Thankful List Part 2

I was talking to my friend Stacie last night on my home from dropping Amy off at Drama rehearsal. Talking to Stacie always puts me in a good mood. As I walk in the house, which is strewn with Christmas stuff, I see Andrew has made a maze with the boxes and also made a "store" in said maze with all of his toys. I blow my top, completely out of proportion. You see, I hate my house in disarray. It makes me grouchy, and I take it out on whomever is around. My husband thought I was saying he was being a bad parent because he was playing chess with Aaron and talking on the phone while all of this was occurring. I wasn't, and had to explain myself later, I don't think I ever apologized though.(note to self- apologize).
I was reading before bed later and it hit me where I was.

From an excerpt of " I'm glad I'm a Mom" #14 "I love Smelly Shoes" by Lysa TerKeurst(Thanks Linda for the Book:)
For those not familiar with Lysa, she founded Proverbs 31 ministries and has a blog I read. She is real, funny and simple.

"It's all in how you look at things that makes a world of difference. If my approach is one that living life simply drains me, then I'll constantly feel drained. But if I can pull back the veil and peek behind the messes, chores, and faults of others, I'll see the treasure of what these things represent. I'm a wife! I'm a mom I've been handed the privilege to fulfill these eternally significant roles for some pretty amazing people... my family! " (Thanks God for the smack upside the head!)

So, what about my thankful list? I am thankful for smelly shoes , because that means I have active kids that can run and play, they are evidence of life well lived. Thankful I have a husband that works so hard we can pay for shoes for each of our kids, thankful for healthy kids who are blessed with athletic abilities that may pay for college some day, thankful for my creative kids I am blessed with who leave messes everywhere. Help me Lord to see past my grumbling spirit of chores and see all the things to be so thankful for.