Sometimes we all just need to lift up our eyes to see the blessings that are all around us.

Our Heavenly Father—My Heavenly Father has blessed me in so many ways that are more than I ever dreamed it could be.

These inconceivable ways that He has blessed me are a delight to my soul when I choose to lift up my eyes and see them.

This week I am counting the blessings that He has given.

These blessings are …

595. excitement over a pet caterpillar

596. grilling dinner with my husband

597. important packages arriving early

598. a new album to fill with scrapbook pages

599. happy hour at Sonic

600. organized homeschool papers & books

601. catching up with a friend

602. a church that loves my littles

603. sharing pizza and conversation with friends

604. an afternoon in Williamsburg

605. cheering daddy on in his race

606. watching him win a metal

607. going to church together

What inconceivable ways have you been blessed by our Heavenly Father?

Every day that I live singing and proclaiming the good news that He saves is a day lived in completeness.

It is a day that I am at peace within my spirit.

It is a day that I can rejoice.

Those are the days that I see the blessings that He so generously gives.

I see the opportunities, the calling, and the mission, my mission among the messes and the mundane.

I have lost my way in doing that recently and He is calling me back.

He is calling me back to Him and to His word.

Today, I am taking a first step by acknowledging His work in my life, His great blessings to me that I experience every single day.

I am so sorry for the times that I overlook these blessings.

I am choosing to stop wallowing in my own guilt and move towards the forgiveness He gives.

Today is a new day to sing and proclaim!

Here are just a few of the blessings I am thankful for today…

581. Easter Sunday

582. sweet Jenny holding her daddy’s hand at chapel (seeing this picture gives me a scary glimpse of a future time of daddy walking daughter down the aisle…yikes!)

583. chocolate bunnies and hands

584. backyard egg hunt

585. new sand in the sandbox

586. eating out as a family

587. new library books to read

588. special lunches—banana peanut butter roll-ups with strawberries

589. kickball in the backyard

590. a fresh haircut

591. date night turned into a double date

592. dessert and a game with friends

593. playing with Jenny before bed

594. rising early to spend time reading His word and exercising

What are you praising Him for today?

This is so relevant to our world today.

This was shown in our church’s worship service last Sunday.

After watching this, I ask, will you follow Christ, the risen Savior?

Easter is about more than chocolate, bunnies, baskets, dinner, dresses, eggs, and traditions.

Easter is about the sacrifice Jesus Christ made on the cross of Calvary.

Easter is about the resurrection of Jesus and the life that only He can offer, without which there is no hope.

Watch this and remember why we are celebrating today.

It is because He lives!

On Wednesday evening I went out with others from my church to surrounding neighborhoods. We simply knocked on doors and invited our neighbors to our Easter services this weekend.

One lady that I spoke with kindly declined the invitation and told me that she would be attending her church to celebrate on Friday because “that’s when it really happened”.

Yes, today, Friday, is the day that Jesus was crucified, but the story doesn’t end there.

Jesus died for our sins on the cross at Calvary.

Good Friday is the day that we remember His sacrifice, His death on the cross.

It is good to remember this day, to remember the suffering, and the payment that Jesus made for us.

Jesus was buried and then he was raised on the third day!

He didn’t stay dead.

He was resurrected so that through him we may have life.

Without His resurrection, there is no celebration, there is no new life, there is no hope.

I am thankful for all that Christ did and I’m finding words so inadequate to describe my gratefulness.

He came to this Earth from perfect heaven above.

He made himself human and lived among the filth of this world.

He did that because he loved us.

He loved us before we knew him.

He loved us while we were still enemies with him.

He was betrayed into the hands of corrupt religious leaders who wanted to do nothing but get rid of him.

He died a horrible, painful death on a Roman cross.

He suffered more than we can fully imagine.

He bled, he cried out, he was separated from His Father.

Yet, even as he did this, he loved and he forgave.

He loved and forgave those who hurt him.

He loved and forgave you and me.

He committed his spirit to God and he died.

He was buried in a borrowed grave.

The story could have ended there. He could have been nothing more than a good teacher, a charismatic leader, and a disillusioned lunatic.

But it didn’t.

Friday isn’t the end.

There is so much more to this story. So much more to celebrate.

Three days later, on Sunday morning, he couldn’t be found in that borrowed tomb he was buried in.

He couldn’t be found because he wasn’t there.

He was alive!

He conquered death so that we may live.

So, while I am remembering today the crucifixion of my Lord on the cross and the death payment he made for me, I am celebrating on Sunday the life that he gives because he rose from the dead.

I pray that your Easter weekend is full of remembering and celebrating.

During the sermon that spoke directly to my heart yesterday morning I wrote the words, “No wonder” in the middle of the page in my journal.

“No wonder I’ve been struggling, no wonder…”

You see, the last few weeks have been a constant battle it seems.

A constant battle that I am losing.

I want so much to do the right things, to make the right choices, to force happiness, peace and joy.

I want to please everyone, my husband, my children, my family, my friends, my God…myself.

I have been struggling to be all, to do all that is expected, and I have been failing miserably.

As I sat in worship, listening to the words in the sermon, I realized why the struggle has been so hard.

I have been striving to do all of these things on my own, in my own strength and power. My mind has been set on the flesh and there has been death in my spirit, in my life.

I have not been relying on the Holy Spirit.

I have not been living in the Spirit.

I have been living for God but in direct hostility towards Him by not relying on His Sprit.

When we do life on our own we put ourselves before God. I have been putting myself before God.

Even in doing good things, I have been living apart from God. And, thus, there has been struggles and battles lost.

I can only live a life of freedom and joy by constantly looking towards the Holy Spirit. Constantly, not weekly, not daily, not even hourly, but constantly.

It is the Holy Spirit that we cling to and depend upon, not just in the hard moments of life, but in the everyday mundane.

The Holy Spirit is not a help among many, He is THE help. The only help.

I was left yesterday with three ways to set my mind on the spirit. I’ll share them with you as well.

1. Read God’s Word continually.

2. Confess sin continually.

3. Ask the Spirit to fill you continually.

As you can see, continually is the key word in every one of those. These are not a list of rules to follow, because following rules is living life on our own. It’s living life in the flesh rather than in the spirit

This week I will be continually reading, confessing, and asking. Over and over. Over and over. Because I cannot life this life on my own. I cannot function without the help that God’s spirit provides when I rely on Him alone.

This week I am counting the blessings of…

571. warmer days

572. blowing bubbles and watching them float away

573. brother and sister digging in the dirt

574. a silly girl who teaches me to have fun

575. sweet son of mine reading words in a book

576. simple afternoon snacks

577. celebrating special days in small ways

578. my girls singing in the choir

579. reading princess books for fun…watching her learn to enjoy books

580. His spirit within me…continually relying on His help

What blessings are you counting today?