counting my blessings

I read this through a forwarded email from my mum 

and thought that it was a very relevant and timely message for me.

Read on dear friends...

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An old joke tells about two Israelites who were following Moses across the bed of the Red Sea just after God parted the waters. One comments to the other, “Can you imagine what this mud is doing to our sandals? They’re probably ruined.”

Many of us are like that person in the story; we’re so focused on the negatives and worries of our lives that we completely miss the miracles and blessings all around us. We fixate on the cold, rainy weather, the leaky bathroom faucet, the difficult person at work, the snarled traffic slowing our commute. At the same time, we take for granted or even ignore the many blessings we receive every day — love from family and friends, a warm and dry place to live, the security of a job, and the freedom to worship God as we wish.

God is “able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine.” Faith focuses not on the problems of the moment but on the many blessings in each day.

- Bob G. Wood (Tennessee, USA) 

Dear God, forgive us for taking our blessings for granted. Open our eyes to see and our hearts to give thanks for the many ways your goodness comes to us day by day. Amen.

The short excerpt was taken from a forwarded email 

with content from the Upper Room.

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At times I find that I am like the people complaining about the mud in the sandals. Concentrating only on the unpleasant bits of the moment and not fully grasping the infinite goodness happening around me. It is so simple to gripe and grumble at the little everyday disappointments like getting stuck in a jam, getting yelled at by your boss, missing the train and etc. instead of to give thanks.

How often do we pause and thank God for everything that we have been blessed with? I for one am not a very good at thanking God. I take things for granted and only thank Him when I remember to which is just truly terrible. For we should give thanks to God for every little thing that we have and are able to do like see, read, write, type, laugh, sing, dance, blog, pin…  everything comes from God and we should thank Him continuously for his blessings upon us.

The past month has been filled with such amazing blessings from God. His hand has been upon both B and I and our families. He has provided a wonderful wedding and birthday celebration for both B and I, filled with our friends and family So many friends stepped up to help with the wedding and there were so many lovely and generous gifts. It was truly a ceremony filled with love and joy and for that, both B and I will always be thankful. 

So, I will try my best each day to be thankful for everything that God has provided me and will continue to provide for me and I will strive to be reminded constantly of his kindness and goodness.

Happy leap year day everyone! 

Seen @ DW's pinterest collection