An heart full of thanks...

I mentioned a few days earlier that I've been on a cleaning kick. Truthfully, I've loved it. I'm one of those people that just can't relax in my house if it's messy (with the exception of our bedroom which is ALWAYS messy). Part of my reason for being better about keeping the house clean is really just out of gratefulness. I'm so thankful for all of the blessings that God has given us. We have a nice house and nice things and I just feel like God has blessed us so much that I really want to be a good steward of all that He's given us.

We try to take care of our things and I've come to realize that I haven't always been a good steward of our house. Yes, we try to make repairs when possible, and I'm thankful for the house that God has given us but sometimes you wouldn't know it by the way we live. I want to be better about that. I want to take care of our things because they truly are gifts from God. I find myself almost daily thanking God for our dishwasher, or nice oven that is large enough to fit a normal size cookie sheet in it (no, I'm not just totally weird and random, we had a tiny oven in our last house). A couple of times a week when I'm doing laundry I'm reminded of how grateful I am just to walk down the stairs to wash my clothes rather than having to drive to a laundromat like in the old days of living in a dorm. These are just little things that are easy to take for granted, but they are also all things that I've had to live without before and I have to say they make my life so much easier and for that I'm so thankful.

Really, we are so spoiled. Not just us, but America. I remember having to take the time to heat the water on an oven just to wash the dishes in Brazil. No, all of Brazil does not live that way, but the point is that a large portion of the world does. Can you tell that I haven't left the good ol' USA in awhile? When I used to travel all the time nothing surprised me, but now that I'm a homebody I find it so much easier to take for granted all of these modern conveniences and forget that they are just that - conveniences. Things that I could live without, but sure don't want to!

Anyway all of that to say that I'm realizing more and more just how blessed I am. I really do have a great life and I'm so thankful. God has been so good to us and I don't want to take it for granted. I really do want to be a good steward of the many blessings He's given us - some of them being our home, our finances and the relationships He's put in our lives. Above all, I want to cultivate an attitude of thanks and never forget just how blessed I really am. God has been so, so good to me.