In Everything Give Thanks--+FREE Thanksgiving Unit Study

Life is full of beautiful moments and hardships, blessings and trials. When you go through a longer season of struggle, however, it can often get harder and harder to see the good.

When The Storm Doesn't End

When we personally endured all that we did with mold toxicity and PANDAS/PANS, the difficult "season" carried on for years, and there were days that I grew so very weary. Negative habits crept in. The battles felt like waves.

I often pictured myself in the ocean, drowning, then coming back up for air, only to be pushed back down with another wave. It never seemed to end. I never could find the shore.

Some illnesses are like that. Some trials and losses are downright brutal.

And when you’re living through something that difficult, it’s sometimes harder to see the gift of those breaths, the ones that keep you afloat.

You long for the shore so much that you miss the sandbars along the way.

Fighting for the Promises

If there’s anything I’ve learned about living through crisis, it’s this: You have to fight for the promises.

You have to battle the lies. You have to pray even when you don’t feel like it. You have to guard your heart and mind and stay anchored in the truth of God’s Word.

The enemy will use our trials to destroy us, to steal from us what is rightfully ours.

And if we are not careful, we will surrender it.

Through our grumbling, our negativity, and our complaining, we will hand it all over. Complaining is contagious, and it doesn’t take long for it to swallow up everything and everyone in its wake.

I found myself in that boat, slowly drifting further out into deeper waters.

I would talk about the difficulties and the struggles, and then get stuck in those stories. It wasn’t long before my children also began to share in those grumbles, in those frustrations. It wasn't long before I felt like I could no longer come up for air.

The Power of Gratitude

But God.

In His faithfulness, He opened up my eyes to this grumbling spirit I had let in. I saw how it had clouded over all of the good in our lives, darkening even the brightest of days and the deepest of breaths .

I had to learn to fight back in prayer, to set my eyes on things above and trust God to lift me up above the waves. I had to learn to start speaking truth and life over my family, over our situation, over my heart. I had to learn to take captive every thought and bring it to the obedience of Christ.

By God’s grace, we have found another sandbar. We are tired and war-torn, but we are standing and breathing and resting.

And this time---this time, we are looking back at the journey with a new perspective.

Instead of all the heartache and hurt, we also see all of the good there was along the way.

There was so much good. So much love. So much growth.

And, we realize that we could have missed it.

We often did.

But we’re now taking it back.

In Everything

In the Bible, there are two “everythings” that stand out to me. The first is to do “everything” without grumbling and complaining. The second is to pray in everything, and the third is to give thanks in everything.

God, in His infinite love, knows how detrimental grumbling and complaining are to our spirits. They are like a literal whirlpool, slowly spiraling us deeper and deeper into despair.

He also knows how much our hearts are lifted when we pray and cultivate thanksgiving in our lives, when we train ourselves to focus on the blessings instead of the hardships.

In a world that seeks to focus on the brokenness, I pray that we can be a people focused on the goodness of our God.

He promises to work all things for our good and His glory to all whom He calls.

When trials come, yes, we will hurt and cry. We will listen and hold each other. At times, we will sit in silence.

But then, we will rise, trusting God with each next breath we take, trusting God to lead us closer to the "promised land."

The truth is we cannot have flowers without the rain or roses without the thorns. There will always be waves we must overcome this side of heaven.

But there will also be sandbars. And love and hope and goodness.

Rising Above the Waves

If you are going through a difficult season, I pray you will rise above. I pray you will speak life over your family. I pray you will trust the promises of God’s Word and fight for all of the good.

Battle in love. In thanksgiving. In hope and in faith.

Smile more. Laugh. Take a deep breath. Take time to remember, and take it all back.

It is yours, my friend.

Rise. 💗

Philippians 2:14; 4:6-7

1 Thessalonians 5:18

Romans 8:28

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As Thanksgiving approaches, it is the perfect opportunity to reflect on the blessings of God and cultivate gratitude with your family. Here are a few ideas to get you started.

1. Nature Wreaths: Celebrate the beauty of God's creation by heading outdoors with your children. Invite a few friends to join in the fun, and collect signs of fall thoughout His creation. Participate in a scavenger hunt. Do trunk rubbings. Then craft sweet little wreaths together. Click on this Instagram Post for pictures of our wreaths.

   
   

2. Share "Praises and Prayers" at the dinner table. Gather together each day to share a "praise" or something you are grateful for. Then share a "prayer" request if you have one. Take time each day to celebrate the good and pray for one another.

   
   

3. Take a picture each day. Be intentional to find something beautiful to capture every single day. Then print out your pictures and hang them up on a banner on Thanksgiving Day. Reflect on your special moments and discuss how you can continue to cultivate gratitude in the months to come.

   
   

4. Read "The First Thanksgiving" with your children and participate in an Interactive Book Study, designed to foster deeper comprehension and reflection. Share the love of learning with children of all ages and abilities. Find it free for a limited time in my Free Printable Library. Sign up or sign in for instant access!

   
   

5. Be the example for your family. Be the one to smile more. Be the one to stop the grumbling and share the blessings instead.