THE PETERSENS

1.) Jesus

• The One who loves me steadfastly.
• The One who died on the cross to save me from my ugly sin.
• The One who has redeemed me and made me one of His very own.
• The One who is faithful toward His children, even when they are faithless.
• The One who gives eternal life.
• The One who saved me from God’s wrath and showered me with His mercy by the shedding of His blood on the cross.

2.) Ben

• My dear husband who, with God’s help, has led us through thick and thin.  He has seen me on my worst days and yet chooses to stay married to me!
• My dear husband who shares my first love, Jesus.  Ben loves our Savior more than life itself.  He even loves Him more than me and the boys…that is totally fine with me.
• My dear husband who tirelessly works hard to provide for our family’s needs.  He has a full plate of responsiblities, but even on the most stressful and discouraging work days, he is not prone to grumble.  I could stand to learn a lot from him.
• My dear husband who loves our boys so much.  Some of his favorite things to do with them lately is to tackle and tickle them until they can barely breathe.  Reading the Chronicles of Narnia and the Bible with them are also a high point of his day.
• My dear husband who seeks to serve others.  I often find him joyfully attacking the pile of dishes in the sink after dinner, taking out our stinky trash, washing out poopy cloth diapers or cleaning up the Leggett home after community group.
• My dear husband who always lets me have the last French fry, brings a glass of water to put on my nightstand at bedtime, warms up the cold sheets for me, puts gas in my car so I don’t have to, watches cheesy figure skating movies with me, and doesn’t get mad at me when I accidentally shave a bald spot on his head while cutting his hair.  This list can go on and on.  I love you, hon!

3.) My little boy, Joshua Lee

• My little boy that loves to spend time with me and looks forward to going on our donut date later this week.
• My little boy who is growing in His knowledge of the Lord.
• My little boy who loves his little brother so.  He helps Caleb lift heavy things.  He helps Caleb get unstuck from cramped spaces.  He tickles and tackles Caleb, sending Caleb into serious giggle fits.  He has compassion on his little brother when Caleb is hurt or sad.
• My little boy who has a tender heart.  Though he never got to meet Uncle Lee, he cries about his death.  He asks if people he holds dear loves Jesus; if they don’t, he immediately prays that they would.
• My little boy who never complains about being sick, going to the grocery store or having his normal routine interrupted.  Ben has apparently set a great example for him.
• My little boy who astonishes us with his intelligence.  Yesterday, he plopped down on our couch and started reading PARAGRAPHS out loud to his Daddy.  What???  Where did that come from???

4.) My littlest, Caleb Benjamin

• My littlest that still likes to be a snugglebug, even at 15 months old.
• My littlest who looks so much like me it boggles even my own dad.
• My littlest who loves toys that start with the letter “B”…balls, balloons, bears, books.
• My littlest who likes to hear words.  He points his little finger at everything and grunts, his way of asking us to name what he’s pointing.  One day out of nowhere, he will probably start talking in full sentences and I will probably poop my pants when he does.
• My littlest who loves his big brother, following JL all over the house (sometimes to JL’s dismay) and imitates what he does.
• My littlest who loves to throw food all over our floor.  Feeding him is a disaster, which is a complete paradox to how his big brother was at his age.

4.) My family

• My Daddy…who is slow to speak because he is wise and measures his words carefully.  He has loved this daughter well and I know it is because he realizes how much he is loved by God.
• My Mommy…who continues to serve God, her husband and kids, even though God has brought many trials into their life.  She will still maintain that her joy is in the Lord.
• My sister, Jambutt…who is my favorite person to laugh with, who understands my fear of dots, who adores my kids and wants to hear about every single detail of their lives, and who is generous in blessing others.
• My brother, Jonathan…whom I have watched grow up into a young man.  It is a highlight of my year whenever I get to see him.  It means that many more chances to love on him well!

5.) My church family at TCC

• My family away from family.
• My family whom I seriously live life with.  You guys help me fight against sin, encourage me with the Word and continually love me despite my sins.
• My family who has embraced my kids and loved on them.
• My family whom I have learned so much from…about what it looks like to love Jesus, what it means to live in community, what it means to treasure the Word and how I can better care for my husband and kids with joy.
• My family, given to us by the Lord God Almighty.  We are united by the blood of Christ and I look forward to spending eternity with each and every one of you!

I love my husband for many reasons.  He cares for me so well, even when his days are crazy busy.  I don’t deserve him in the least bit.  One of the top reasons I love him so much is because he cares for my spiritual well-being.  He is passionate to see me run hard after Jesus and be close to Him.

This Christmas, one of his gifts to me was the book “Feminine Appeal” by Carolyn Mahaney.  It is simply AWESOME.  My intention is to discuss each chapter on this blog about once a week.  So, get ready…because you women out there will thoroughly enjoy what this wise, godly woman has to say.

Do you ever struggle with being discontent?  I do.  All the time.  And, I hate it.  It’s such a battle.  One of the weapons I’ve found to be useful in this battle is the weapon of “thankfulness.”  When I dwell on the things I do not have or cannot have or will not be, I become discontent and ill-hearted.  But, when I dwell on the things I DO have, what I SHOULD NOT have but have and who I am today before Jesus Christ, my heart leaps with thankfulness.  Then I am content.  So, in my struggle with being discontent today, I am going to blog about all the things I am thankful for.

1.) I am thankful that my sin is so clearly ever before me because that means the Holy Spirit is active in my life.  It also helps me look to the power and the hope that is in the Cross upon which my Savior died.

2.) I am thankful that my house is in a constant disarray because it means I am not alone, but I have a family to take care of.

3.) I am thankful for all the small cars underfoot and the drawings on my walls because it means that my boys are having fun playing together.

4.) I am thankful for the never-ending stream of dishes in my sink and in my dishrack because it means that we have food to eat and I have mouths to feed.

5.) I am thankful for sometimes-inconvenient and exhausting runs to the grocery store with my boys because it means that we have money to buy food.

6.) I am thankful for a husband who comes home grumpy from work because it means that he is employed.

7.) I am thankful for the financial hardships we’ve had this year because it has taught me to…sew, bake all of our bread and to coupon like a crazy woman.

8.) I am thankful for conflict in our marriage because it means that reconciliation made possible only through Christ follows closely behind.

9.) I am thankful for nights where I get little to no sleep because of a sick baby because it means that I have a baby who depends on me for care.

10.) I am thankful for days where I end up in tears because it means that I can’t do it on my own, but Christ is the one who strengthens me.  He is All-Sufficient.  I am not.

11.)  I am thankful for the times where I have to train and discipline my son because it means that God has entrusted to us a great responsiblity…to show JL who God is.  God is a God who hates sin, but loves the sinner.  He is just and forgiving and steadfast in His love toward us.

12.) I am thankful for my gray hairs because it means that I have lived 27 years of life…27 years in which God has sustained my each breath even when He did not have to.

13.)  I am thankful that we are far away from family in MN (even though it is super hard) because now we see that we also have family at our church, Treasuring Christ Church.

14.) I am thankful for life’s trials because it is in the darkest times when I learn the most about my God.

15.) I am thankful that we never have any extra money in our budget because it has taught me that THINGS do not bring about happiness or joy.  Only Jesus does that.

16.)  I am thankful that though I am the foremost of sinners, God saved me from His wrath out of His great mercy.

I’m sure I could continue this list for a long time, but my to-do list beckons me.  My soul sings with praise to the Almighty King now…funny how uttering thanks to Him can change a person’s perspective.