their children and a present to give them on Christmas morning. They are not wanting more to feel that they are enough. They are wanting more to simply survive.

If you are rushing out to get presents for those who are in need, then please, rush away! But if that's not your reason for looking for good deals, then join me in this little exercise I'm about to share with you, I know I need to do it! I will be the first to admit that I easily fall into believing these lies and I'm speaking to myself right now.

In a recent message at church, our pastor shared about the story of Mary and Martha in the Bible (Luke 10:38-42).  I've always related so much to this story, especially to Martha. If you aren't familiar with the story-- Jesus is at the home of Mary and Martha. Martha is rushing around making dinner and getting the home ready and busying herself with details, while Mary is sitting at the feet of Jesus. Martha complains to Jesus that Mary isn't helping her, but Jesus tells Martha that Mary has chosen what is better.

So instead of rushing around to make the details of our holiday celebrations perfect, will you join me in changing those "wishes" of wanting more and seeking "perfection" into feelings gratitude as we sit at the feet of Jesus this holiday season, remembering that HE is the reason for the season?

It's not about the decorations, the cookies, the perfectly coordinated (or not even close to matching) Christmas outfits. Its about the birthday of our Savior. The man who came to us as a baby in a manger, meeting us all in the dirtiest and lowliest of places. The man who would one day grow to bear all of our sins and die on a cross for us -- for me -- for YOU.

When we see the holiday season through that perspective, I really do believe that it is not hard at all to want less instead of more and to be thankful for what we have, instead of rushing out to get more.

Changing My Wishes Into Gratitude 
Here are some of my "wishes" and how I have changed them into statements of gratitude. Would you join me in doing the same?

I wish my floors were spotless and free of crumbs
 --->> I am thankful for the little person that brings life to our home and crumbs to our floors. I am also thankful for the food that is in our cupboards and our refridgerator in abundance that has allowed those crumbs to clutter our floors. 

I wish we had a Christmas tree that looked like it was straight out of the department stores.
--->> I am thankful for the Christmas tree that brings light and joy to our home, with ornaments that are not breakable so my little man can touch and play with them and I can experience the joy on his face as he sees the tree light up and hangs the ornaments on new branches. 

I wish I had the perfect outfit for every occasion, especially at Christmas time.
-->> I am thankful for the full closet of clothes that I own and the many accessories as well....even if I'm not so good at actually "accessorizing or coming up with outfits ha ha I'm also thankful for the hot water we have to shower and the products I can use to get myself ready within the comfort of my own home

I wish I could make sugar cookies that actually look like the cutout shape they start out as before I bake them...
--->> I am thankful for little children who don't know the difference between a good looking cookie and a blob and just appreciate that they taste good :) I'm also thankful for a working oven to bake cookies, ingredients to make them, and friends to decorate them with! 

I wish our house were bigger (more bedrooms and a guest room)
--->> I'm thankful that I can clean our house in about an hour flat top to bottom! I'm thankful that our family is flexible when they visit and will sleep on air mattresses or the couch. I'm thankful for the cozy space that our home offers for us to host our small group and the giant room downstairs where the kids are all able to play both at small group and for play dates. I'm also thankful for the paint that is slowly but surely making this little home perfectly ours :) And I'm straight up thankful to even own a home! 

Through Jesus Christ, I am enough. It doesn't matter what clothes I wear, what my house looks like, how clean my floors are, how many presents we gift, what our Christmas tree looks like or what outfits we wear to holiday celebrations this year.

I can only imagine the ache of Mary's heart as she also joyfully looked at her newborn babe laying in that manger. The ache of only providing a manger for his bed, but also the ache as the fullness of who he would become became more clear to her. I can't imagine knowing that your child is born to die, yet he was without sin.

I pray that our hearts would ache to know Jesus more this season, instead of knowing the mall more or a tree full of presents.

What wishes do you have that can be changed to statements of gratitude? Share in the comments and lets encourage each other this Christmas! 

The Thankful Project Day 20 : Something About My Husband

Welcome to day 20 of The Thankful Project. Today's prompt is: Something About Your Significant Other or Best Friend. To learn more about The Thankful Project, find the list of prompts and join in the fun, click {here}.

I'm linking up with Kenzie at Chasing Happy for this post. 

On June 11, 2011, I met my husband and on August 18, 2012 we were married. Yep. You read right! I've only known my husband for just over 29 months! That's barely 2 years! 

Crazy how much our lives have changed in that short time. 

We got engaged. 

Got Married. 

Had a baby. 

Just did a complete 180 of what single life looked like and the lives we 'thought' we were living! 

During this time its crazy how much more I have gotten to know my husband. How different he is from the person that I 'knew' that day we met and even that day we got engaged and then got married! 

My husband is quite the man. 

He cares about being involved as a father. 

He wants to give Christian a bottle from time to time. 

He wants to change diapers, give baths, calm Christian when he is fussy. 

He even wants to help pick out Christian's clothes. 

And he is very particular about some things... 

like... having nothing {and I mean NOTHING} on the kitchen counters. No knife block, no spices, no kitchen appliances or utensils {you know, just the normal kitchen counter things...}

He hates clutter. 

But hey, I have my crazy things too...

like... instead of hating clutter, I'm actually a bit of a hoarder. So I guess its a good thing that I married an anti clutter freak or you just might have seen me on the next episode of Hoarders! 

Anyway, back to my husband and what I am thankful for about him. 

There is seriously so much about my husband that I am thankful for 

{despite all his little quirky habits/traits that can drive me crazy}

I'm thankful for who my husband is.

His persistence, dedication, and intentionality 

When he says he is going to do something, I know he is going to do it and with full commitment. He may have stumbled over the "faithful" part in our vows on our wedding day {ha ha ha}, but he is the most faithful and committed man. I see that not just in our relationship, but in everything he does. He pushes us to communicate and be intentional in pursuing our continued relationship as husband and wife. 

Who he is as a father to our son. 

This man is the best daddy I could ever ask for for my kids. He is fun, playful, loving and INVOLVED. He changes just as many diapers and spends just as much time calming our little guy as I do {minus the time he is at work and then its all me}. But that doesn't keep him from helping out at home and immediately spending time with me and Christian as soon as he gets home from work. In fact, a lot of our squabbles are now about who got to put Christian to bed, feed him dinner, or give him a bath! This man loves our little boy more than words can express and I'm so glad Christian gets to call him Daddy! 

I could go on and on for days about this man. He's the best. Just this morning after I was up a ton with Christian in the night because our little guy has a cold, Jim let me sleep late and took over with Christian. Not only that, but he folded all the laundry AND did the dishes. 

I know. He is the BEST. But he's mine! You can't have him! 

I'm so lucky to be doing life as a family of 3 with this man! 

I LOVE YOU!

What is something about your significant other or best friend 

that you are thankful for? 

The Thankful Project Day 18: A Choice.

Welcome to day 18 of The Thankful Project. Today's prompt is: A Choice. To learn more about The Thankful Project, find the list of prompts and join in the fun, click {here}.

I'm linking up with Kenzie at Chasing Happy for this post. 

Actually, this is yesterday's prompt...I'm a day late. But if you remember right, I said I wouldn't be posting every day, so I guess this is when you're getting it!

Choices.

Do you like them?

It seems the older I get, the more choices I have to make. Making choices is not something I'm necessarily thankful for as I'm SUPER indecisive!! But one choice that I've made and I'm so thankful that I did, is the choice to be part of Christian Community.

When my husband and I first joined our church, we were only dating. We were young {actually we still are young} and wanted to be a part of a couples group. Unfortunately Fortunately enough for us, our church didn't have a young couples group. I say "fortunately" because this meant we got to start our own group! Since we were only dating, it seemed weird for us to join a couples group of seasoned married people. Looking back, I know they would have been great mentors for us, but I'm so glad that we decided to form our own group.

God really has formed this group and we are so lucky to be part of it!

It's been just over 2 years now since we decided to start our own group and it's been a long journey. Actually, it took several months from the time we decided to "start" our group for dating, engaged, and newlywed couples before we even had a group! Being that we were only dating, we didn't fit into a lot of the couples that were looking to join groups. Instead of forming our own group, we actually formed 2 other groups first! Neither of which we were invited to be part of...sheesh! *all part of God's plan*

Finally, in January 2011, we had our first small group! We hosted it at Jim's house and were so nervous that no one would show up! We actually only were meeting with 2 other couples at the time...both were just dating. Eventually a married couple joined our group, Jim and I got engaged, one of the other couples got engaged, and another couple broke up. Over the past 2 years, though, our group has really grown and changed.

I am so blessed by them! 

We now have 6 couples {that's a total of 12 people!!} with 2 more prospective couples joining! I can't even put into words the blessing that this has been for us. It means so much to have couple friends who are in the same season of life and who love the Lord. It's also been really fun to all "grow" together. We are not only learning more about God and each other, but we are also growing through seasons. Jim and I are now married with a baby, another couple just celebrated their one year wedding anniversary, 2 other couples just welcomed little ones, and we hope to soon see another couple get engaged...soon :)

These people have become our best friends.

They are the people we hang out with on the weekends.

The people we share our joys and our hurts and concerns with so they can lift us up in prayer.

The people we talk about our kids with and learn about parenting with.

The people we laugh with and learn about God from.

We do life together.
And that is what I think God designed community to be. 

Acts 2:42
"All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord's Supper), and to prayer."

I thank God every day for providing us with this amazing community.

What choice are you thankful for? Are you thankful for choices? Are you part of a "community"? If not, I highly recommend you find your people! 
Don't be afraid to step out. I know you will be glad you did! 

And now it occurs to me that we don't even have a group picture! We need to make that happen! 

The Thankful Project Day 12: Our House

Welcome to day 4 of The Thankful Project. Today's prompt is: An Experience. To learn more about The Thankful Project, find the list of prompts and join in the fun, click {here}.

I'm linking up with Kenzie at Chasing Happy for this post. 

If you're following along with The Thankful Project, you're probably thinking how is a house an opportunity?? After all, today's prompt is to write about "An Opportunity" that you are thankful for.

Well, I guess I've decided to stray from the prompts. Gasp!!

I'm loving the concept of The Thankful Project, but I'm also very thankful for some things that weren't listed in the prompts and I want to share about those too.

So today I'm thankful for our house.

I'm thankful that still being somewhat of newlyweds, we have our own place. We don't live in someone's basement or with our parents. We own a townhouse. It is ours. We can paint and change things up and its fully our place.

Being a townhouse, we are also part of an association and have to pay monthly dues, but we don't have to ever worry about making repairs to the outside of our house, doing the landscaping, or removing the snow. All of our time at home can be spent together in fun. Not that raking leaves isn't fun...I actually wish we got to do that!

But this is about being thankful...

I'm also so thankful that our townhouse is a nice little 2 bedroom. Because of its perfect size I can clean the entire house, top to bottom, in only 1 hour! Meaning our house is cleaned every week on Thursday. Love that! Especially as a new mom with little time its nice to know that I can always squeeze in time to do all the cleaning, even mopping! And mopping and vacuuming is going to only become more important as our active little guy starts to be on the move!

I'm also thankful that our bedroom is so close to Christian's. I still remember that first night he slept in his own room...okay, we slept in there with him the first night. I guess I mean the 2nd night then...
On the 2nd night of him sleeping in his own room he was still close enough that I usually hear his moaning from his room before it even comes across on the baby monitor as cries. I'm thankful that he isn't on a completely different floor than us and is so close.

I'm also thankful that the size of our house limits what we keep. It helps me prioritize and reduce clutter because I am a true hoarder at heart. I see things for what they can become...even if that never becomes a reality. It almost saddens me to throw away paper towel tubes because I know they could one day make such fun crafts for a preschooler. But I digress.

I love our little house. I love that its ours and its clean and its cozy and organized. And I am so thankful that my hubby did such a great job picking it out before he even met me!

What are you thankful for today? 
Is there an opportunity that you are thankful for? 
Or something else? I'd love to hear about it! 

The Thankful Project Day 10: A Memory

Welcome to day 4 of The Thankful Project. Today's prompt is: An Experience. To learn more about The Thankful Project, find the list of prompts and join in the fun, click {here}.

I'm linking up with Kenzie at Chasing Happy for this post. 

Maybe this is more of a place than a memory, but it's the memories that I have at this place that I am so thankful for.

The Ice Rink at Rockefeller Center in New York City. 

This had always been a place that held magic for me. Maybe it was the association with Christmas, but still. I dreamed of one day ice skating at this rink. Now, I'm no professional skater or anything like that, but I do love to ice skate. As I would day dream about someday getting married and going on a honeymoon, the ice rink would always be part of these dreams.

I wanted to go to New York City for my honeymoon someday.

I wanted to see the beautiful Christmas tree all lit up in Rockefeller Center and skate at the ice rink hand in hand with my love. I also wanted to get all dressed up and go to the New York City Ballet and see The Nutcracker. To some extent, I guess I figured the only way I would probably ever get to do something like this would be to go there for my honeymoon. So that was the plan. 

Then I met Jim.

Jim grew up in Upstate New York. He invited me home with him to meet his family the Thanksgiving after we started dating. And guess what!?! Since we would be fairly close to New York City he suggested we take a trip there during our visit to New York. I was beyond thrilled, especially when he said we would even be able to go ice skating at Rockefeller Center!!! I still remember standing in his kitchen {now our kitchen} making dinner as he googled things for us to do in New York City and found out that the ice rink would be open when we would be there!!

Little did I know, getting to visit the ice rink and go skating would be just the tip of the ice berg!

Jim and I had been talking about getting married. We knew that we were each "the one" and that God was leading us towards marriage. But I was fully under the impression that Jim was planning to propose at Christmas {2011}. So as we were ice skating and they asked the skaters to clear the ice, I was not even on to what was going on when they started to play our song.

That's right. Jim and I were skating all alone in the middle of the Rockefeller Center Ice Rink while they played "Wanted" by Hunter Hayes. When we finally made our way to the center of the ice rink {after several protests from me to leave the rink} it finally dawned on me what was happening...
Jim was proposing!!!!

It couldn't have been a more perfect proposal. 
The Ultimate Proposal. 

In fact it was actually filmed by The Ultimate Proposal and aired on Yahoo.  So {with a few edits} we have the whole proposal on video! And following the proposal we also had a {rainy} horse drawn carriage ride through Central Park.

Oh. And The Ultimate Proposal flew our family and one of my best friends in to share the day with us!

If you are curious and want to see the video {click here}.
For even more of the story {click here}

Fast forward about a year {Christmas 2012}. Jim and I had been married for 4 months and were expecting a baby in May!

This year we would be spending Christmas in New York. Sooo once again we decided to take a little trip {Baby Moon} to reminisce about our engagement the year before. After we boarded the plane to New York, Jim handed me a card with some clues in it. It was a surprise! We were going to be getting an ultrasound done at Goldenview Ultrasound in New York City!

At first I was cautious and concerned. Was this place reputable and safe? Duh! My husband is a pro researcher, so of course he had found us a great place and gotten us a super good deal! Our medical ultrasound wasn't supposed to be until January 2nd, but we had wanted to know the sex of our baby for Christmas and we were going to get to find out!

That night, we went to our appointment. Our baby was a little shy at first and kept his legs crossed so we couldn't see the goods right away. But after a little jumping and shaking him around, he uncrossed his legs and voila!

But we didn't find out right then and there. No, no, no. We had to do something more exciting than that. Instead, we had the ultrasound tech write the sex on the back of a Rockefeller Center post card that we had brought with us and also asked her to include a picture that showed us the sex (as well as our millions of other amazing pictures). We then took the postcard and pictures in an envelope to the Ice Rink.

And there we stood, facing the rink where our lives had started an amazing journey together just over a year ago. Slowly, we pulled out the post card...

It's a BOY!! 
We were having a baby boy! 

Such a magical moment and a beautiful memory.

To read the full recap of our Gender Reveal and Baby Moon {click here}

I'm so thankful for these memories and especially for my husband going the extra mile to make these special memories for us. I can't wait to some day go back and skate as a family with our little boy, Christian James, and tell him all about our story and how we found out he would be a boy!

What memory are you thankful for? 

The Thankful Project Day 7: A Job

Welcome to day 4 of The Thankful Project. Today's prompt is: An Experience. To learn more about The Thankful Project, find the list of prompts and join in the fun, click {here}.

I'm linking up with Kenzie at Chasing Happy for this post. 

The job that I am most thankful for actually isn't even a job that I have had.
Instead, its my husband's job.

I am thankful for the job that my husband has at Best Buy Corporate. 

My husband has worked at Best Buy for 10 years now. He has actually worked his way up to where he is from the very bottom. Just over 10 years ago, he started working at Best Buy as a Seasonal Employee. Little did he know that this would eventually become his career. His role has changed over time and he has had several promotions to be where he is today now working at the Corporate Office.

My husband loves his job. He looks forward to going to work every day and enjoys the difference that he is able to make there. The work that he does impacts all Best Buy stores and employees...which is a lot of stores and people! And even more, he is GREAT at what he does.

I'm so thankful that my husband is able to use his gifts in his everyday work. I'm even more thankful for all that Best Buy has done to shape my husband into the man and the worker that he is today.

But even more than all of this, I am thankful for my husband's job because it allows me to fulfill my dreams of being a stay at home mom. I would have said this is the job that I am thankful for, but I don't being a stay at home mom isn't a "job". It's a way of life.

I don't get vacation days or sick days or any days off.

Lunch breaks are non-existent.

Pay is low and days are long.

I do get "nap times"...for now.

But the benefits of being with our little boy every day and getting his every smile and being able to snuggle away his every tear is the best thing I could ever ask for.

And for that I am so thankful.

What job have you had or do you have that you are thankful for? 

The Thankful Project: Day 4: An Experience

Welcome to day 4 of The Thankful Project. Today's prompt is: An Experience. To learn more about The Thankful Project, find the list of prompts and join in the fun, click {here}.

I'm linking up with Kenzie at Chasing Happy for this post. 

Wow. As I reflect, I'm realizing that I've really been blessed with a lot of great experiences for which I am thankful. 

I'm thankful for the opportunity I had to grow up in a small town, knowing pretty much everyone. 

I'm thankful that I was able to spend 6 weeks of my life living in Australia, learning how to share the Gospel. 

I'm thankful that I was able to experience pregnancy - a life growing inside of me. 

And even more, I'm thankful for the experience of motherhood. 

But today, for this post, I'm going to write about my experience in Seminary. 

My time in Seminary wasn't just an "experience". It was a FULL year of my life. A full year that I spent begging God to give me a different story. A different plan for my life. It was a hard year. 

But it was the best year. I grew so much in that one year. And that one year really prepared me for the life that I'm living now as a wife and mother. 

First off, let me just say if you know an amazing Pastor, THANK THEM! Be thankful for them and appreciate the time that they spent in Seminary. Seminary is hard. Before Seminary I thought that Pastors just read the Bible and "heard" from God all day. But "reading the Bible" is so much more than just reading. Getting in depth in the word requires a lot of historical contextual knowledge and understanding of another language. The Bible wasn't written in English after all and translations don't always give the full picture. A word in Greek can mean one thing in one context and a completely different thing in another context. 

Anyway, being a Pastor and studying in Seminary really requires your brain. It pushes your limits, both spiritually and emotionally as you struggle through learning things that you "thought" you knew. 

The Seminary Program which I was attending was actually for Marriage and Family Therapy. I loved my program. It was Biblically sound and encouraged me to explore what I believed and who I was in light of those beliefs. Even more, it encouraged me to explore my own family and who and what had made me the person that I had become. 

Through that year I struggled with a lot. My struggles were not just with the demands of a Graduate Program, although those struggles were definitely big enough. Who knew you were actually supposed to do the readings in Grad School!?!? I never read in college.... Oops. 

Beyond the struggles of balance and finding time to live life and love God and still complete my program successfully, I was also struggling with a lot spiritually and personally. What had I been believing about God my whole life and why? And what about my beliefs about men???

Yep. I learned a lot about my beliefs about men in Seminary. 

Up until my classes in Seminary, I had maybe had 1 or 2 male teachers...Elementary School through College. I was also raised mainly by my mom and grandma so my experiences with men were quite small...and somewhat negative. I viewed men as "incapable" and "in need of a woman's help". 

It wasn't long before my Seminary experience started poking at these thoughts of mine. I didn't trust my male teachers. Since I was doing a Marriage and Family Therapy Program, attending therapy yourself was highly encouraged {almost a requirement}. But let's be real, classes were digging up so much junk in my life that I probably needed the therapy to survive that year! 

It wasn't just the therapy that year, but it was also what I learned about myself and about God that really changed who I was...who I am today. It was this experience that prepared me for meeting the man who would become my husband. Helped me develop skills to learn to have a healthy relationship with him. 

It was even this experience that lead me to Minnesota. If I hadn't come to Minnesota, I know that I wouldn't have met my husband and I wouldn't have my baby boy. And for all of that, I am thankful for that lousy year that I experienced in Seminary and I would do it again in a heart beat. 

What experience have you had that you are thankful for?