He Has Dealt Bountifully with Me

Sometimes, between the new gadgets and the gimmes and the advertisements, we can forget God's profuse blessings and get caught up in a sea of negativity... and I just read something that I think will combat this in our lives if we let it roll around in our minds:

Psalm 13:6--
I will sing to the Lord,
Because HE has dealt bountifully with me.

So, I want to share some of the ways that God has dealt bountifully with me:

• He placed me in a family that taught me things of God from the very beginning of my life.
• I have been raised in a country where we are able to worship God freely. I have always known this, but having lived in places where Bibles are hidden and churches meet secretly, I am much more aware now of what a gift this really is.
  
• I have always had a copy of His Word available to me in my language, and I was taught to read from a young age.
• Though I could have gone hopelessly astray, He righted me and gave me a series of mid-course corrections. He kept me from ruining my own life.
• This husband He picked out for me... y'all. Seriously. What a man... I am so very blessed.
  
• He has allowed me to be home with our children from the very beginning, and (having held my "dream" job before having kids) I am fully convinced that no job could compare with this one of wife & mom.
• He is changing us to be more and more like Him... I see evidence of His work in Doug and in my own life as well. And though we're not anywhere near completed, it is exciting to know that "He's still working on me."
  
• He has given us four beautiful, incredibly funny, unique little people to (Lord willing) raise up into men and a woman of God.
• AND... He is already drawing them to Himself. Each one of them is being drawn towards Christ at his/her level, and it is precious to see.
• He is faithful to teach me through His Word.
• He is faithful to convict me of sin and not just let me wallow in mediocrity or shallow, unrefined faith.
• He is faithful to give painful, much-needed discipline when I am hard-hearted and need it, and to deal with me gently when I am broken and easily moldable.
• He is faithful to continue the work that He starts, and I see evidence of that all around me... in our lives and in the lives of the people all around us.
  
• He has given me Making Home, which has become such a neat place where I can encourage, exhort, love, and sharpen (and be encouraged, exhorted, loved, and sharpened by) the Body of Christ, even from a great distance.
• He has even allowed us to live in amazing places all around the world-- letting our family see the day-in, day-out hopelessness and emptiness of atheism, idol worship, and works-based religions. I am so grateful that my children in particular have had this firsthand evidence of the insufficiency of religions that depend on man. I trust that this is part of His plan to draw each of them towards faith in Him & His extravagant grace.
  
• When I offer myself up (through hospitality, writing, praying for a friend, or being willing to do whatever I can do) for His service, He uses me! What a sweet thing it is to be a useful "pot" in the hands of the Almighty God!

And I could go on and on! And you probably could too. Take this day to consider how God has dealt with you.

Psalm 13:6--
I will sing to the Lord,
Because HE has dealt bountifully with me.

A request: please don't let this list serve as reasons for grumbling or complaining, even in your mind. There are many, MANY things I could have listed that would not sound bountiful. But the truth is that even in those things, God has been gracious. If I listed out every negative thing that ever happened to me, or every sin I have willfully committed against my God, it would not be a pretty sight.

But we all have so much to be thankful for. Even those who do not know Him as God receive grace from His hand every single day. Rain, food, love, provision, friends, each and every breath of life... all of these things are undeserved grace from His hand. We all have much to be thankful for.

So consider. If you were to sing of God's bounty in your life, what would be the themes of your song?