Think About These Things Thursday

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. - Phil 4:8


Whatever is true...
St. DH is a caring and wonderful man...no matter what is going on in our lives, God is carrying us and cares...

Whatever is honorable...
St. DH and I both admitting our wrongdoings after an argument, and growing more mature and closer for the experience

Whatever is just...
Can you believe I dropped doing this meme because I can't figure out what to put here, ever? Well, I still can't, LOL! What does this mean??? (I looked it up and I still can't figure it out)

Whatever is pure...
The joy in my toddler son's laugh, the grief overwhelming Leah (4) when her sisters left her to visit a friend,

Whatever is lovely...
The plant given to us when my FIL died blooming after 5 years of nothing...our new flowers blooming in the front garden ... the clean look of sidewalk cracks without the weeds that had taken over

Whatever is gracious...
That St. DH won't be too mad when he finds out (right now as he's reading this) that I used his old screwdriver to dig the weeds out of the cracks ~*weak embarrassed smile*~

If there is any excellence...
Juliet did well on her math quiz

If there is anything worthy of praise...
The older girls trying hard to play with Jeffrey when he needs to be watched and I am busy

...think about these things.

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Think About These Things Thursday

whatever is true - our heat is working well, Jeffrey is going down for naps without a fuss

whatever is honorable -
my dad changing his work schedule to be with my mom when she babysits our kids on Friday, St. DH and I complimenting each other (he really is wonderful!)

whatever is just (righteous, deserved, proper, fair, upright) - the happy tiredness after a day full of accomplishments (this was the children, not me, LOL, I'm just tired)

whatever is pure - the pictures my 3yo is drawing: recognizable and so dear, the joy my kids get listening to books on tape

whatever is lovely - the vision of snow falling in front of the streetlights in the pre-dawn hours, the new paint on the walls where it hasn't been mangled yet ;-)

whatever is gracious - dh is bringing me home a little treat EVERY DAY for my birthday month after I joked about it (the man knows the way to my heart!), him listening to me while I have my nightly midlife crisis

if there is any excellence - girls improving their swimming skills with hard work

if there is anything worthy of praise - my children starting work early and working hard to get through it one day

...think about these things.

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Think About These Things Thursday

(from the last two weeks)

whatever is true - the house and yard we saw *were* beautiful even if not meant for us; despite being pretty (last week) sick I am functional most of the time; I'm lucky to have a tub to wash dishes and not need to take things down to a creek in the snow! My three year old loves me.

whatever is honorable - St. DH was willing to take hours off at work during an extremely busy week so that I wouldn't have to drag the few healthy kids to urgent care with me and the baby; my mom willing to watch all the kids by herself so dh and I can go to Jane's dyslexia follow-up together; dh's humongous efforts to be uplifting to me; the fact that I noticed such efforts

whatever is just (righteous, deserved, proper, fair, upright) - OK, I think I just don't know what this really means. I'm having an awfully hard time coming up with something from my life that would be "just" - could my wonderful readers give me an example?

whatever is pure - the innocence of the toddler not feeling well and letting me know it in no uncertain terms; a room full of homeschoolers of various ages all laughing and enjoying the same kid's movie (I think it was Piglet's Big Movie); sitting with dh eating popcorn, just chatting after the kids were asleep; Jeffrey's toothy grin

whatever is lovely - huge flakes of snow drifting slowly down, my girls in their dress-ups dancing around the living room to classical music, a much decreased laundry pile; the emptiness of the cabinets after another declutter/packing session

whatever is gracious - Jane taking the littles out in the snow with her; dh accepting whatever I make for dinner as "great" even if it lacks a certain something

if there is any excellence - Skye's recent burst of creative writing

if there is anything worthy of praise - my 5yo is making her bed without being asked

...think about these things.

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Think About These Things Thursday

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. - Phil 4:8

I have this quote printed out in a huge font and taped to our dining room wall. Yet, in a big way, I fail to take this to heart and actually DO it on a regular basis. Oh sure, I think of good things now and then, but it's usually more like, "Yeah God, I'm thankful for the child you gave us but could you please tone her down a bit?? Just for a few minutes?" Or "Gee thanks for all this yummy food that I can even get with just a few clicks of my mouse, but it would be really nice if I didn't have to cook around 5 different food allergies."

Ahem.

So, because I think Think About These Things Thursday just sounds nice, I'm going to remind myself of how I should set my mind all the time. In a "daybook/meme" sort of way. Since I haven't done a daybook entry in half since forever.

Whatever is true...
My husband loves me...my children loves me...my God loves me...and He doesn't expect perfection, he just wants me to try ... we can watch Cosmeo videos all day for school because I'm sick and it's OK. If I present it with love and we have a good time, it's more than OK, it's good.

Whatever is honorable...
because I'm sick as a dog this morning and have to take the kids out to the orthodontist, St. DH tried to do as much as he could for me before he left for work, even though he hurt his ankle again and was limping around to do it. (Actually, HE didn't hurt his ankle again, he went to the doctor for an unrelated reason, and the doctor poked and prodded it and it hasn't been the same since!)

Whatever is just...
Although I'm not particularly happy (yet) to be sick, it is certainly just, as I haven't been eating as well as I should and have been allowing God's peace to be stolen from me. Plus, the more I accept suffering, the more love I can grow to have. And I certainly could use more of that. (There are other definitions of "just" but this is working for me for now) :)

Whatever is pure...
The dusting of new fallen snow...the intentions of my 3-year-old despite how her actions appear to me...the joy my youngest two had monkeying in front of the mirrored desk at our appointment ... a rare long snuggle time with my 5yo this morning as the sun was rising

Whatever is lovely...
Again with the new fallen snow...the warmth of a thickly knit sweater...my own knitting project that is actually coming out nicely so far and is not (yet) a tangled mess of buttercup colors that make me smile ... the brace filled smile of my oldest with new "silver and gold" rubber bands that she's so proud of

Whatever is gracious...
The kind lady at the orthodontist smiling warmly at my goofy horde of children ... the dyslexia tester gushing with compliments for my oldest

If there is any excellence...
The efforts of a reluctant child folding towels and t-shirts...

If there is anything worthy of praise...
again with the t-shirts ... the loving way the girls made lunch for everyone today ... the efforts of St. DH at work despite stress and broken promises

...think about these things.

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