Count Your Blessings
Posted in Daily Focus on Saturday, February 8, 2014
"He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings. And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the LORD" (Psalm 40:2-3).
How is your homeschooling starting today? Has another late night and early morning drained your energy level and given you an attitude that is less than positive? Fatigue can make cowards of us all and turn the daily housework into mountains and the homeschool responsibilities into huge obstacles. Just when you think you can't take anymore, you need to step back and regain your focus. Your children need you to bring a positive perspective to their learning experience.
Seeing the day through God's eyes instead of your own will change your attitude and possibly the results of your day. A close homeschooling friend blessed me with a cross-stitched version of the poem below. (I think she knew I needed to see it every day!) Its constant reminder encouraged me to be thankful for all we had and changed many a bad morning into a good one as I reflected on its message. I pray this poem will do the same for you.
Author Unknown
Count your blessings instead of your crosses;
Count your gains instead of your losses.
Count your joys instead of your woes;
Count your friends instead of your foes.
Count your smiles instead of your tears;
Count your courage instead of your fears.
Count your full years instead of your lean;
Count your kind deeds instead of your mean.
Count your health instead of your wealth;
Count on God instead of yourself.
Father God, lift the heavy burdens off my heart and let me see this new day as You do. Give me strength to stand against the discouragement that weighs me down and help me to defeat Satan's lies with praise to You for Your blessings. In Jesus' name, Amen.
Comments(8 comments)
KIM A 02/08/2009 08:56:56
count your blessings this morning has help me so this my grandson goes to a christian school and we have been have money problem ,but when i open count your blessing this morning it really help me too see where god has brought us from THANKS YOU SO MUCH
ANNE S 02/08/2010 07:52:49
Learning to count our blessings rather than discouraging ourselves over what we want, or what we do not have puts a far better perspective on things. Still learning to react better to the actions.
MELISSA R 02/08/2010 09:15:50
This devotional really encouraged me today. I homeschool 3 boys, and was feeling very ovewhelmed with all of the acedemic challenges, but I know that I need to not rely on my own strength, but the Lord\'s. I need to look at this day through His eyes and know that He will see us through. Thank you.
D S 02/08/2011 04:44:49
This has uplifted my soul as I felt very down today and
Overwhelmed by much discouragement and yet
Reading that has made me grateful and appreciate
All that I receive in Homeschooling . Thankyou
SUSAN H 02/08/2011 05:16:19
I needed this today! I have the flu and one of our three daughters has the chickenpox, do I need encouragement? Yes! I am so very thankful for my oldest daughter who made breakfast for everyone this morning. Some days the \"little things\" are really \"big\". I am going to copy the poem above and figure out how to cross stitch, embroider, or paint it myself - it would be a wonderful reminder when all I can see is dirty laundry, dishes, and schoolwork yet to be completed...thank you so much!
SHERILIN A 02/08/2011 07:24:49
I needed this so much today! We put our beloved puppy (8.5 years old) to sleep yesterday due to medical reasons. I am having a difficult time not seeing him everywhere I look. DD doesn\'t remember her life without him. This poem is a good reminder to look beyond the sadness and negative and focus on the good, the joy, Christ....he is our sustainer. Thank you for sharing this morning. It is just what the Great Physician needed me to see.
TRISH M 02/08/2012 06:43:13
Trish M
Had another interrupted sleep last night from both of our daughters (7 & 2); 2nd night in a row; The oldest and I sort of hit heads this morning upon getting her up and ready to leave for school.... yet another small reason homeschooling sounds so good right now! Feeling rather grumpy and spirits down, this poem is exactly what I needed to redirect my thoughts! I immediately copied and pasted it into my files to keep; thinking the same as Susan H above in figuring out how/where to put it so that I can see it everyday!
Thank you Lord for using AO and Daily Focus to speak to us all at times we need to hear you the most!!
SONIA Z 02/08/2012 07:23:13
Thank you for your divine insight the Lord has blessed you with and in turn blesses so many others as myself. I have so many errands to run today and yet I wasn\'t able to get solid sleep so I need to count my blessings even in the midst of the hustle and bustle that awaits me. Your words are an encouragement!