Be Thankful For What You Have

Yesterday the daily devotion I received was entitled "Be Thankful For What You Have". It's funny how God works. I really have learned through our journey what this means.

Colossians 3:15 (New Living Translation)
And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful.

So often we can get caught up in our problems and forget about all the good things in life. This is not where God wants us. His Word tells us to always be thankful.

When I started reading this devotion I started thinking about how many people I know that have lost children. Recently, Dave's cousin Kristin, who by the way is continuing to improve. Praise God! Her husband Sean, a wonderful God sent man, was writing this morning about how he realizes what a miracle it is that Kristin is alive. Have you heard that Jesus is still performing miracles today!!! Now why God chose to save Kristin and not their son, I don't know. Please pray for Sean and Kristin. As Kristin is healing, she is also becoming more alert and will be coming into the realization of what happened. As of yesterday, Sean was not sure what she could remember and they had not started to process this tragedy.

www.caringbridge.org/visit/seanpeterson

The Olson Family are never far from my thoughts. They lost 2 children to a terrible disease. Shannon is quite an amazing woman. Her heart aches for her children, yet she continues to use her pain to help others. KARE 11 recently did a story on her and standing in the next room listening to what she was saying was heartbreaking. Yet what she's doing is simply amazing. You can watch the video by clicking here.


If you would like to help donate to these gift bags, visit their caringbridge site for details.

What I am constantly reminded of is that I am blessed. I am thankful for what I have. My perspective has changed greatly in the past few years. Do we have our hard times? Absolutely! I'm grateful that I have a God who promises never to forsake me. He will always walk with me, love me and hold me. What I have learned is that if I continue to focus on my problems or on what I don't have, I lose sight of what I do have. I have a small amount of time here on earth and I have much to accomplish.

I will choose to walk in joy. I will choose to be thankful for each and every problem I face. I will choose to seek God and trust in Him for every situation. I will choose not to live in a pit, but instead will choose to soar like the eagle God created me to be. The eagle who soars above the storm. And of course, I will choose to ask God for His help to do all of these things!

Have a blessed day!

Christine

FFF - Summer Memories

This weeks FFF Theme is Summer Memories. There were so many memories this summer, I could post pictures forever! To view more FFF or to participate go to Kiss The Frog 4 Me.

In order to narrow it down, I did not post about stuff in earlier posts. I love summer time. For one, the weather is beautiful. We really had a nice summer this year. It goes by so quickly. It's fun to be able to sleep in and watch cartoons with my kiddos in the morning.


Here are some of our Summer '08 memories:

We celebrated Grandpa Bob's Birthday!

We celebrated Mitchell's birthday at Grandpa & Grandma U's cabin. Which brings to mind the memory of mommy scheduling surgery on Mitchell's birthday! How does one do that??? Be careful about asking that, right Cindy? :) ha, ha!

The kids absolutely LOVE going to the cabin. They caught lots of fish this year!

We went swimming at a lot of hotels. Here's Mitch when I asked for a pose...he decided he'd pose while jumping in! :)
One of my favorite things every summer is the 4th of July Parade! The kids love waiting for the candy!

We then went to our friend's Cindy and Greg's house for swimming and smores!

And the finale...FIREWORKS!

Hailey got her ears pierced. What a production that was!

Fun at the park taking pictures of my two oldest girls!

The Hosanna! Campout - the kids highlight is watching a movie under this big tent!

A big accomplisment for me...climbing a 100' Fire Tower. Considering I'm deathly afraid of heights! We spent a week at Many Point Family Scout Camp. Thanks to another one of God's blessings that came from the Richard's Family!

I included this picture of the kids "attempting" to wash my van. The reason is that it is taken at my parents house. A huge and very important memory is that God always provides. This memory was provided through my parents. They let us live with them for almost a year! No small task when you're talking about a family of 6!!! We will never be able to thank them enough for providing a roof over our heads when we were going through one of our darkest storms. It truly was a blessing. We love you very much mom and dad!

Celebrating Mackenzie's birthday and the girls success at their gymnastics competition. We celebrated with Grandma & Grandpa U and Grandpa Bob and newest Grandma Debra, and our newest friends Marybeth, Randy and their children.

Mackenzie's 11th birthday!

Our "Riojas" Family Reunion

The kids fishing in our back yard! They catch a ton of fish off the dock.

Fun times in the hot tub.

Of course, lots of digging in the sand!

The "bonus" part of this post is that you're supposed to choose ONE picture that summarizes your summer best. Well, I had to choose TWO.

This picture reminds me of God's promises to us. He is so faithful and has provided for us through even the darkest storms. We are so blessed!

Genesis 9:13 says "I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth".

This is a reminder of God's beauty and blessings. Like this sunset is the beautiful ending of a day, this picture is the beautiful ending of a wonderful summer!

This scripture sums up my feelings:

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Colossians 3:15 NLT

I am so thankful for my friends, my family, and my husband. But most of all I'm thankful for Jesus and His peace that washes over me.

Christine