A Sacrifice of Praise... Overtime!

    Have you ever noticed how many times we are instructed to praise in God's word? I mean really, why would God not just expect us to praise Him when we feel grateful and let us off the hook when life gets rough? I'm beginning to realize (yes, again... how many times must I learn the same lesson!?) that sometimes, giving praise because of the trial in my life brings a greater blessing. 

    Lately, I've had no trouble finding things to praise God for... a relaxing afternoon hosting a beloved missionary family, a peaceful evening playing board games with my kiddos, my husband's renewed health to return to work after an extended illness... the blessings have been flowing heavily around here! 

    So why, tonight, did I find myself grasping at straws to write in my gratitude journal? It wasn't that rough of a day. Pretty relaxing, really. My girls and I read aloud together, I made some yummy home-cooked meals, nothing broke down, and there wasn't even any teenager conflict like sometimes rears its ugly head! I'm blessed! So why couldn't I think of something to put into words?
  
    Because God wanted more from me today. He wanted a sacrifice of praise today. He wasn't going to let me off the hook with the typical blessings today. It was time for me to dig deeper into my soul and obey His order to give thanks in everything! So, here goes...

    Disclaimer: If you're a military spouse, or someone whose spouse truly works long hours, you have my respect! But for me, anything longer than an eight-hour shift sets me to counting the minutes for my husband's return. Today, my challenge was to thank God for overtime. It hasn't been too long since I was worried about whether my husband would ever be well enough to return to work full-time. God has restored his health completely! And just a few weeks before that, we were going over the budget with a fine-tooth comb, trying to figure out how to keep loose ends together until "overtime season" returned. So I'm grateful today. On this, a beautiful Saturday that passed peacefully without incident, I'm grateful that my husband spent nearly twelve hours at work. I'm grateful that he missed out on going to a mystery shop for dinner with me and four of the kids. I'm grateful that we had to play our nightly round of skip-bo without his competitive hand or his wry humor. I'm grateful that I snuggled down into a cold bed, shivering until my heating blanket warmed up, while he was finishing his last flight at work. And I'm especially grateful that my husband is a hard-worker who doesn't complain about the longer days!

    I'm not saying "thank you" because I feel like it, but because it is the right thing to do. Again, I know many of you suffer far worse than this, especially if your husband works out of town or out of the country. You have my undying respect and gratitude. But for me, this is what God asked of me today, to sacrifice by thanking Him for my husband's work schedule. 

    What are you grateful for today? Let me know in the comments below. I look forward to hearing from you!

The most hurtful thing we can do to God...

Happy Valentines' Day! I hope you received an extra-special blessing from someone today, and that you were able to show God's love in a personal way to someone in your life.  On the radio today, I heard something that I really identified with, and it stopped me in my tracks. The host said, "The most hurtful thing we can do to God is to doubt His love for us." Before I was a parent, I think I would have taken issue with the way that was worded. However, as a step-parent and a parent, I think I understand exactly what was meant by that statement. I think the most hurtful thing my kids have said to me has been along the lines of "You don't even love us. You're just in this for what you can get out of it." As ludicrous as these statements are to those outside of our home, they still cause me pain, in part because there is simply no way to "prove" one's love to those who refuse to accept it. If someone chooses to see my actions as self-serving, nothing I can do will cause them to believe otherwise. In the same way, God surrounds us with His love and the product of that love: friends, family, circumstances, even beautiful sunrises and spring breezes! Yet, if we choose to believe that He does not love us, He does not choose to force Himself on us. I think that it must hurt Him, though.

I think the second most hurtful thing is to simply be ignored. Instead of someone actively accusing me of not loving them, sometimes I simply feel as though I don't exist, or that I exist only to the extent as any other household staff might exist. I pick them up, feed them, clean house, etc... just like anyone they could pay to take my place. In the same way, we can treat God as though He exists only for our pleasure. We come to expect a beautiful spring morning, and refuse to thank Him for the gift that it is. We anticipate the love of our children and spouse, but fail to show gratitude for the special way He has blessed us.

I pray today, as I am reminded of these truths, not only that I will acknowledge the place God has at the center of my life, but also that I will continually accept and reflect His awesome love to those He has brought across my path. I pray the same for you.