Welcome to Sunday Gratitude

Sunday Gratitude – January 13, 2019

(Lessons learned on my knees – while tiling my kitchen that is)

Many of you have been following along on our Instagram stories, watching our tile project in our kitchen. And what a project it has been! We have quite literally spent the week on our knees. But what a great place to be! I find the Lord speaks to me through the projects that I am working on. He always has.  This latest project was full of fresh lessons for me. The big one that stuck out this time had to do with how we look at things. If you take a look at our newly completed floor…(not trying to sound prideful…) we have gotten a lot of compliments. And we are very thankful, it really is a beautiful floor. “I don’t know how you did that.” “I could never do that.” “Y’all are amazing. It’s perfect!” From the outside looking in, or on social media, it’s easy to judge someone else’s total package…someone else’s highlight reel, and form an unrealistic view of perfection. I do it all the time. I look at people who I think have it all together. People that aren’t wrinkled. People that aren’t late. People whose kids’ hair are perfectly brushed. Like EVERY DAY.  And I think, “I bet SHE doesn’t have an old banana in her purse.”  It’s so dangerous and misleading to judge from the outside appearance, and then measure our own blooper reel against someone else’s highlights. Nobody’s perfect. We know that, but don’t we think it anyway?  Boy, if a professional tile setter took a look at our kitchen, he would find flaw after flaw. Wrong angles, inconsistent grout lines, tiles that aren’t level. It is FAR from perfect. IT DOESN’T HAVE TO BE PERFECT TO BE BEAUTIFUL. And neither do we. I really hope my kids remember what they saw this week… A daunting project, but a mom and dad who worked side-by-side to get it done. They saw some giddyup. And they saw some whoa. They saw us loving each other, laughing together, and some good-natured bickering. They saw us get tired and worn out and ready to be done, long before the job was complete.  And all week they listened to some really great old rock and roll!  (And in the interest of full disclosure, I’m also thankful they survived 10 days of moderate child neglect.  NOT our finest week of parenting.)

~thankful for the refreshing feeling that comes after putting away all the Christmas decorations!  Everything got a good deep clean, and it feels fresh and crisp for the new year ahead. 

~thankful for the wonderful opportunity to see Carson Grace lead worship with the GCS High School Praise Band at Elementary Chapel.  I can’t believe how grown up she is.  It is so surreal to see her operating in her gifting.  And even more special, all three of our little girls received Character Quality Awards at Chapel.  Special morning for all our girls.

~ thankful that Kora got a 100 on her AR test. I love to see those brown eyes sparkle when she does well.

~for such a unique and fun opportunity for Sawyer. You may remember he was asked to be a part of a charity fundraiser, a fashion show model for Children’s Cancer Fund in April. Wednesday was the event photo shoot. So Josh and I travelled to Dallas for him to meet the other event participants and the event chairs: Troy Aikman and Roger Staubach. Each child was allowed to bring an item to be autographed, and Josh brought a Troy Aikman football card from his childhood collection. On the way home, Josh told Sawyer, “Hey bud, thanks for getting my card signed today!” To which Sawyer replied without missing a beat, “don’t you mean MY card?!“. We all got a good laugh.  In truth, Sawyer’s favorite parts of the day were crafting some bug refrigerator magnets and getting Whataburger. Don’t tell Aikman.

~ for a stellar performance from all our Littles as they put on an original play for Mom and Dad.  They are a hoot. 

~ thankful for my sweet Dad, who turned 70 this week!  I miss him, but thankful for technology so we can keep in touch, even across the country. 

~for Samantha’s first lesson on her new sewing machine. 

We have gotten mixed feedback about moving Sunday Gratitude to Facebook, so we are adding another avenue to follow along, we created a blog website for those who don’t use social media. I’m HOPING it is just as easy (maybe even EASIER) as signing up to receive Caringbridge. You should be able to just enter your email to subscribe. Please let me know if you have any trouble!  We are so excited to see what God does with Sunday Gratitude, and excited to take you all along on the journey! https://sundaygratitude.blog

It’s Clinic Week.  Sawyer will have his bloodwork done and a checkup and exam from the Oncology Team at Children’s in Dallas. He’s been under the weather since Wednesday, so I’m eager to have him seen, especially since his pneumonia last month. Tensions always build as the appointment approaches, and my chest tightens even now as I type. We never take for granted that his test results will be clear.  The reality of cancer always lingers in the background. And as we approach TWO YEARS OFF TREATMENT, (HOW CAN THAT BE!!???!!!???) I know Dr. Winick is going to space out his follow up appointments. And I know that’s reasonable. But man, it’s hard. BUT GOD.  I know His grace is sufficient. He will meet me in my brokenness and my fears, and love me through the anxiety.  And we will praise Him that Sawyer is here, and thriving, living a life filled with love and joy and laughter – a happy, normal little boy. Glory to the Lord!  ((deep breaths for Mama.))

Thank you for giving thanks with me!  Let’s love one another well this week, perfectly imperfect as we all are. 

“for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.””  1 Samuel 16:7b NASB