Thankful!

"Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don't get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes" (Matthew 6:34 MSG).

A fitting scripture for what I have been feeling lately. I love the translation from the Message. We spent the weekend at a swim meet and a baseball tournament for Taylor and I found myself thinking about Parker missing these moments in life. I am not surprised that these are the verses he gave to me. I am thankful that Parker continues to thrive, he doesn't need medication and know we are truly blessed! Today's devotion arrived with another reminder...thank you Lord for always meeting my needs! Parker's new favorite toy is his Nuk brush and here he is with big brothers winnings! Wonder if the Nuk brush could make my other three brush their teeth more often?

"May you always be joyful in your union with the Lord. I say it again: rejoice!" (Philippians 4:4 TEV).

Thank God in all things--Whenever you pray, you should always pray with thanksgiving. The healthiest human emotion is not love but gratitude. It actually increases your immunities. It makes you more resistant to stress and less susceptible to illness. People who are grateful are happy. But people who are ungrateful are miserable because nothing makes them happy. They're never satisfied. It's never good enough. So if you cultivate the attitude of gratitude, of being thankful in everything, it reduces stress in your life.Think about the right things--If you want to reduce the level of stress in your life, you must change the way you think because the way you think determines how you feel. And the way you feel determines how you act, which is why the Bible teaches that, if you want to change your life, you need to change what you’re thinking about.This involves a deliberate conscious choice where you change the channels. You choose to think about the right things. Because the root cause of stress is the way we choose to think, we need to focus on the positive and on God's word.What is the result of not worrying, praying about everything, giving thanks, and focusing on the right things? Paul tells us the result is, "you will experience God's peace which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand. His peace will keep your thoughts and your heart quiet and at rest as you trust in Christ Jesus."