a thankful heart.

gratitude is something that i strive to cultivate constantly. in my own heart, in the hearts and minds of the children i work with during the week, and in the spirit of our home. i learned more and more about the practice of gratitude when i was involved in our recovery ministry at our church in dallas. life just always looks better--our struggles look a bit less overwhelming--when we focus our hearts on a spirit of thanksgiving.

melody beattie is one of my favorite authors in the counseling realm. i've recommended her books to just about every adult i've worked with because i've gleaned so much from them myself (language of letting go is one of my all time favorites... go check it out; amazing!). she has this to say about gratitude:

"gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. it turns what we have into enough, and more. it turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. it can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow."

don't those words just sink right into your bones? i love them. keeping a thankful spirit is something i *try* to do on a regular basis. it helps me keep fear, worry, doubt and a spirit of wanting more at bay. it helps me focus on jesus, and not on the things of this world (which is a daily battle). my sweet mother-in-law keeps a gratitude journal, and i've learned so much about this gratitude-thing from her. i started doing a weekly entry on my blog, "multitude monday", to record all the things--the small, simple things--that make me so thankful and feel so blessed.

these past few weeks have been very challenging ones for my family and i. as i've written about in the past, my father is waiting on a liver transplant, and due to complications has been at a hospital in boston for over two weeks now. i've found that these challenging times and the struggles in our lives are the perfect exercise for our gratitude muscles. will we fold in to the temptation to give up because life feels too hard? or will we dig our heels in and pray for god's grace, asking him to raise us out of the dark, slimy pit and give us wings of hope?

i believe cultivating a heart of gratitude is that hope in the dark--and otherwise hopeless--seasons of life.

left to my own accord, i can be a huge wallow-er. i can get overwhelmed when life gets hard or painful. and when i get overwhelmed, i shut down. that's where god's grace comes in. so... since i've missed the past few "multitude mondays" and this has been on my heart for a few days, here is my gratitude list from recent days:

- i am thankful for our road trips to boston. maybe not for the reason for which we travel, but the time together. and for pictures like this:

- i am thankful for whole foods. one of my absolute favorite-ist stores ever. and the fact that there's one right behind the hotel we've been staying at, and we've been there every day that we've been in boston. lots and lots of fresh fruit, their beautiful fresh flower section, good coffee and their yummy cinnamon rolls.

- i am thankful that last weekend bella and jude had their first sleepover in a hotel together... which included:

jumping on the beds

their first mcdonalds happy meals

and their first ice cream sundaes

- i am thankful for the crisp, invigorating fall air that refreshes us and reminds us of new things to come.

- i am thankful for boston... how beautiful, old and historic it is. so nostalgic. and for our meals in the north end (boston's little italy), which is my favorite spot in my favorite city.

- i am thankful to get to visit with my dad... even if he's not himself. i'm thankful for the memories i have of him and the father he has been to us. nothing can ever take that away. not even a liver disease.

- i am thankful for the first snow... and watching my sweet girl gaze out the window in wonder (in her footie pajamas, which just makes everything that much cuter!)

- i am thankful for my sweet husband who holds me when i cry, who is patient with me when i am short, who serves me and helps me when i am too tired to do one.more.thing.

- i am thankful for this sweet baby growing inside of me! for a good doctors appointment this week and for bella being able to see her brother or sister in action on the ultrasound screen :) ("baby! baby! BABY!" is one of her now most spoken phrases, as she points to her belly...)

- i am thankful for hope that is not of this world.

- i am thankful for these trials that have brought our family closer, made us depend on jesus more deeply, shown us just how many people are for us, and reminded us what life is all about.

thank you, jesus, for your grace in this moment. thank you for helping us cultivate thankful hearts... may it be true not only during this thanksgiving season, but every day all year long. even in the hard times.