Counting your blessings begins with a choice, and a heart of praise.
You can choose to complain or give thanks. I had reason to complain, but my family helped me to choose a grateful heart.
Friday afternoon I was on my way to the bank to get some cash for Christmas. My heart was struggling, each month we help a family in need, this month I really wanted to keep all the money for ourselves. After all ,there were so many extra expenses for December. Gifts and guests to host. After much prayer and deliberation we felt, No, God had given us all we need we could continue to bless this family. So I counted out the RMB and headed to our friend's home. I had just enough left to buy some cheese & cocoa for Christmas. (To buy these supplies it means an hour trek across town so it's a special treat for our family.) I went to pull out my pocket book and it was GONE! What...I dug through my purse, searched all the shelves, ran back down the street (just picture a crazy foreign lady, with tears, running down the street looking franticly for a lost wallet.) gone. Oh dear, the cash for Christmas, the credit cards...gone. more tears. a call to Kyle to quickly cancel the credit cards. Then a little voice inside my heart said, "You need to trust me. Put me first. Stop worrying about the money. I've always given you everything you need." I stopped and started counting my blessings. That night at dinner we continued our blessing list. Here are a few from the list...
Christmas sugar cookies,
a family tradition of sticky fingers and flour everywhere!
Even Baba got into the fun this year.
The best part is a cookie with a cuppa after all the work is done.
Pandora,
keeping our home full of Christmas worship.
The annual home school cookie exchange.
A warm home.
Kenny, the Chen's sweet song bird, has blessed our home with songs of praise!
Aiyi surprised us with a visit and yummy jiaozi. Amazing how God hears every heart request. Just that morning Keziah was saying, "I sure miss AiYi and her jiaozi."
What a plentiful Christmas!
