Half Empty or Half Full?

Not that I was ever in need, for I have learned how to be content with whatever I have.  I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. -Philippians 4:11-12

I frequently go grocery shopping with my two boys, and each time I ponder why I didn't wait until a time I could come by myself and peruse the isles without chaos :) But more times than not, the Lord uses those few minutes, I am stretched pushing my two in the cart, to teach me many life lessons :). So as we shopped today, and our cart continued to fill up, I noticed my boys kept asking for more and more things. I let them pick out a few snacks, as usual, and they still wanted more. I let them pick out some special candy for "Movie Night" and they still wanted more. They got a free cookie from the bakery and still wanted more. I started to get a bit frustrated over the fact that their heart never seemed satisfied no matter how many things I blessed them with. It opened my eyes to how the Lord's heart must break as He continues to stretch out His hand of blessings my way...and yet my heart continues to yearn and desire for more.

Why am I so vertically challenged? Oh not in my physical stature but in my heart. I get so horizontally focused where my heart continually looks at what is right in front of me and wonders why I don't have more. I find myself sometimes comparing what I have to other stay -at- home moms until He gently reminds me that we are each in different financial seasons. I, too, can find myself looking around the "store of life" instead of praising the Lord for those things already in my "cart."

My wonderful husband works two jobs so I can stay home. Praise God my husband has work. Praise God that I get to stay at home. Praise God we have a home, clean water to drink that I don't have to travel somewhere to get, a hot shower, food to eat, clean clothes to wear, gas in our car, a car to drive.  So often the world dangles eye candy in front of us making us think our joy is conditional upon having those things. The funny thing is that even after acquiring the latest gadget my heart still yearns at it's core for more. It is only when I am seeking the Lord's face daily (Psalm 105:4) that I find true contentment within my soul.  But the ads and commercials will tell us otherwise these days, right?

I want to be content. I want to thank the Lord for the small things in life that so often go unnoticed. I want to cultivate and grow a lifestyle of thanksgiving I can pass onto my children for them to replicate for generations once I am gone.  This Sunday our small group pondered some Thanksgiving questions I'd love to share with you...
1.  What are you most thankful for when you think about your life as a whole? When you think about the past year? the past day? What everyday blessings do you take most for granted?
2. Do you incorporate gratitude into your everyday life in any intentional way? If so, how? If not, how might you cultivate a "practice" of gratitude?

That last question really hit me hard. How intentional am I to practice a heart of gratitude DAILY? I shared with them about Courtney's suggestion of making a list of things you are thankful for, as a good reminder of the blessings you have received for those days your eyes and heart longs for more. Sometimes we just need to push pause on our wants/desires and push play on our praise to God. I have started a list on my computer and plan to jot down each day a few things I am thankful for. Hopefully this will cause my heart to reflect more on what He has given and less on what I don't currently have.

I recently noticed as my boys pray before meals that their prayers have gotten shorter and shorter with the hopes of getting to our food faster :) After reading Courtney's blog I decided to challenge my boys to start their prayer out by praising the Lord for a few things first. They are usually very elementary and simple things, being that they are only 2 and 4 years old :) By doing this they are remembering His goodness in their lives first. I am really trying to do this in my prayer life too! It's so easy to jump right into the things we want and miss the opportunity to praise Him for what we already have :)

So is your glass half empty or half full? Or should I say...is your "cart" half empty of half full? Which of the small group questions above resonated with you the most and why? What resolution can you make today to live a life of gratitude year round instead of just at Thanksgiving?