Good Morning everyone!

Since I was so AWESOMELY ahead of myself yesterday and posted my AWESOME guest poster Erica B0lton a day early, I really debated this morning on whether I should put up a post or not (she is a hard act to follow after all–did you laugh as hard as I did at her humor?).

But then I realized that ya know, I DO have something laid on my heart, and so in a combination between Thoughtful Thursday and Thankful Thursday, I want you to meet me in the middle and think about what I have to say.

I never, ever, want to live a life where I lose sight of the many blessings that the Lord has given me. I don’t want to lose sight of how miraculous my oldest daughter is, or how well my Handy Hubby and I pair up together (its a once in a lifetime relationship, folks). I don’t ever want to lose my grasp on how blessed we are to live the life we are living, or how unbelievably miraculous it was to have two precious babies added to our family at once.

But sometimes I do.

I do.

Mostly when I am tired, and washing a pan for the millionth time,

or when I am scrubbing the floor from the latest round of sick kids,

or canceling lessons for the fourth time in a row due to sickness.

And when my thoughts and my thankfulness collide I realize something.

As wonderful as it is to share on here all the time about being thankful during the month of November, Thankfulness is something that needs to be in our hearts all year long.

Just like going to church on Easter and Christmas does not exactly make you a church-goer, being thankful on one single day a year does not cultivate a heart of thankfulness.

Its a good start. Really. Both of those examples are.

But it leaves us empty the other 365 days of the year. And as the world changes around us, things look darker or more scary…we NEED to remember how to be thankful in any and every circumstance.

I can hear some of you saying that you have very little to be thankful for. Perhaps financially you are drowning. Perhaps you are alone for the first time in your life and not looking forward to eating or even making a meal with no one to share it with you. Perhaps you are a mother trying to figure out how to make a meal for your children on almost nothing available.

Maybe you are just in one of the darkest places of your life and you most certainly can NOT find anything to be thankful for.

I disagree.

You live, you breathe, you walk. You have Someone who loves you with an everlasting love, and who will never abandon you, or forsake you. He promises not to, and only waits for you to accept it.

And those are words coming from experience, spoken by someone who has lived in some awfully deep, dark times in my life.

You see, where thoughtfulness and thankfulness collide in your heart, you realize that every breath, every morning that you wake up and see the sunshine, is a gift. Someone loved you enough to give you one more day on this earth, and is willing to walk with you through it. I have seen the truth in these words played out time and time again, through family suicide, the death of my son, the dark time of my husband’s illness, and many others.

So meet me in the middle. Let’s live in the heart of thankfulness, holding on to the hand of the Lord, and facing each day with that same spark renewed for hope, and life, so that we can never lose sight of those precious things we have been blessed with.

And if you are struggling today, if this just seems too hard, or the struggles you face seem insurmountable, would you email me? My email is khestey@gmail.com. I would love to chat with you or pray with you. It means a lot to me to be granted that privilege, and those notes make my day every single time, because you open a door into your life and let me come in for a cup of coffee.

Know MY door is always, always open.

Blessings to you and yours,