Looking at life with a "Pollyanna Attitude"!

Pollyanna brought the "Glad Game" with her when she went to live with her rich aunt. Her aunt placed a great emphasis on what all the townspeople thought, the power of her wealth, her ability to control, and her contribution to the town. Pollyanna turned the whole town upside down with her attitude...that of a thankful spirit! (Wow, Disney sure has changed the philosophy of their movie content since that was filmed! And yet, that is where we go for our entertainment...ouch!)
A thankful spirit really does change a person's thought life...A thankful mommy is a happy mommy...who can make a happy home and she doesn't need anything else to make it happy than what she has already been given! (No matter what the world tells you.)
Lately, I have been challenged by God's Word through Bible study, Godly music, and preaching about some areas in my life that I thought "were under control". Through some different circumstances, husbandly challenges, and thought-provoking study, I found that "these areas" still need some work! It is very humbling to admit I was wrong and my thought process was/is wrong. I say that because it is a continuing process...daily battled! Yet, inspite of it all, God still uses me and still has a plan for my life! He has sent some particular blessings my way recently to show me that He is in control!
As a wife and mother, the daily battles of the mundane and thankless jobs can be abit overwhelming, none-the-less, it is my most important ministry at this time! My mother has encouraged me with that thought time and again and my husband has also pointed that out too...and it is sinking in! I have struggled with...what about this and that, and they need help for this and that, and I want to do this and that, and I am able to do this and that...ALL OF WHICH TAKE ME OUT OF OUR HOME AND AWAY FROM MY RESPONSIBILITY FIRST AND FOREMOST AS A WIFE AND MOTHER!
The days that I have with our children are so few...our son will soon be five and on his way to school! I think back to the endless nights of no sleep, sickness, potty-training that I thought could never end, sticky-crumby floors, and the list goes on...AND ALL THOSE DAYS HAVE PASSED AND I HAVE SURVIVED! Well, we still get sickness and sticky-crumby floors, but you understand the whole idea! Listen to the song Cherish the Moments and you will cry the rest of the day! (another Patch song)
There are lies that I have believed...things that I think I am entitled to...thoughts that I have allowed to take over...and it is easy for all those things to happen...and they happen gradually and subtly...and I wallow in them day in and day out because the focus is on me. Those struggles are real and they are wrong...because my focus has been on the wrong things...things that I want...for me! If you watch any daytime talk shows they just feed that whole thought process! And soon...what I have isn't good enough! As Christians, we have swallowed the cultural changes of today and have let them impact our thinking. How sad that we should have such a shallow view of home, family, and God's goodness to us as sinners saved by grace!
For the last few weeks, God has been working on me, with me, and for me and it has changed my focus...which changed my attitude and my desires. I am not naive to think that I will not continue to struggle with different areas of my life...that means that I am growing and God is at work...Praise the Lord! God is good and He knows what is best for me. When I am unthankful for His best, it affects me and everyone around me...and the closest people are... my husband and children! It also overwhelms me that God knew I would struggle with this and yet, He blessed me with a husband and family. My school class of 1998, sang the song Lord, Bless Our Home (by Ron Hamilton-Patch the Pirate) at our wedding and recently the Lord used the words to get my attention yet again...
"Lord, bless our home, protect our home, let it be a refuge in this world of sin. Lord, reign within,
Keep us strong and true and when we need You most, Lord, draw us close, committed to each other. Lord, bless our home, we give our home to you!"
I am glad for God's goodness, His patience, and His mercy! I am glad that He thought I could handle this most important ministry...being a wife and mother.
So today, I am playing the Glad (Thankful) Game...because we all know that gloomy, rainy days stuck in the house can try "any mother's soul" faster than any other day!
We are glad that the rain will bring green grass and "worms for the robins"! We are glad for Nice and Easy haircolor! We are glad for antibiotics and predinisone for Daddy's pneumonia! We are glad for fresh baked chocolate chip cookies! We are glad for umbrellas and rainboots! We are glad for a warm house on a chilly day!
What are you glad about?