A Thank You Note

Thank God every morning when you get up, that you have something to do that day which must be done,whether you like it or not. Being forced to work and forced to do your best will breed in you temperance and self-control,diligence and strength of will, cheerfulness and content,and a hundred virtues which the idle never know. ~Charles Kingsley~

In the midst of our oft weary struggles, God is near. Perhaps it is Labor Day that brings the quotes of verses maintaining the virtues of work, but God's timing is always perfect and He knows exactly what we need to hear and when. In those moments when my eyes are on me, I find myself frustrated and fatigued. I forget to thank God for the work he has given me to do and fail to see it is His Hand molding and shaping me into a vessel fit for His use.

I have kept a Gratitude Journal now since February. It has been an exercise in seeing the love of the Father in the ordinary everyday blessings as well as the grand and obvious, but somehow I often don't feel any more thankful than I did previous to starting my list. Perhaps it is because I have kept those lists tucked away in the secrecy of my bedroom. I wonder what would happen if I wrote them out on sticky notes and posted them about the house...

1842. Hand on my back, arm around my shoulders
1853. Bag of green beans
1871. Daddy memories. I hear him in my mind.
1885. Granddaughter small and sleepy
1901. One dollar baked potatoes at the State Fair
1903. A spirited 100 year old woman who doesn't know she is old
1904. Dew on the grass
1905. Ice in my coffee
1911. A God who isn't finished yet
1920. Sticky Notes

The labor of the righteous leads to life 

Proverbs 10:16

The Holy Experience