Blessings

Okay, it has been a while since I've written. Actually, our friends just had triplets and I've been spending all my "blog" time reading the updates about their little ones' progress. They are doing remarkably well, and it has been a joy for us to see God at work through this amazing blessing in their lives.

This leads me to my topic for today: blessings. It's easy for me to look at the birth of healthy babies and say, "what a blessing!" But today I was challenged to see God's blessings in my daily life - and who better to challenge me than my eight-year old!

I love to watch HGTV, and in the middle of one of the shows I was watching, they used the term "Dream Home." Stefan happened to be in the room at the time and asked, "What's a dream home?"

"The house you've always wanted to live in," I replied.

"Is this our dream home?" He asked.

"Well, it's not a mansion," I answered, "but yes, you could say it's our dream home."

"So the second house you live in is your dream home?" (This is the second house he has lived in during his life.)

"Not necessarily," I said. "Some people never get to live in their dream home."

"I guess we should be really thankful, then." Out of the mouths of babes...

"Yes, we should."

I'll admit, I have a tendency to look at our house and see the things I wish we could do: finish the basement, build a deck, add some landscaping. I forget how blessed we are to have such a lovely home. In fact, I forget how blessed I am in a lot of other areas, too.

So here are just a few of the blessings for which I am praising God today:

• A cross, some nails, a crown of thorns, and blood that was willingly spilled by a loving Savior
• The faith of an eight-year-old
• A husband who loves and serves God wholeheartedly and is also devoted to his family
• The wonder of eight- and six-year-old boys
• A Christian school that teaches biblical foundations
• A church that worships with passion and a country that gives us the freedom to do so
• The gift of music and the ability to use it for God's service
• The chance to be part of an awesome outreach like Youth Haven, where kids experience God's love
• A beautiful new home for my family
• Never having to send my children to bed hungry
• A car that is safe and dependable (and gets good gas mileage!)

These are a few of my blessings. What are you thankful for?