Praise Him in the Morning (even if you aren't a morning person)

"But I will sing of your strength, in the morning I will sing of your love; for you are my fortress, my refuge in times of trouble." Psalm 59:16

I am NOT a morning person.

It's just a simple fact. 

My husband goes to work incredibly early and I remain cuddled under the blankets for as long as possible. I would love if I could change this about myself. Who wouldn't like to have a few extra hours in the day to get things done? Yet for all my efforts to change I remain stuck in a routine of rushing through the mornings--always running late, always feeling stressed. 

Sometimes it's really hard to praise God in the midst of the morning rush, when my mind is focused on the dread of a long commute and a stressful work day ahead. Most mornings I grumble to myself and wish for it to be Saturday already.

Today, however, I took a different approach. I still slept later than I should have, and I'll confess right now that I did in fact miss my morning workout. oops! BUT, I made an effort to pray through everything I was doing and to focus on the blessings around me. You know what? I have a lot to be thankful for. 

While I struggle daily with the fact that we don't have children yet, I'm blessed beyond words to wake up to these two beautiful faces every morning.

Thank you, Lord, for bringing these sweeties into my life. They show me unconditional love every morning. Okay, so maybe it is conditional. They're infinitely more cuddly after they've been fed.

And while I'm always a little bummed that my husband is already gone when I wake up, I'm thankful that he takes the time each morning to kiss my groggy self goodbye and leaves me a daily love note by the coffee machine. aww!

Thank you, Lord, for the simple things that get me through my mornings. 

I am loved and blessed beyond measure.

Where is the Lord? Chronicling God's blessings in the midst of turmoil.

I'm not one to make New Year's resolutions. While I love the idea of a new start, a blank page, a fresh canvas, it's far too easy to let real life come sneaking back in and push aside our good intentions. Unused gym memberships, anyone?

That being said, at the beginning of 2012, specifically on Sunday, January 2nd when our pastor preached the New Year's sermon, the Lord began to speak to me about counting my blessings and praising Him in the midst of turmoil. It's a theme that I've seen repeated in my life throughout the year.

Which leads me here--to creating this blog and sharing what the Lord has laid on my heart.

It's easy to question the Lord's presence in my life when I'm only focused on my problems right now. The negative has a way feeling like it far out weighs the positive when you're in the thick of it.

And I'm definitely in the thick of it. Stuck in the mud and muck that is life sometimes. I'm struggling right now with some big ones--financial burdens, infertility, my husband's back injury, work stress, and the possibility of losing my job--to name a few.

But does that mean that God has abandoned me or doesn't care about my situation? No. Of course not. And I know that, but how do I stay focused on that simple truth? In the past, I've found that keeping a journal is an awesome way to see God's hand at work in my life. I've been praying, and I feel compelled to put this out into the world for whatever purpose God may have to use it for, if only to remind you all that we truly are blessed.

I am going to chronicle my blessings from God in a blog. Hopefully daily. Just simple pictures and notes of everything I can think of and everything that He reminds me of captured as evidence of His perfect grace, mercy, faithfulness, and love. I will strive to praise him continually through the everyday trials of life. I know I am blessed in an infinite number of ways that I just need constant reminding of, so I will bless, praise, and worship the Lord in return.