Thursday, March 19, 2009

Grumpy or Grateful?

I woke up on the proverbial wrong side of the bed this morning, or couch as it may be (my small bed was filled with children and pets). Little things continued to irritate me all morning (like, why do I have to request forms from the school be in English when I live in an English speaking country? In France, would the schools send home everything in English for me? Not very PC, but you can see how this morning was getting out of hand!) By the time I got to work and spilled coffee on my shirt (grrrrr), I was pretty much done with and downright angry at the world, shaking my fist in rage! But this is no fun! So I opened my gmail, and there was my daily Christian inspiration. Well, said I to myself (silently, because my co-workers already think I am insane), if ever I needed some Christian inspiration, today was surely the day.

The topic, timely as always, was “Grumbling or Grateful?” with the following scripture:
"Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise: be thankful unto Him, and bless His name." Psalm 100:4

Me, grumbling? Why, yes I am. It was a very good devotion. It ended with the following sentence: “Go through the alphabet and thank the Lord for something beginning with each letter and choose to be grateful.”

So I started to do this, and by the time I got to the letter I, I felt much better. So I thought I would share with you the 26 things for which I am grateful. If you are feeling grumpy, why not try this exercise too.

A – Air, fresh sweet air.
B – My bed (when I get to sleep in it).
C – Coffee. Thank you, Lord for coffee!
D – Dave, my husband.
E – The Pooh, my sweet daughter.
F – Family, mine, who love and support me.
G – Grace, for without it, I would be a wretch.
H – Hope. I am grateful that I am hopeful.
I – Incessant Inquiries from my daughters, which means they are smart enough to have them.
J – Joy. I am grateful that I can feel joyful. It means that life is good!
K – Kindergarten, where my daughter will have a blast and that makes me happy.
L – Love that I get from my family.
M – Music, which is such a big part of my day, singing and dancing.
N – Noise. It means that my children have the ability to make it and I have the ability to hear it.
O – Oh Oh it’s magic, you knowwwww. Never believe it’s not so!
P – Popcorn. I am grateful for popcorn. My favorite snack.
Q – Dairy Queen, because I do so enjoy a heath bar blizzard every now and again.
R – The Roo, my other sweet daughter.
S – Sun! Sunshine! Need more of it!
T – Tea. Hot for the rainy days, Iced for the sunny days.
U – Umbrellas that are so much fun when you are 5 and 3!
V – Views. Nothing like a scenic view to make you appreciate God’s green earth!
W – Winter. I am grateful that it is over!!
X – I am grateful for the XX’s and OO’s in my life.
Y – Yesterday, for the memories. And that I can remember them.
Z – Zebras. I am grateful that they remind me that God has a sense of humor.

Thank you Lord! Even though I might be grumpy sometimes, I am still very grateful for your blessings!

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

This is an awesome idea I love it gets you thinking and remembering all the small things.

Dave said...

It makes an old man proud and very joyful to know that he has helped bring into this world a person so in tune with all that is truly important in this life. That is Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness,and Self Control...Gal. 5:22