A new journey...

Tonight, we went to church. I wasn't in the mood to go, but I had said I would. Brad and the kids wanted to and I knew if I could make myself, I'd enjoy it. So, off we went. I wasn't in the mood to worship God. Don't get me wrong... God is great. He's blessed us with so many things. Yet, I had others on my mind... people who are struggling with things that I don't really understand. Sometimes life just isn't fair and it makes it harder for me to feel like showing God that I appreciate Him. That was my mood walking in the door. Now, the rest of this blog is going to be a little about my personal and spiritual experience, so please don't take it as me shoving my religion down your throat. As a matter of fact, if you think it will offend you, don't keep reading. This is just my experience...

It was a great night for me to go. I'm so thankful that my family wanted to be there. Typically, I am the driving force for us going to church... I'm the one saying, "We're going... period." But, tonight it was my family who knew that I needed to be there, even if they didn't realize it.

When we sat down and they began to read the Bible verses for the evening's service, I knew it was for me. They read about how the Israelites, after having been freed from slavery by the Egyptians, began to complain and "grumble" about their unsatisfactory lives. They spent years faithfully following God, and although they were free from the Egyptians, they were hungry, thirsty, and tired. They began to complain and to threaten to stone Moses and Aaron. The lesson that God taught them was that they should be grateful for their many blessings and pay it forward to bless others. (Obviously, this is all in my own words. If you want to read the scripture, it's Numbers chapter 14).

The lesson was the same for us... be grateful for our many blessings. Share those blessings to bless others.

So, on this evening, when I'm in a sour mood and feeling completely ungrateful, despite my own blessings, I'm struck with this feeling. This feeling that I need to realize how grateful I should be. We all get caught up in our daily problems... we all get caught up in the drama of life and jump on the bandwagon when someone begins the "grumbling." It's easy to get sucked into all of the negativity in the world, even when you have everything in the world to be positive about. So, I'm starting my journey tonight. It's a counting journey. One of the recommendations that the speaker shared tonight was that she and her husband started a blessings journal where they each would write down a few things that they were grateful for from that day. So... my new journey begins. Sometimes I'll blog about these and sometimes I'll just jot them down in a notebook, but it is one of those things that I'm hoping will help me realize how wonderful life is. And, maybe I'll feel more grateful and eager to go to church, even on a day when it seems like I keep hearing the negatives of the world. :)

Here's my starting point...

My blessings for today:

Blessing 1: I woke up to a screaming alarm clock, one kid on each arm, and no husband in sight. Blessing? Well, I remember my hubby giving me a kiss before he left. A minor daily gesture, but one that I miss every morning that it doesn't happen.

Blessing 2: We drove Bailey to school, dropped her off, and made our way back home. When we got here, Jake cuddled up in my arms on the couch. We sat here relaxing, watching a movie when he looked up and told me he loved me.

Blessing 3: I pulled up to Bailey's school to pick her up at the car line and she came bursting out the door, waving as big as she could. She was smiling ear to ear. It was wonderful to see her smiling... especially because I knew it was all for us.

Bad things happen to good people everyday. I'm sure that won't change because I'm remembering the good things in my life. I just hope that maybe it will make me cherish these things even more. Remind me of this when I'm grumbling. :)