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. Â
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
Rhoda, thank you for sharing you beautiful thoughts and feelings. You are blessed. Your home is so warm and cozy and reading your posts you can feel the joy it gives you. ~Jeanette
Oh Dear Rhoda, what a blessing to me your post is today! You have summed up how I’m feeling. My little mother passed away about two weeks ago and now she is in heaven with my daddy and Jesus. I too, am so blessed to have had Godly parents who loved me and taught me about Jesus. We do ‘choose’ how we’re going to face each day. I know my feelings are very tender right now and I could choose to wallow in self pity and be angry and just beside myself that my little mother passed away. But instead I ‘choose’ to rejoice that she is in heaven and I have the promise as a Christian that I’ll see her again. Cherish your little parents, as I know you do, and make as many sweet memories as you can while they are on this earth. That’s what fills my heart now – the loving memories that my mother and I shared. I love that song so much and it has really ministered to me today. Bless you, sweet Rhoda.
Shelia 😉
What a precious and tender post. I love reading your heart felt thoughts. Your parents are so dear. I can see why you are the way you are. They are so sweet. Your new home is and will be a beautiful transformation of YOU. Isn’t that awesome? You are right-God is good. I love that you sing in the church choir and feel the abundant blessing from doing so.
Thanks for being apart of this amazing Thankful at Home series. It was nice to get to know you a little better.
Have a wonderful day!
I know you must do sponsored posts for your business but these kind of posts I love! It seems when a blogger begin making a living just from blogging they sometimes lose that atmosphere of sharing their lives, their DIY projects. That’s what makes blogging seem like conversations among friends. It also gives the reader something to “take home” and an I can do it attitude (when the rest of us don’t have any “free-be’s” coming in!) I do understand the need for keeping the readership traffic up as high as possible and for earning money from sponsorship but I appreciate a balance with more personal stories. So thank you so much for sharing your faith today!
Rhoda, What a beautifully written post and it’s clear that your heart and life really are filled with thanksgiving! It was a blessing reading your post.
I am so thankful that you agreed to join this tour, and I can honestly say that this tour has blessed me in ways I didn’t even anticipate. I am a big believer in expressing our gratitude and having a thankful heart, but reading everyone’s posts each day has just filled me up! Of course, I love good projects but it’s the gratitude that has been expressed that has just been so wonderful. So, thank you, dear Rhoda, and I’m thrilled that you shared all of your blessings here today.
Julie
Rhoda you always have such a great positive attitude, even before the James McDonald study. I’ve been reading your blog for a while and, though we’ve never met, I feel like I’m visiting with a friend every time. Like a lot of people I know, you’ve been through some hard times and it’s nice to see how things have turned out. Where did you get the bird plates? They are beautiful and perfect for fall.
HI, Karina, thanks so much! Those bird plates are from TJ Maxx, a few years ago.
What a blessing it is to finish up the tour today at your home! I can feel the love, compassion, warmth and gratitude you exude right through the screen, Rhoda!
A beautiful post from a beautiful blogger. Thanks so much for sharing the many ways you sing God’s praises and the tender reminder for us to join in the song every chance we get.
I know you are so grateful for the many blessings that you have in spite of all the trials and tribulations that you have gone through in the past years, you have risen to the top and you always count your blessings…Have a wonderful Thanksgiving with your loved ones!!!
Hi Rhoda,
I just stopped by to say hello and was pleasantly surprised with your heartfelt post. Jane and I just love you. By the way, I sing in our church choir too. I know you enjoy some beach music. We’ve put a radio station on our blog that I think you’ll enjoy. Just click on the radio tab on the navigation bar. God bless Rhoda.
Rhoda…what a wonderful post. I loved reading your uplifting words, seeing the picture of your parents & your house inside & out. I am so very pleased to be getting to know you and I hope we keep in touch & cross paths again.
Thank you very much for being such an asset to our tour…
Love Prestonwood music! I’m a trained singer but we attend a contemporary church and I’m not singing at all now. I do miss being in the choir and leading it as well. Thanks for sharing the song!
What a wonderful blog post! I always look forward to reading your blog and being inspired. I love hearing about your family too. God has a plan for you and you are living a blissful life.
Love hearing your words about thankfulness, and yes, I LOVE the music too! Sometimes when I am low, I play the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir and just praise. Always sets my sight on WHO is important and in control.
Thank you Rhoda!
Rhoda,
I am always touched when you write posts about where you have been, and about your mom and dad. They remind me of my grandparents who have already passed. Love seeing their sweet faces! Thanks for sharing.
I love your blog for many reasons, but really appreciated todays post. What a beautiful song. I am going to check out that bible study as well. I meet with two girlfriends for coffee twice a month and we do a bible study together. Looks like one we would appreciate. Thanks for being willing to share your life with us. God has truly blessed you and it encourages me to see it even from a distance! Thanks for being a positive place to visit, and for sharing your fabulous ideas with us. You have a gift of taking ‘ordinary’ homes and rooms and making them beautiful. I am so inspired when I see what you do. Thanks!
I think homes reflect their owners, and your home could be nothing but beautiful, Rhoda.
Rhoda, Your post was beautiful. You have a beautiful heart and are a great witness sharing your faith. The evolution of your home has been a great journey and I have admired you for a long time. You work hard and are so busy with good things. You are a wonderful example of the blogging world. I love this thankful series. Thank you.
what a beautiful post. a lovely tribute to a life lived in Faith. How blessed you are to have such wonderful memories of your childhood and to have such wonderful parents. Your home looks lovely. Thank you for sharing with us. Hugs!
Love this post Rhoda! Your house is beautiful, can’t wait to see the new changes 🙂