Attitude of Gratitude

Good Morning Friends!  Mighty awesome is our God, Monday!  Well, here it is Monday after Thanksgiving!  Hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving and weekend, I know I sure did.  So many things which made me stop and say a big thank you to our Father!!!!  There’s one in particular that really touched my heart……a reality check….so to speak about what’s really important.  After a wonderful day and dinner with Cooper and Katy, oh yea and Mom and dad on Thursday, Kathyrn, Katy, and I headed to OKC to shop at 4 am Friday morning!  Papa kept Cooper, but Katy was excited to go “shopin” with us.   Of course, I was missing out on the ranch chores that Papa loves to save till I have an extra day off, but I didn’t care.  Figured I would worry about that on Saturday and just enjoy my time with the girls on Friday!  And yes, a definite thank you for that day….lots of love shared and Katy is a born shopper!  Saturday morning Kim and I headed out for a day of chores, first on the list was the kennels.  We worked for several hours, cleaning repairing and pampering our dogs…..I was trying hard to keep a good attitude and keep my energy going because what Kim had planned for us next was definitely going to require both a good attitude and energy.  Kim and I were going to work our calves…you know gather them, sort off mommas and then give them all their shots…..oh that means that you have to run them through the corrals and into the shoot….then give them 3 shots each!  OK, Kim lost our good shot equipment off the back of the truck awhile back and it’s too expensive to buy at one time, so we had to use one- dose shots which means I would be filling syringes for each calf….Kim would have to leave shoot, go into pens and get each calf up…..oh my…..Well, we were out in the pasture luring them in, when Kim had a call from a young-man neighbor.  He was looking for Kim because he was bored…..Oh my…..young man, country boy…bored.  Indeed!  We nabbed him up took him to Tupelo for a burger and yep, you got it….he didn’t even hesitate when Kim asked him if he would help us!!!!   I cannot even imagine how long and how many tiffs there would have been if Kim and I had set out alone!  Oh we would have done it, but…..We hadn’t been working too long when I realized how Kim and I had been blessed….Jayson did all the dangerous stuff, while I filled syringes and Kim gave the shots….Blessed….As I was cleaning up I felt a warm glow from the inside….Oh I had said “Thank you” several times, but suddenly I knew that it’s not the big things in life that warm our hearts….it’s the unselfish acts that really warm us…..right then I knew that Jayson had been sent to us by our Heavenly Father as a special Thanksgiving blessing.  And you know what…..Jayson had the best time…..He was so excited about each calf, his youthful attitude and energy were definitely a boost to Kim and I and he was having fun!  Thank you Father for the special little blessings that warm our hearts and help us but “things” into perspective!  Fill our hearts with attitudes of gratitude and help us to share the warmth of Your love with others.

 

Give thanks to the Lord for His unfailing love and His wonderful deeds.  Psalm 107:21.  I will give thanks to the Lord because of His righteousness and will sing praise t the name of the Lord Most High.  Psalm 7:17.  Praise the Lord.  Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His love endures forever.  Psalm 106:1.  Be kind and compassionate to one another.  Ephesians 4:32.  In Him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in His holy name.  Psalm 33:21.

Love you all!

February 1, 2013

Good Morning Friends! Forever loved by Him, Friday!!!  My husband was out of town yesterday, so I had to feed all the dogs when I got home last night.  I had talked to Kathyrn in the afternoon and told her I would be feeding both kennels after work, well for heaven’s sake, when I got home she and Cooper, and Katy were there and almost done feeding….how sweet was that!   I hurried into the house to change so I could go out and help them finish; Kim called and said that the neighbor that had feed the big animals didn’t realize that we had feeder lambs that needed to be fed, so……honey you will have to feed them.  We just got them last weekend so he had to explain to me what and how much.  Kathyrn and the kids were happy to go with me;  first stop was the fodder factory to harvest one 5- gallon bucket of fodder….Cooper followed me out the door, but I was in front of him so I didn’t notice when he stepped full on into a mud puddle (remember Cooper is in a cast and wears that boot thing for a shoe).  I didn’t notice, but his Mom did and she was not happy….Poor Cooper, she picked him up, pulled off the boot, put him back in the car, and told him to stay there!  Oh my goodness, he was so upset, just cried and cried you know how it is when you are 3!  Of course, Katy went in to get the fodder with us, so that upset Cooper all the more!  We got our bucket full, loaded it in the car and headed up the hill to feed the lambs, once again, Mommy made Cooper stay in the car (it was cold and windy and he had no shoe…..).   And once again, Katy went with us and joyfully helped fill the troughs with hay while Cooper continued to cry…..a tare at Nana’s heart, pathetic, whimpering, whining, almost tears kind of cry……he never stopped.  No matter what I did or said to him he continued to cry.  Back at the house Katy came in with me to borrow some hot dogs for dinner and get a popsicle…..we could hear Cooper all the way on the porch.  I cut the popsicle in half, half to Katy and half to Cooper….NOT!  Cooper was way too busy being pathetic to even have a popsicle…a blue one at that, wrapped in a napkin so his fingers wouldn’t get cold….Oh my, now that is bad!  Poor Cooper…..later in the evening I couldn’t help but think how pathetic Cooper had been and how he missed out on fun times with me and all the animals because of it.  Cooper was simply feeling sorry for himself.  Ding Dong….I heard the bell……how often in our lives do we act like Cooper, feeling sorrow for ourselves, missing out on so many blessings…..so many happy times with friends and family…..even to the point of making ourselves physically sick because of our attitude.  Life does suck sometimes…..we do step in puddles…..get our boots wet….get stuck in the car…how we handle it makes all the difference…..If we snuff out the light of God’s love with a pathetic attitude we are only hurting ourselves….missing out on fun times with our Heavenly Father…..Let’s choose to be happy, positive uplifting…..not by ourselves, nope….can’t do it alone….got to Ride with our Heavenly Father….lean on HIM….give HIM the puddles and take the blessings!  “Don’t worry, be happy!”  Thanks Father for hanging in there with us when we step in puddles.

A happy heart makes the face cheerful.  Proverbs 15:13.  I have learned t be content whatever the circumstances.  I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty.  I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.  Philippians 4:11-12.  I am the Lord, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you.  Isaiah 41:13.  Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you.  1 Peter 5:7.  Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. Philippians 4:6.  Let the light of Your face shine upon us, O Lord.  You have filled my heart with greater joy than when their grain and new wine abound.  Psalm 4:6-7.

Love you all!

Kathie A. Johnson