There will be more than three things today. Because that's the kind of day it was!
1. I am thankful that MASON MADE A B ON HIS FIRST READING TEST OF 4TH GRADE!!! Yes. I am yelling. Did you hear what I said?! Look. This is a big. deal. Ginormous! These first three weeks of school have not been easy. It will never be "easy" for Mason. This is a huge accomplishment for him for so many reasons. And it's super encouraging to me because this year hasn't exactly been off to the start I'd hoped it would be. This kid just never ceases to amaze me! I can not believe he is in 4th grade! I mean, I can not believe he even made it to 4th grade given what 1st and 2nd grades looked like! It's been a long road. And we have a long ways to go. But we are going day by day, step by step, one thing at a time. I've had some very honest, heart wrenching conversations with God this week about all of this. Yesterday morning I went back to 2 Corinthians 12:9 (this was God's answer when Paul begged Him to take away his "thorn in the flesh"):
And He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness." Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
We look at weakness as being such a bad thing. We don't want to be weak. But God's Word tells us that it's in our weakness that He is strong. I don't know about you, but I want Him to be strong in me. Later in the day a friend of mine posted a devotion by Anne Graham Lotz on Facebook. It was the same 2 Corinthians 12:9 verse. And here was the life application: Could it be that God has given you a platform of suffering from which you can be a witness of His power and grace to those who are watching? I CAN NOT wait to see God's plan continue to unfold for Mason, to see the kingdom work that I know God will one day call Mason to. It's my hope that one day Mason will also have the opportunity and the desire to help other kids who have experienced the same academic difficulties that he has. But I also wonder if God might give me the opportunity through all of this to minister to other parents in similar situations or even to advocate for children with learning disabilities and their families.
2. I am thankful that Seth called me from work today and offered to pick Hannah Kate up after her dance class. I'd already thought about asking demanding that he help with all the logistics of getting everyone to where they needed to be today, but I didn't. He recently moved offices and is no longer in Baton Rouge anymore. He's in a completely different location the opposite way now. So that's why I didn't ask. But I was relieved to have his help today.
3. I am thankful for Bible Study Fellowship (BSF). We begin our study of the life of Moses in exactly two weeks, and I can. not. wait! This will be my 4th year in BSF, and I am so thankful and so excited and so humbled that the Lord has called me to also serve in the children's program again this year. We picked up our leadership packet today, and I nearly devoured it while in the carpool line this afternoon.
I love BSF for so many reasons. BSF is an in-depth interdenominational Bible study that helps people to know God and equips them to serve the Church effectively. It's just studying the Bible - no commentaries, no comments from anyone else, no notes in those BIG Bibles - it's all about what God is revealing to YOU through His Word. I love that we don't know anyone's church affiliation or religious denomination. We don't discuss politics. We just study and discuss the Word of God. It is LIFE CHANGING. And the women, the friends, I have met through this organization are some of the sweetest, Jesus-loving ladies I've ever known. This group of women has literally been my life line during the past three years.
I can't even tell you how excited I am to begin our study of Moses! Today our Teaching Leader posted several reasons on Facebook regarding why you should join us (my personal favorite is number 3!):
4. I am thankful that my mom came home from work everyday and prepared a home cooked meal so we could all sit around the table and eat supper together. Every. day. And because of her example, I do the same for my family. This is something that I look forward to everyday. Sure, there are days that I just don't feel like cooking anything. But those days are few and far between. And sometimes I get frustrated that I have to depend so on my crockpot during the school year. But I do take a great deal of pride and pleasure in providing for my family in this way each day. I learned from the best!
5. I am thankful that Ellie is doing so well with potty training. She still won't tell me when she needs to go, but it's easy with her. The only oopsies she's had this week were during nap time, and those were my fault. I should've put a pull-up on her, but I didn't. She actually pretty much refuses to wear the pull-ups now. She's worn her big girl undies for two days in a row now. We still have a bit of work to do on pooping in the potty (meaning it would be so much easier if she would just tell me instead of me having to guess and predict), but I can't complain at all. She even stayed clean and dry for a couple of errands this morning. I nearly died when we walked into the big box store, and she looked at me and said, "Potty." So, of course, I had to take her. But the restroom had just been cleaned, the toilet seats were still up and bubbles were still in the potties. So it wasn't so bad.
Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good!
For His mercy endures forever.
For He satisfies the longing soul,
and fills the hungry soul with goodness.
~Psalm 107:1, 9