Being Thankful

I often think that others have great ideas, and I sometimes intend to put those ideas into practice. Yet most of the time, I rarely follow through with those good intentions.

One of the ideas I'd like to try to copy is a month of gratitude. The past few years, I've seen people all over the blogosphere keeping a list of things that they are thankful for throughout the month of November. So... here is my attempt:

November 1

Today I am thankful for my husband who works hard at making his family a priority. He has been through some stressful changes this year, but one of the things that he has realized throughout the struggle is how important his family is to him. So, one of his new goals has been to limit his time away from his family and to invest in us. I think that is a big gift for him to give to us, especially to his son, who seemed pretty confused this summer when his daddy was away from us for 5 weeks to train for a really stressful job. I know that lots of people are away from their families for years serving in the military. I don't mean to belittle their experience by saying that our struggle was SO hard. I really have no idea how those families cope. . It seems like it would be SO hard. To us, however, the last three months with that job were the most stressful we've ever experienced. Donnie decided to quit his job because he was away from us so much and because when he was home, he was preparing for his job or anxious and completely wiped out. So now, he has a job which does not require him to bring work home. Regular hours and only a 15 minute commute. He is returning to himself and is working on finding ways to spend quality time with Dawson and I. So thankful!

Daily Reading 13

"A prophet is honored everywhere except in his hometown and with his own people and in his own home." -Mark 6:4

"And he was amazed at their lack of faith." -Mark 6:6

So, I'm really far behind in my daily readings. It has been a week since I sat down to read and reflect. So, here we are, picking back up with the topic of Jesus' family.

I had never thought about Jesus' family much except for his mother and his father. He had siblings, though. Just like every family, they had their imperfections. I don't think that his family really was able to understand who he really was. I know that Mary and Joseph had been told that he was the Son of God. Don't you think they would probably have shared that with their kids?

When Jesus went out, no one from his hometown, including his family was very supportive. When he was being dragged off to die by people from his own community, his brothers weren't even around. Could it be that they knew who he was, but they were embarrassed? They didn't think the way that he did. They probably didn't agree with what he was doing by willingly going to die.

Lots of times, we wish that someone else understood. We have these ideas about how someone should act or think or respond to us. We do this a lot with family or close friends. I think what Jesus teaches us in this story is that we can't let the behavior of someone else control our own behavior. We can't demand that someone else think or feel or act the way that we think they should. Even family.

This is a hard concept to swallow. Jesus also tells us that we have family in our fellow believers. This is our spiritual family. When it comes to understanding each other spiritually, we can find that in others who are taking steps on their spiritual journey as well.

Even though it is hard sometimes to be in the middle of family stuff, we still have ways to connect with others and our Heavenly Father.

Max Lucado Daily Reading 5

"And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon him." -Luke 2:40

Mr. Lucado discusses the first time that Jesus is acting upon the knowledge of who he is - God in human form. His parents have been traveling on a return trip home after visiting Jerusalem. They realize after 3 days that he is not with them. They look for him at relatives' homes and friends' houses, but do not think to look at the temple. Max points out that this is the first place that our Lord goes. He goes there first, showing us that we can do the same. In this visit, Jesus astounds many thinkers that are much older and have had more education. AND, even though he senses this call on his life, he returns home with his family. He spends time living with, taking care of , and focusing on them.

First of all, it amazes me to think that it took three days for Mary and Joseph to notice that their son was missing from their traveling group. There must have been a lot of people in that caravan! Reading this today, it does not surprise me that Jesus was in the temple. But then again, I only have a few pages to read, between his birth and this story. We have the benefit of reading the summary of what happened... Angels appeared announcing the arrival of the Messiah and we can quickly find out about how Jesus grows up and teaches people about the love of God. Mary and Joseph didn't have that knowledge. They were frantic, looking for their missing child. If I stop to think about it, this makes complete sense. Who wouldn't be frantic?

It also caught me off guard to think about how Jesus did spend a lot of his life at home with his family. It wasn't until in his early thirties that he went and gathered the disciples to help him tell about God's story to others. He really cared for his family. He made them a priority and helped them understand. What made the most sense to me was the line where Max asked, "What makes you think they'll believe you overseas if they don't believe you across the hall?" Lots of times, I need guidance because I am scared to start a conversation about spiritual things. I think I should try focusing on my actions, though first.