Thankful Thursday 8/14/08

Happy Thankful Thursday to you! I'm so thankful that you stopped by my blog today. We have so many reasons to give thanks, don't we? No matter what kind of day I may be having, there are always so many things to be thankful for...too many to count.

I can remember as a little girl, I was having a particular difficult day at school. I was in the third grade at Collegiate School in Wichita, Kansas. I believe it was the first week of school. Our teacher was very strict. We had a test the very first week. Mom and I spent hours learning how to write the 7 Continents correctly. I was confident on the day of the test.

I have to tell you, I am a rule follower. I'm also a people pleaser, although God has been working in my heart in this particular area. Anyway, I vividly remember this new, very strict, teacher telling us to take out a pencil and piece of paper. Then she said, "Write every word that I say. I mean it write exactly every word that I say." Then she said..."Write the seven continents."

So, being the rule follower that I am, I wrote in my best 3rd grade penmanship, "Write the seven continents." I checked to make sure that I wrote "every word," and turned my paper over. I was the first one finished and I thought to myself, whew, that was so easy!

The next day I received my test back, expecting an A, I saw in horror a big, fat, red F on my paper! I could hardly stand it. I was a straight A student. I had never received a grade even close to this one. I had to fight to hold back the tears all day long. I can remember giving my test to my parents and then the tears began to flow. My teacher thought I was being a smart-alec. She didn't know, I was just trying to do what she had asked me to do. I think my friends laughed at me that day too and that hurt. I was having a Norbert kind of day! (Norbert is the main character in a fabulous children's book by John Trent called, I'd Choose You).

I remember my mom listened to me cry that day and she tried to encourage my heart. She told me not to worry and that it would all be okay. My parents took care of that incident for me. Go Mom & Dad! I'm thankful for parents that will fight for their children when we need it. She was right, it did all turn out okay.

She showed me that I can still be thankful even when I'm having a Norbert kind of day. She taught me how to write down my blessings. It's amazing how your attitude changes when you start writing down what you are thankful for.

As an adult, I still have Norbert kind of days. This world tries to steal my joy and to be honest sometimes I just let it get to me. God tenderly reminds me of a special lesson from childhood and I get out a pencil and paper and list my blessings. I can never finish a page before I'm sporting a new 'tude (attitude) and the joy and thankfulness returns.

After all, aren't we suppose to be joyful always? (I Thessalonians 5:16) Take it from me, it's much easier to be joyful when you have a thankful heart of praise as an offering to Him. How long has it been since you wrote your blessings down? How long has it been since I wrote my blessings down?

Joyfully,

Kristi