A Gift

This morning I woke up and felt tired.  Alexa has been struggling with a cough for 3 weeks.  She has been up a ton and coughing so hard she had been throwing up.  Max had had a procedure and had been up the last couple nights as well.  I didn't feel ready to face the day with four kids and was not feeling the thankful spirit the day before Thanksgiving.  

I sat down in my chair with my coffee in toe and my devotional Jesus Calling by Sarah Young.  As I sat down I looked to my left out the large windows of our new house and there it was, a gift.  God's beauty ready and waiting to greet me.  It is November 23 and we are experiencing our first real frost.  

 I stood in awe of the beauty.  I grabbed my camera and started snapping some pictures.  

Just months ago these trees we green and lush.  They then transformed into reds, oranges and yellows as the season changed and now they are covered with a brilliant white frost.  There are so many times I take the beauty around me for granted.  I often don't stand in awe at the power of God and the evidence of this power and majesty in the changing of season.  This morning was a gift. 

I settled back in to my chair and this was part of my devotional.  

As you sit quietly in My Presence, let Me fill your heart and mind with thankfulness.  This is the most direct way to achieve a thankful stance.  If your mind needs a focal point, gaze at My Love poured out for you on the cross.  Remember that nothing in heaven or on earth can separate you from that Love.  This remembrance builds a foundation of gratitude in you, a foundation that circumstances cannot shake.

As you go through this day, look for tiny treasures strategically placed along the way.  I lovingly go before you and plant little pleasures to brighten your day.  Look carefully for them, and pluck them one by one.  When you reach the end of the day, you will have gathered a lovely bouquet.  Offer it up to Me with a grateful heart.  

From Jesus Calling by Sarah Young

A gift, an attitude changer ..... that is what happens when I take time to start my day focusing up instead of out! I know there will be more treasures placed along the way!