This song is sung by Bing Crosby in my favorite Christmas movie, White Christmas. It is a pleasant, peaceful song and when you really listen to the verses it really is true. Normally it takes me along time to get to sleep because my mind goes full speed on things I need to get done. Laundry, Lesson plans, the endless amounts of cleaning house that I never get caught up on. Thanks to the 25 days of a government shut down, my husbands pay check not being paid,even though he is working, I am even more worked up while getting to sleep. I am even working on a background check to start subbing at the school to help compensate the loss of income. If the shutdown doesn't end by Friday we will miss the paycheck #2 and February would be the next time we could get paid. So to say my mind is working overtime at night is a understatment.
Last night, I tossed and turned and this song popped into my head. Counting blessings is so much easier then counting sheep, have you ever seen how hard it is to make a sheep do anything you want it to do?they even have dogs trained to help keep them i a circle. I feel sorry for any shepherd! Yeah, the sheep in my head are stubborn and don't want to jump the dumb fence. How do I count sheep not willing to jump a fence? Then the dog starts barking and the sheep start their BAAAAAAAing so counting them is useless..... So blessing counting is so much easier! Last night my mind was bouncing from worry to worry, but I started singing that song and so thankfully the blessings started to flow.
Blessings:
- A home- a home that is open to everyone.
-A pile of firewood, yes it's a lot of work to cut, split, stack and then move and stack again in the basement, But because of all that work, we do not have to pay for oil!
- A bed, after stacking a huge pile in the basement yesterday, a soft bed felt wonderful!
- Blankets and quilts to keep us warm. Most of the quiltsI have, I got to make in my Meema's quilt shop, with lots of memories to go with each quilt, so it's comforting curl up in them.
-Food- I have 3 freezers packed full of meat, veggies and fruit that we have collected and harvested. In North Carolina, Keith's boss, Pete, called us Alaska Hoarding ground squirrels. Our Alaska life taught us to have enough provisions for the year till we could live off till we could go shopping in the summer and barge it back down the river. That mind set carries on and we have enough food to last. Pete said if there was ever an apocolypse or any other major disaster, he would be at our house inevitablely. Come on Pete, After a while our meals may only consist of Ramen noodles and Pork rinds but hey, we won't starve! =) Just bring some Texas Pete hot sauce and everything will taste better.
-Cars that can take us places and we don't have to walk. Growing up in Zambia where people walked miles to go to church made me rethink about that. If I didn't have a car, would I still walk the 14 miles to our church? Thank you Jesus for our cars!!
-We have water. Some of the most delicious tasting water I have ever had! And I don't have to walk to the river and carry it on my head in buckets back to my house.
-We have clothes, lots of clothes, probably to many clothes. But I'm thankful for a selection to choose from
-We have electricity. Growing up that was not always an option. Thank you for Electricity, and the knowledge of how to live without it if I needed to! Though in Zambia we didn't have below freezing temps so that would have to be learned, but lets NOT!!
-I have a winter coat, snow pants, snow boots, gloves, hats all to keep me warm in this winter weather
-I have plants that make me happy, a garden in the summer, fruit trees that produce.
-A Kitchen- If you know me I love baking, cooking and creating something yummy. I love having the ability to do all those things and I love cooking for other people!
-A hard working husband
-My husband has a job that he LOVES, yes even in the shut down! I don't think I could see Keith doing any other job that would make him as happy as working with wildlife does. He's good at it! It makes him happy to help preserve nature that God created! Plus he's really happy when he gets to use a tractor and mow or use a backhoe to do something. Big man on big toys.... I mean Tools! =) It makes him happy and I love seeing that!
- Ability to homeschool my kids. I love(most of the time) the chance to homeschool our kids. There are bad days, but they are outnumbered by the good. We have fun and it allows us to help Keith, or travel with Keith or explore when we can. Learning is all around us, I love being able to teach my kids as we go.
--Kids, yes they drive me crazy sometimes but I love my kids. yes I feel like I clean up after them ALL the time but they are learning to help too. They crack me up, make me cry, and probably are the reason I have to dye my hair to cover the grey, but I wouldn't trade it for the world.
- We have family that said we have money if you need any to cover bills till the government starts up again. We have their support and their prayers.
-We have the church, and I don't just mean the one here in Maine but all the ones that have said "Let us know how we can help" Thankful for that!!
-We have friends. Friends that call to check up on us and see if we need anything. friends that are in the same boat of waiting but are still making sure you are ok! Band of Brothers and Sisters right there!
-A Government and President- YES I am even thankful for them. Are they acting more like my 2 year old throwing a tempertantrum? YES! Both sides are! I don't care if you are Democrat or Republican, BOTH are acting silly! Do we need border protection? YES! Do our Border Patrol need support? YES! Try to cross the border into any other country and you will be arrested or shot or even in some countries you step on their soil you might step on a LAND MINE! Not to get started on a Political debate, I do support our Border Patrol, Coast Guard(who are also NOT being paid) and our law enforcement! They all need support! But even with ALL that is going on in our country right now, no paycheck, no end in sight, there is no other country I would rather live in! No government that I would rather have! We are FREE people! Free to Vote, Free to speak, free to believe anything we want! I have lived in a few different countries, seen a few different governments and this is the one I would choose everytime! We can't be arrested for taking a picture of a Postoffice, water tower or a bridge. We can't be imprisoned for our faith or telling people about our faith. We can't be killed for owning a BIBLE! We can have opinions that are different then others, we can voice those opinions, even though I wish some people would use less bad language when voicing those opinions. WE ARE FREE! DO YOU REALLY GET THAT??
-I have JESUS!! I don't deserve him but I have him. He died for Me! ME! The girl who says things wrong, sometimes offends people, messes up, yells at my kids, who doubts, who questions and many times fails! He died for me! I choose him! In all life's hard times, I choose Jesus!
Last night as I laid there going over all these blessings in my head, I fell asleep thanking God for all the blessings in my life. He knows what he is doing, even if our government people don't. I take comfort in that! If you are affected by this shutdown and having problems, let me know, or your local church know. They may can help! I have seen a community reach out and help during this time. From Resturants, schools, city officials. They are helping that's what we are suppose to do. Reach out and help our neighbors and friends.
If you are anxious and worried and can't fall asleep. Count your blessings, because sheep are dumb and counting them is useless....unless you are a shepherd, then count them because you don't want to lose any and it is your job! Do it well! . But for us Non-Shepherd people, count the blessings in your life. Sleep comes a lot quicker and more encouraging. God Bless You today!
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