365 days of thankfulness-changing my life perspective

Every year we take a whole month out of the year to be thankful. Not gonna knock it, but I have realized how foolish we are to really only focus for such a short time on our blessings. To top it off the month following counting our blessings we spend the whole month buying gifts for our family and friends (ourselves), and if we are honest we typically over do it.

 I knew I needed to find a way to change this problem. And, the place to start the fix was to start with the person I can change; me.
And as I prayed and thought long and hard over this for months on how I could change me I came to a solid conclusion of what I needed to do. My conclusion is:
365 Days of Thankfulness.

This means every day for a full year I have to name one thing I am thankful for that I have not named previously in the year. So if day one I say, "my husband" I can not say my husband again all year.

The world is constantly surrounded with negative and many times it is hard for us to remember there are so many things to be thankful for to remind us how blessed we are to be alive. to make the world a more joyful place I need to focus on the blessings and not on the negative circumstances around me.  Happiness  is a moment of satisfaction that is fleeting.

Joy is a choice, a state of the heart that can last forever!
I choose joy! No matter my circumstances I choose joy!

2015 the year I choose to change my own perspective! With changing my own perspective I pray that my attitude of gratefulness will encourage and challenge others to do the same.

HERE IS TO 2015- The most joy-filled year yet!

January 1: Thankful for new beginnings. Isaiah 43:18&19a "forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See I am doing a new thing!"
January 2: I'm thankful God's love and not just His love but that he has blessed me with love from others, my husband, kids, parents, siblings and friends. Still is a mystery to me how much God loves me and yet He blesses me with extra love by adding all the other people in my life to help me experience it daily.
January 3: My husbands patience, not just with me and my kids but with all people.
January 4: Snow!! I don't care if I see snow over 6 months out of the year. Each fresh snowfall is always just as beautiful as the one before it and the one before that. Such a great reminder for me. (Isaiah 1:18)
January 5: Forgiveness, it is both freeing to give and receive
January 6: Fires: They are warm, bright, unique and a great reminder of one of my favorite verses I Peter 1:7
January 7: Saving Grace https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=geqpE4nYFCU this song was what made me come back to believing there was a purpose for Jesus death and even if the people around me didn't live this way it was the way I wanted to live. You could say I blame this song for coming back to living my life of faith... it became more about love than anything else.
January 8: Toddler giggles; that sounds just makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.
January 9: A husband who has cooking/cleaning abilities and is not afraid of using them :) (makes for an easier rest time when I need a sick day)
January 10: The idea of marriage. The bond between a husband and a wife was created by God to bring glory to God. Marriage is not just a good thing it's a GREAT thing!
January 11: The Bible. No matter my mood It has been a source of comfort and of correction when ever I am in need. The more I read it the more I understand God and my need for a savior. The more I understand that the more I understand how to be loving to the world.
January 12: Pathways (our home church) Where freedom and truth are spoken into our lives on a weekly basis.
January 13: Music
January 14: Skype; it's so much easier to keep in touch with my sister and family on the other side of the world.
January 15: The couples life group we are apart of each week
January 16: The promise of Heaven; being united with Jesus and our friends and family.
January 17: Our kids awesome God parents! I love spending time with them and all the time they spend with our kids.
January 18: Doctors who care for my kids when they are sick
January 19: nights filled with laughter of my kids. Tickle games are the best ever!
January 20: My husbands amazing job. They are family oriented and all about enjoying what you do.
January 21: Our home. The story of getting it, and the amazing reminder daily of how God not only provides but goes all out to provide for His children!
January 22: The two vehicles that we have. We've been blessed with both of them to work well and to not have issues!
January 23: Pictures. Especially ones of my children and husband, they capture moments so I can look back on bad days and remember the joy :)
January 24: Silence
January 25: Christian sister's in Christ who pray for me and with me
January 26: Emotional and Spiritual healing
January 27: Restful mornings
January 28: Lego's... countless hours of family fun with no arguing! What's not to love?
January 29: Essential oils... and all the people who convinced me to try them out! Seriously in love
January 30: the gift of crochet. It keeps me busy and gives me a goal to start and finish giving me the feeling of being accomplished and proud I actually created something for someone
January 31: Our House! a constant reminder the details of how much God takes care of more than our needs he sometimes will satisfy our wants
February 1: My parents.we may not always see eye to eye on everything but if it weren't for them I wouldn't be where I am today.
February 2: Coffee!! Caffeine in general makes me happy :)
February 3: My sister. She has been a constant companion and friend in my life, one who I have always and will continue to always look up too.
February 4: My oldest brother Dan. He's one of those guys that picks on me ruthlessly but I wouldn't have it any other way. I know at any point if I need a defender he would be the first to do that for me.
February 5: My brother David. He's always been there for me to talk to and look out for me. Even though I am older and married and have my own kids he still maintains that older brother protective nature.
February 6: My little brother Stephen. He is also one of those guys that doesn't shove his brilliance down my throat. He just loves me for me and encourages me a lot to just be who God made me to be.
February 7: Educational books
February 8: My Piano
February 9: My voice-being able to raise my voice in song always relieves stress and tension even if only for the moment
February 10: My one and only beautiful daughter! She is and always will be our little Rae of Sunshine. Smiles and giggles and full of such mystery and girlie attitudes. I wouldn't trade her for anything. She is perfect just the way she is. our family was blessed beyond measure the day she was added to our family.
February 11: The women's ministry team at our church. I may be the youngest on the team but I am also the luckiest to be working with those who pass on such grace and wisdom.
February 12: My oldest sons school teacher.
February 13: My mother and father in law. They raised the best guy EVER!
February 14: Valentines day, the day set aside to celebrate the best gift any of us have ever recieved, love! Single or married we have all experienced it with at least a few humans, our parents, siblings, teachers, kids, or even our amazing friends. Everyone has someone they love and have been loved by.
February 15: Double Dates. They are simply amazing if you pick the right couple to hang out with.
February 16: The ability to exercise
February 17: Thomas the Train, those toys keep my kids playing and smiling for hours.
February 18: crochet, it's the only 'crafty' thing I can say I really enjoy doing
February 19: Vacation
February 20: my husbands co-workers who make a 4 day weekend away even more enjoyable
February 21: Hotel Swimming pools on a freezing cold winter day
February 22: DVD Players built into our van. They make road trips much more tolerable than they were for my parents back in the day
February 23: Grandpa Dave and Grandma Deb. They are wonderful grandparents to our children and great friends to my husband and myself. (They are the 'adopted' grandparents)
February 24: Tax returns! Who doesn't like a little extra cash?
February 25: Pod Casts from our church so if I miss a service I can still hear it and stay on target with the rest of the people I gather with on Sundays
February 26: cell phones, as much as I dislike them I also know they are the best way to keep in touch with family and make me feel safe when traveling distances
February 27: game days. It's so cold this winter I have been able to spend lots and lots of quality time with my little's playing games they enjoy.
February 28: lazy Saturday mornings with the family
March 1: The atmosphere that comes with the prospects of spring. Peoples moods seem just a bit lighter and the smiles stay just a bit longer
March 2: Tea Kettles. The sound, though it can be loud, is also a very welcoming sound of home and something warm. It always makes me smile.
March 3: My husbands love and knowledge of computers. Without him, I would be so lost in the world of technology.
March 4: Time, I have been blessed with an exuberant amount of time to help others and listen to them
March 5: A happy marriage. Not that we don't ever have issues once in a while but we are actually happily married. We enjoy each others company and miss each other when we don't get to have our QT.
March 6: Surprises! And my husband is the best at planning them out for me.
March 7: My older brother got to visit with a few of his girls
March 8: being an Aunt. Seriously I love hanging out with my nieces
March 9: Painting therapy.  I love painting our home.
March 10: The excitement in the air that spring is on it's way!
March 11: Field Trips I am so thankful for field trips cuz they make Alex super excited
March 12: My friend Ashley! She is amazing and funny and sweet and a great listener. She's a one of a kind.
March 13: I am thankful my husband gets to work from home a lot. He is around all the time and helps keep my sanity with the kids when I am having a bad day.
March 14: Berries. I love berries!
March 15; Daily devotions. Starting the day off right is always a way to keep my day filled with a different Spirit!
March 16: The gift of prayer. Being able to talk to God any time, any where about anything is truly a blessing. Mad, happy, emotional or feeling free I can pray.
March 17: God's Grace. He provides so many things for me even when I don't deserve it.
March 18: Quite, being forced to be quiet and still is a good thing in my world when I normally don't get much of it.
March 19: Forgiveness.
March 20: Clean water. Often I take this one for granted but it's true, clean water isn't something a lot of the world actually has access too.
March 21: The ability to work with my hands
March 22: The prospect of Heaven where I will be able to see many friends for eternity
March 23: My oldest son's school teacher
March 24: Swing sets... because the kids get along for hours
March 25: I'm thankful for moments to watch the snow melt
March 26: I am thankful for my son's spring break. A week of him being home with us will be nice!
March 27: I am thankful for my specific place of prayer. I pray anywhere and everywhere but the one place I always go in the mornings is just a bit extra special
March 28: I am thankful for the fact my kids get along most days. I know a lot of parents complain about their kids not getting along a lot and mine have their moments of that but they aren't often
March 29: I am thankful for our lead pastor at our church. He preaches what God tells him to without an agenda to his own plans
March 30: I am thankful for Monday Mornings. I know most people don't like them but I typically love them!
March 31: The power of prayer!
April 1; I am very thankful for April first, though there are a ton of jokes, it's also my little brothers birthday!! April Fools would be so boring without him :)
April 2: Shopping at Kohl's when they actually have real sales with a 30% off coupon.
April 3: Good Friday, because if Jesus wasn't willing to be the sacrifice our lives would be for nothing
April 4: Per, and Audrey, the two children who I met ten years ago to be their nanny. They taught me so much about life and love.
April 5: Resurrection Sunday! So thankful that God loved us so much He gave His one and only Son to die for the sins of the world, so He could raise up back to life and conquer sin and death!
April 6: I'm thankful my 2 littlest ones still take naps in the afternoon. It gives me time to talk with God and work on what He has called me to do.
April 7: I'm thankful today for the construction truck in front of our house. They  may be making a lot of noise but the joy that my kids have been expressing all day from watching it is worth it.
April 8: Social Media. It is an easy way for me to see what happens in the lives of my siblings and their kids as they live so far away. And it's a great way to stay in touch with old friends who also live so far away.
April 9: The first roll of thunder in spring! Getting woken up to it was an added bonus! I love the sounds of spring in the air... literally
April 10: Friday night family movie night! It's always something we all look forward to at the end of every week.
April 11 Saturday mornings when my kids let me sleep in!
April 12: Serving at our church. I love the opportunity to help people and meet new faces each week.
April 13: Coffee beans covered in chocolate... need I really explain why I am thankful for this?? :D
April 14: Being blessed with the ministry God has asked me to do and opened all the doors to get things moving.
April 15: Our mini van. I never thought I would be thankful for a mini van but seriously it's a huge blessing to own one and to be able to use it to serve my kids and other people
April 16: The grass is turning green!! It's becoming soft to walk in again!
April 17: The ability to landscape my own yard. I love working iwth  my husband and kids to make our yard our own. It's fun to work together and dream up new ideas.
April 18: Double date nights with our kids godparents! Such an amazing couple and I get to hang with my main man
April 19: Sunday naps... because it means an afternoon of getting to chat with  my husband and just relax.
April 20: April showers.... there better be may flowers from this day :D
April 21: Finding the perfect stylists for my kids hair cuts. As trivial as this may seem it really is a blessing that I have found someone that each of my kids will sit for and don't cry at all. Easier said than done with three little's who all have different personality types.
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The greatest of all gifts to give

Christianity today has allowed us to surrounded ourselves with the right actions, the right things to say, and the right way to make ourselves feel worth while. We focus a lot on how we can serve God. We focus on how forgiving and merciful and full of grace he is (or at least that is the lingo we use).

These things are great to focus on, but if Christ is truly reigning in our every day life then why do we focus so hard trying to convince ourselves and others of how true these traits are?
What I am saying is many of us talk a good talk, but our words are empty to our own ears, and our actions will always speak louder than our words.
So, to make sure we stay on the straight and narrow we often take classes to learn, to keep growing, and often as soon as a class ends we are full of knowledge of how things should be but do not actually put them into action on a daily basis.

Now I know I have benefited from classes and learning experiences where I strive to educate myself on what God desires of me as a person under his authority and leadership. I take classes to be encouraged and hear more of how to apply Gods word to my every day life. I've taken test to find out what my best gifts are, sought where his purpose is for me and all the details of how I could best be used with my personality to serve God. 

I have learned and taken some serious time to study with and even under a few others who have some of the same gifts and interests in learning and developing their gifts as I do.
But taking tests, and learning haven't always gotten me anywhere. I have studied and learned until I was blue in the face, to the point maybe of over doing it.

I got so caught in the mundane studying of these different gifts I have and how to best use them that I have forgotten to use the most important gift of all.
This gift is not listed in a spiritual gifts test or even in a personality test. .  It is the most important gift any of us have and yet we never list it as a gift or personally trait we have. 

When we have Jesus it is the gift we often times forget to even portray effectively. We use the term a lot and I mean a lot!! But yet, so many of us never see it as a gift, let alone our main gift. 

We have people who excel in having the gift of faith, or healing, or speaking in tongues, or prophecy, or knowledge, or wisdom, or teaching, or preaching, or hospitality, encouragement, peacemaker, or the gift of giving or maybe some claim to excel in all of these areas as  they have devoted themselves to be well trained and well versed.

 But I tell you the scripture is very clear; though you may have all these gifts if you do not have and practice and hold tight to the one that is most important you are only a cymbal, a resounding gong, you are nothing!

I Corinthians 13:1-3

"If I speak in tongues of men and if angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I posses to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing."

I have been going to church a long long time. I have been taught from birth about Christianity. But I have also traveled a road where I was running away from God. And I can tell you this, no one who is great in any of the above areas mention prophecy, gifts, faith, speaking in tongues, none of those things would have ever been what made me choose to come back to have a relationship with God. The thing that brought me back wasn't Gods amazing power to give me those gifts.
What brought me back was His love! His never ending ability to love me, chase me and call me his! I was His, no matter how far I ran or how many times I pushed him away. He loved me no matter what my faults. His love, and only His ability to love me was what brought me back to my need for him to be my Savior and Lord.

All the gifts in the world won't bring people to an understanding of the love they are looking for. The only way for people to understand the type of love they are missing out on is for us to be that love to them and to everyone.
People aren't going to walk into your church knowing that is where they are to find what they are missing. That is why we are the salt of the earth, the light on a hill. (Matthew 5:13&14) We are to shine the love everywhere to help people know and see the light of the love they need and want  is something we have. But don't leave them in the dark wishing they could have your light, show them the flame can be theirs too! Give them the gift of the Love of Jesus that you posses.

We may have gifts but we need to share the most important gift God gave each of us the moment we asked Jesus to be king of our lives and that is HIS love. 

It's not something that can be forced or faked, it's not something we can talk about and claim to have and understand. It is the ability to let it spill over, to let it just flow off of you. 

When filled with God's love and using that gift as your first gift to give it will only enhance your ability, understanding and desire to use the other gifts you have been given appropriately. 

When you put the gift of love first you will never prophecy in bluntness, you will use encouraging words that will be genuine not forced or just said out of habit. Your faith will be made stronger, your ability to speak any language will be made more beautiful and any other gifts will just be made better, more sincere, less showy. 

You won't be doing those things just because they are the right things to do anymore and you get another gold star because you did another great task for Jesus (even when you didn't want too). You will be doing those things because you will want too. They will gladly flow out of your heart and soul. The fruit of the Spirit which all starts with LOVE will just happen because you are filled with the greatest love that everyone on earth is looking for. 

So as we set up our trees, greet people with those smiles and put on the "Christmas spirit" instead of being ritualistic in our actions lets just ask God to really have us focus on the real gift he gave all of us! The gift of love. Tis the season to give to all but this year, let's learn the gift and give the gift and never give up sharing the most important gift we all forget we have. Let the gift of giving that love still exist come the 1st of the year and tax season and St Patrick's day and Easter and the 4th of July and may we make 2015 a year where love was the theme of our year. The year where Christians were known for their gift of sharing Love to all the world. 

Give the gift of love.
Seek to practice it and grow it more than you would wisdom, discernment, knowledge, faith, speaking in tongues, healing or any other gift we desire to have. 

Put on love, and keep it on! May you never take it off but may it always flow from you to all!