Thankful at Home: A Grateful Heart

When I was asked to join a series this Thanksgiving season on being thankful at home, I knew this was something I wanted to be a part of.  Because, oh boy, am I thankful at home!  Since moving into my new house a year ago, it’s been a whirlwind year of completing more projects and getting things finished around here. And it’s been one BIG thankful year for me. A year behind me of being in my new house, a house that I wasn’t sure I’d have again.  So, let me tell you, this girl is thankful in so many ways this year!  God has abundantly blessed me and I am so grateful for it.

I’m doing a Bible study right now with a group of other ladies and it’s James McDonald’s, Lord, Change my Attitude and I can tell you that being thankful is so important to all of us. If you get a chance to do this study, I’d highly recommend it.   What I’ve gotten from this study is that God wants us to be grateful to Him for all we have, big and small.  Everything that we have comes from Him and He wants us to remember that every single day and to trust Him in that, because he ultimately allows trials into our life to mold us into the people he wants us to be.  It’s how we react to those trials that will make or break us. One of my favorite take-aways from this study is this:  Faith is believing the Word of God and acting upon it, no matter how I feel, because God promises a good result.  Thank you, James McDonald!

So, that’s what I try to do. Wake up every day with a grateful heart for all the blessings He has given me and for who He is, the one who has it all under control.  I don’t want to be a whiner or complainer.  I want to be joyful and grateful for all that He’s done for me and to live in contentment.  I’m learning that lesson more and more every year too.  A state of contentment is a good place to be.

Things can all be taken away from any of us at the snap of a finger, but it’s truly the people in our lives that matter the most and as I get older and my parents get older, I’m so much more aware of that fact.

I’m so grateful for my family, especially my mom and dad, who have been there for me through thick and thin. They are amazing parents and I wouldn’t trade them for anyone else! I was raised by the most Godly example of parents that you can imagine.  Truly, they live it every day.

I’m also grateful that I’m able to work at home and not have to fight the traffic in this town.  Working at home is such a gift and a huge blessing as well and I love being at home and doing my blogging thing.

So, today I’m sharing a few things at my house that I’m thankful for, like the trees in my neighborhood that are turning fiery colors right now, against a blue sky that reminds me of how big and majestic God is.

My humble house that I’m so grateful to have. It’s not that beautiful on the outside (yet!), but I’ll be working on that this next year too.  I’ve got lots of landscaping to do and can’t wait to see my front yard come alive with plants, hardscaping and more.  In fact, I just had a Southern Living lifestyle and garden expert at my house yesterday. We planted some pretty containers for winter and she is going to come up with a whole landscape plan for my house using Southern Living plant collections and we will start planting in the Spring.  Can you believe that? I had no idea Southern Living even has plant collections until this summer when I visited the Southern Living Idea house.  God is so good to me!

See that little front porch that looks a little tumble-down?

I’m grateful that I can afford to hire someone to come and build me a cute peaked roof front porch with columns and new steps and that’s going to happen Thanksgiving week. I can’t wait!

I’m thankful for a large backyard with a few trees and seeing them turn colors too this time of year.  I’m very thankful for a finished screened porch this time of year.  My dad just finished trimming out this end of the porch last week and added that gate to it, which I’ll share with you later.  We are going to be painting this lattice and the new stairs soon too and hopefully next spring, I’ll be getting the whole house repainted, since it could definitely use it.

So yes, I’m thankful for the inside of my home that I just adore!  I still have to pinch myself sometimes that I’m living in this house and loving it so much. It truly is my home, sweet, home, the place I can just be and live day to day.

I didn’t set any new tables this year.  My family spends Thanksgiving at my cousin’s house and her parents, my parents, and all of us children and grandchildren gather together to celebrate a special time of the year. Being with family makes it even more precious to all of us, because we know that we will not always have our parents around to enjoy these special holidays.  So we savor them even more.

I set this table last year and love the beauty that is there.  But, Thanksgiving certainly isn’t all about the table, although it is nice to enjoy a beautifully set table. It’s about who we celebrate with, family and friends.  This year, I hope you’ll take the time to really savor the moments with your families too.  We all get caught up so much in the fast-paced lives we lead and I don’t ever want to get too busy to just enjoy the days with loved ones.  Each and every one is a gift to remember, so take the time to stop, reflect and hold onto every day with loved ones.

You can see all the participating bloggers in this series and I hope you’ll take the time to stop by everyday and go back to the ones from Monday and Tuesday and catch them all. We are all sharing thoughts, recipes, projects, and family traditions about Thanksgiving and it’s a great time to stop and reflect on all we have to be thankful for!

Here’s a little bonus and sidenote for you! I love choir music, really good choir music.  Contemporary church music is fine and dandy and some of it I like, but really truly I adore really good choir music.  In my opinion, contemporary praise and worship music can’t hold a candle to some of these songs.  I sing in the choir at my church and am so blessed when I am up there singing to the Lord.  We just sang this song last Sunday and it always blesses my socks off, so I hope it will for you as well. I couldn’t embed the video, so you’ll have to click over to listen to it. This is the Prestonwood choir, not my church, but they always do a great job with their music.

Enjoy! The song is I Choose to Worship! It reminds us to worship even when we have trials and hardships….especially when we have trials and hardships.  

I Choose To Worship

If you’re stopping by from Cedar Hill Farmhouse, a big welcome to you. I hope you’ll continue on with the tour tomorrow and stop by The Lilypad Cottage, where Kelly is sure to wow you!

Monday:
Savvy Southern Style
Finding Home
Lilacs & Longhorns
The Inspired Room
The Crafty Woman

Tuesday:
Stone Gable
Debbiedoos
What Meegan Makes
Maison de Pax
Confessions of a Plate Addict

Wednesday:
Thistlewood Farm
Eclectically Vintage
My Soulful Home
Cedar Hill Farmhouse
Southern Hospitality

Thursday:
The Lilypad Cottage
A Little Claireification
Fresh Idea Studio
Pennywise
The Rustic Pig

Friday:
Housepitality Designs
Mom4Real
Country Design Style
The Everyday Home
Unskinny Boppy

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