Thank God for Monkeys

So if I'm going to be thankful...I'm going to take the kids on the grateful train with me. 

I am the mum; one of the most influential beings in my little people's lives. Me and the husband set the standard in this house. Whether it be with our tones, our quickness to apologise, (his) dance moves, how much we play on our phones, how we talk about people, how we store Tupperware or the moans and woes we verbalise around them. I recognise that if I've not been overly thankful lately, then my little copycats may well have picked up on this. I do feel kind of sorry for this last baby. She is getting the blame for everything... "Mum, are you crying cos of the baby?", "Mum are you stressy cos of the baby?", "Dad, is mum sleeping again cos of the baby?". 


Yesterday when we got in from school, we sat at the table, and I explained that I had been a bit moany and cryey lately. They nodded their heads, in complete agreement and said something about it being the baby's fault. (Oh how well I've prepared them for when they have their own emotional, hormonal wives). And I said that the best way to stop being moany, was to be thankful instead. 

I explained that we were going to write or draw everything and anything we wanted to thank God for. I explained that "every good and perfect gift is from above..." James 1v17. If anything good in life is a gift from God, then we shouldn't ever be able to run out of things to thank Him for. I said that although I was achy and the baby made me feel cryey at times, I was very thankful to God that I am having this baby. 

We had pens & paper, a bucket, a choc ice each, and then it was all systems go, go, go... Those who liked to draw, drew. Those who liked to write sentences, wrote. Those who liked to pretend the pink pen was lipstick, puckered up and those who would only comply with one word per piece of paper, (because "we've finished school for the day") did just that. 

 It didn't take long for the bucket to be filled with things we were all thankful for. Sometimes we read our paper out to everyone, sometimes we just popped our own personal gratitude in the bucket for God to see. It was great to ask each other qualifying statements, like "why have you written 'boxes'?" And to hear the answer of a time when we taped one of the brothers up in a box and then knocked that box over. That is definitely worth thanking God for. He loves fun.

I was intrigued to see that three different boys had thanked God for monkeys. Yep, can't say I've ever stopped to thank God for them. And Granny's roast potatoes deserved the recognition they got for sure. People, and things, and treats, and Science and the beloved cross all got a mention. Because God is good. He loves to give His children good things, and He loves when we stop to delight in His generosity. 

Thankful...

Some days you need to just give yourself a bit of a kick up the backside and be thankful. Today was one of those days. In fact, every day should probably be one of those days....

When I start to lose thankfulness, I literally lose the plot a bit. I stop being grateful, and become ever so 'Woe is me', with a huge dollop of 'me', and a bit more 'me' thrown in for good measure. Being nine months pregnant, with aches and pains in places there really shouldn't be aches and pains, and hormones tipping me just over the edge of sanity, really helps me justify the 'me perspective'; really helps me justify the moans. The Bible is pretty clear when it comes to moaning and complaining. It simply says not to do it. In 1 Corinthians 10, it reminds us that the people of God who grumbled, were destroyed! Gulp. Philippians 2 tells us to do everything without grumbling or complaining. EVERYTHING?! Double gulp! 
Having a grumble or a moan, tends to suggest that we don't really trust God in it all. 

So what do I do with all my woes? Well, this morning, through tears I told God all about them, because the Psalms in the Bible, also encourage me to be real with God, rather than cover my actual feelings up with religious sentiment. 
"As for me, I call to God, and the Lord saves me.

Evening, morning and noon,I cry out in distress, and he hears my voice."Psalm 55v16-17

I've come to notice that when I tell God my woes, (rather than just sob them snottily out to the husband or a friend or social media, or even worse, just keep them on 'repeat' in my own mind) my focus and my perspective does change. When I involve God in the process, my woes might still be exactly the same, but they can't be quite as big as they were before. When I come before the creator of the universe; the perfect, just God, who loves me unconditionally and knows everything about anything, including little old me, well then my woes do have to fall into line with His bigness, His vastness, His infinite care, His faithfulness, His forgiveness.... And I start to trust Him with it all again. 

So I started to thank God and just like with Pringles, once you pop, you just can't stop! Or a better reference may be Matt Redman's '10,000 reasons' song. He tries to convey that there is no end to what He's thankful to God for. There are at least 10,000 reasons for his heart to find. So my grateful list began...

Thank you God for the cross. Thank you that the reason I'm aching is due to the privilege of carrying a child within me. Thank you that the reason my house looks like we've been burgled, is because of the blessing of children. Thank you that with stock, any leftovers can be made into soup. Thank you for the free babysitting service called cbeebies. Thank you that someone upgraded their PlayStation so we got a free one. Thank you that the washing machine works, every single day. Thank you that wet wipes clean most stains ever invented by a small child. Thank you that when all else fails, there is always cheesy pasta. Thank you for big elasticated pants. Thank you for clean water which isn't just available and drinkable, but I can lay in a whole vat of the stuff, with muscle soak bubbles. Thank you that when my little girl is sucking on the end of the toilet brush, that the bleach has hopefully killed any trace of anything else. Thank you that I've been married so long that the husband's Tupperware meltdowns don't get to me any more. Thank you for friends who are willing to hang out with my kids. Thank you that Facebook means I stay in touch with people far away. Thank you for my Dyson. Thank you for when the Tupperware matches the lids. Thank you for Dairy Milk. Thank you that I'm heavily pregnant, which means I have an actual excuse for once, not to hoover the stairs. Thank you God for the cross...

"Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus." 1 Thessalonians 5v16-17

Thank you God for Monkeys