Thankful

Maybe it's my hormones, but more than ever I feel as if I have so much to be thankful for this year. 

I am thankful for my job.
I have made some of the sweetest friends, like Rebeca, who encourage me, bring yummy homemade enchilada leftovers for me to have at lunch, and know what I mean when I say that I am going to lose my mind if I hear one more person tattle. Three years ago when I was desperately looking for a job, I couldn't imagine how perfectly things would fall into place. I work at a school where I love my coworkers and more than anything those sweet kiddos I get to spend every day with.

I am thankful for our home.
 I think so many times I get caught up in wanting our house to look perfect; I focus on the rooms that still need to be decorated, the counters I want to redo and the paint that still needs to be touched up that I forget how lucky we are to even have a home.

I am thankful for my family.
(and my amazing mother and father in law, too!)
I can't wait to see my parents become grandparents and know that our baby is going to be so, so lucky to have so many people love him/her.

I am thankful for my husband.
There was an article floating around the internet a few months ago written by a women who said that she didn't believe God designed one perfect person for anyone. And while I do think that there are a number of men who could have fit the bill for my husband, I do wholeheartedly believe that God had a hand in putting Ryan and I together. I am thankful for all Ryan does for our family and I can't imagine doing life with anyone else.
Plus, there isn't anyone else who would put up with my crazy. :)

I am thankful for our baby. 

My pregnancy has been a dream so far and I cannot even put into words the joy it brings me to know that there is a precious little baby growing inside me. I can't even type any more on that topic or I'll become a crying mess and I've already done my makeup today. :)

But more than anything I am thankful for Jesus. 

I am thankful for my Saviour who not only gave His life for me, but has blessed me beyond measure. I pray that I always have a spirit continuously praising and thanking Him for his faithfulness, love and undeserving grace. Homes, husbands, children and loved ones are all just the icing on the cake, because if we truly know Jesus then we understand that He is all we need in this life.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Praying Circles

This summer I began a book called "The Circle Maker" by Mark Batterson. I had heard several people mention it and I was interested to see what all the fuss about. I expected to learn a few things and enjoy the read, but what I didn't expect was for it to completely change the way I pray. 

Prayer is an everyday part of my life. I usually send up prayers throughout the day (a lot of time for patience in my class) and always end the day with prayer, but after reading "The Circle Maker" I realized that my prayers had been less than fabulous. When I'd pray at night I'd ask God for protection, favor at work, blessings, and so on and so forth. But I never BOLDY asked God for anything. Like mentioned in the book, perhaps I had never asked boldly for specific prayers because I was worried that God might not come through. I mean, who am I to ask for such things from the Creator. 

I am His child. 

And that is why God not only wants us to ask Him for things, but he YEARNS for us to present our deepest desires, goals, dreams and hopes to Him.

One particular paragraph really struck me:

"The more faith you have, the more specific our prayers will be. The more specific your prayers are, the more glory God receives. When we pray for specific things, God has an opportunity to reveal more shades of His sovereignty. But, when our prayers aren't specific, God gets robbed of the glory He deserves because we second guess whether or not He actually as answered them. We never know if the answers were the result of specific prayer or general coincidences that would have happened anyway."

Good stuff, right?

The book of Matthew tells of two blind men who approached Jesus when he was leaving the city. "Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!" they shouted. Jesus stopped and asked the two men, "What do you want me to do for you?" (Matthew 20:32) Of course, He already knew. He knew that they men were blind and wanted healing, but Jesus asked them to spell out exactly what it was that they wanted.

Ironically, shortly after I began reading "The Circle Maker" our church started a series on the book and also encouraged members to purchase the devotional that goes along and commit to a 40 day prayer challenge. Ryan and I started the devotional and began trying to decide what it was that we wanted to circle in prayer.

"Most of us don't get what we want because we quit circling. We give up too easily; we give up too soon; we quit praying right before the miracle happens."

This is certainly not a "name it and claim it" type of thing, but more of a prayer that if it is according to God's will it will happen.

Two big things we began circling in prayer were our future children and Ryan's job.

Ryan has a great job and enjoys the people he works with, but after several years he still hadn't received a promotion. Repeatedly his bosses promised he was first on the list, but with budget cuts it just wasn't coming. I knew he was discouraged and so we began praying for favor. Favor with his bosses; for God to open doors and for us to have the discernment to know when He did.

Two weeks ago Ryan got an email from a girl in another program. She said that a friend had mentioned his name as someone who might be interested in a new job and asked if he might want to send her his resume which she would then give to her boss. {Enter God}

We thought about it and decided to go ahead. The next day the manager contacted Ryan and asked if he would come in for an interview. I wish I could say we both immediately knew he should, but it was a struggle for us. Would Ryan's current boss be upset? Was this new job going to be as secure as his current? Would he like his coworkers?

After praying about it we realized that this was exactly what we had been asking God for. Had we not repeatedly prayed for Him to open doors? Were we going to tell God, "No, thanks" and ignore this simply because we were afraid to take a risk?

Ryan went for the interview and a week later got the job offer. Not only was it a promotion, but it is about 3 miles from my school and it cuts his drive time in half.

What a mighty God we serve. I fail daily. I sin. I want my way and not His.
But, every single day He loves me. He is so, so faithful and I am immeasurably grateful that I don't have to live this life without Him.

Keep praying. Keep circling those things that God has placed on your heart. He hears you. Maybe He hasn't answered yet, but His timing is so much better than ours anyway.