"Basket of Blessings"

I love to hear stories of how God has blessed people! I’m sure you have experienced that in your own life as well. I can’t tell you all the times I have been totally amazed at my God and how he blessed me just at a moment when I didn’t expect it. Those are special times! I’m not just talking about monetarily, but in any way; an unexpected note of encouragement, a kind word from someone, a prayer answered, seeing your children do for others without being prompted, etc. I could go on and on about the different ways God has encouraged my soul through a person, his creation, his Word, or many other avenues. The bottom line is, he is the Master Encourager and blesses us far beyond what we could ever deserve! But let me ask you, how many times have you missed it? You may be saying, “Miss it? I don’t get many blessings.” Well, that my dear friend is where you are wrong. Please forgive me for being utterly upfront and blunt here. But the fact is; if you don’t feel as though you are as blessed as someone else, then you are just missing it. God blesses each of us differently and in ways that bring him glory and honor.

There was a time in our family, just a few years ago, when there was a lot of negative things, valleys, if you will, that we were facing. As Matt & I spent much time in prayer together seeking God’s face in dealing with these trials, we felt God telling us to focus on all the blessings in our lives and give him the burdens.

I Peter 5:7 “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.”

So, that is exactly what we did. We put a “Basket of Blessings” in our living room and encouraged each other, and our kids, to write a blessing that we experienced from God in the basket and to celebrate God and all the ways he loved on us that day. We would read them aloud and give God the praise for what he had done. Ben & Callie (before Caleb made his entrance to our family) were younger then and the sweet things they would write truly touched my soul! What we came to realize is that our attention to the trials began to diminish. Not the trials themselves, but the attention and anxiety to it. You see, just the smallest of “good” things, started to turn into the biggest of blessings! I remember my sweet Ben putting a note in our “Basket of Blessings” one day when he thought I wasn’t looking. That precious note read that he was glad that his mommy didn’t have a headache that day and that God made her feel better. What a blessing? My sweet son recognizing God’s blessing on his mom! It really became something special and we started taking to heart the many things God was doing, that once before we had, so selfishly, been too consumed with the negative to notice them. Our verse of prayer during that time was:

Phil. 4:6-7 “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Wow! How life changing when you allow the Word of God to be your prayer! The Word transformed our family and we began to see our situations turning around. As we took each and every opportunity to give God the thanksgiving he deserved, we began to love God in a deeper more meaningful way. God didn’t turn every one of our negative situations around the way we thought they needed to go, but he transformed them into the way he intended them to be and we found ourselves completely and totally at peace!

So what do you do with this devotion? Well, I encourage you to begin to put the negative talk, thoughts, and actions away and begin to transform your thoughts to our Wonderful Lord and all the ways he DOES bless you! If the words or thoughts that consume you are “I don’t have enough of…., I need more of…,I wish I could…” then it’s time to STOP!

God’s Word plainly says,

Phil. 4:19 “And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.”

Not according to “my glory” but “his glory”! What a difference a pronoun makes, huh? It really is all about him! There are so many things in our lives that can discourage us and bring us down, but it’s time to give God our burdens and entrust him to take care of them in his time! I encourage you all to have your own “Basket of Blessings” and see how life changing it is when our attention becomes focused on our Lord and his glory!

Enjoy the rest of your blessing–filled week and prepare to be amazed!

For HIS glory~

Allison