3 Gifts Painted

432. Before the husband and I married, we painted the upstairs bedrooms. This was a gift because it was the first project we did together. It gave me an opportunity to work beside him and vice versa. A great opportunity for us to get "better acquainted" before we married.

433.  A few months ago, I took some media art classes. I'm not convinced I've got a talent for it. But I do know that I enjoy it. It's fun and relaxing. 

434.  I love color. The husband perked up my deck by refreshing our lawn furniture. This is a great gift for me and for our deck!!

3 Gifts About Your Parents

429.  Always being there for me.

430.  Raising me in a Christian home.

431.  Being so supportive of me over these last few years.

3 Gifts in Weakness

426. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Even in my weakest moments I know I can call on Christ.

427. In 2009 I ran a 5K in the Oklahoma Memorial Run. Feeling the weakest at the end of the race, it was also the greatest feeling of accomplishment.

428. I love music. I like the old hymns, I like the era of the Gaither's and I enjoy the praise hymns. 

This hymn states, "I am weak, but thou art mighty." -So true, I am weak but God is mighty.

Guide Me O Thou Great Redeemer Hymn

Guide me, O thou great redeemer,
Pilgrim through this barren land;
I am weak, but thou art mighty,
Hold me with thy powerful hand;
Bread of heaven, bread of heaven
Feed me till I want no more;
Feed me till I want no more.

Open now the crystal fountain
Whence the healing stream doth flow;
Let the fire and cloudy pillar
Lead me all my journey through:
Strong deliverer, strong deliverer;
Be thou still my strength and shield;
Be thou still my strength and shield.

When I tread the verge of Jordan,
Bid my anxious fears subside;
Death of death, and hell's destruction
Land me safe on Canaan's side:
Songs of praises, songs of praises,
I will ever give to thee;
I will ever give to thee.

A Gift at 8:00, 12:00 and 2:00

423. 8:00:  On Mondays, the first thing I do is strip the bed and wash the sheets. I'm thankful that I have a comfortable bed! I'm also very thankful I have a washer and dryer. 

And this reminds me of a story....

Elizabeth Elliot is one of my favorite people. I love to read her books, I used to listen to her on the radio and when I hear news of her, I'm always eager to hear/see what is said. Anyway, as a child when singing the hymn "Bringing in the Sheaves" - do you remember that one?

Sowing in the morning, sowing seeds of kindness,

Sowing in the noontide and the dewy eve;

Waiting for the harvest, and the time of reaping,

We shall come rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves.

Refrain:

Bringing in the sheaves, bringing in the sheaves,

We shall come rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves,

Bringing in the sheaves, bringing in the sheaves,

We shall come rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves.

Sowing in the sunshine, sowing in the shadows,

Fearing neither clouds nor winter’s chilling breeze;

By and by the harvest, and the labor ended,

We shall come rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves.

Refrain

Going forth with weeping, sowing for the Master,

Though the loss sustained our spirit often grieves;

When our weeping’s over, He will bid us welcome,

We shall come rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves.

Refrain

Anyway, Elizabeth Elliot said on her radio program that she always sang this when she brought clothes in off the clothesline and that she was really quite old before she realized the words weren't "Bringing in the Sheets."  I love this story. So I've included in this joy dare the wonderful gift of a beautiful mentor like Elizabeth Elliot.

424. 12:00; Lunch with my husband. I love my time with him.

425. 2:00; Today as I've been finishing up the laundry, the gift I have at 2:00 is watching westerns with Randy!

A Gift Outside, Inside, Upside-down

420. Outside:  I love color. So my dear husband gave me some more color outside and I L.O.V.E. it!!

421. Inside: Cool Air. I am really thankful for air conditioning!



422. Upside Down:  Ava turning cartwheels.

A Gift of Rhythm, Rhyme, Reason

417. Rhythm:  Just this week, I was reminded of an old song - old from the '80's. My daughter, Holly, reminded me of it. Rich Mullins, "The Cup Song."  A gift in rhythm. 

418. Rhyme:   Ecclesiastes 3: 1-8

         

         There is a time for everything,

          and a season for every activity under heaven:

          a time to be born and a time to die,

          a time to plant and a time to uproot,

          a time to kill and a time to heal,

          a time to tear down and a time to build,

          a time to weep and a time to laugh,

          a time to mourn and a time to dance,

          a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,

          a time to embrace and a time to refrain,

          a time to search and a time to give up,

          a time to keep and a time to throw away,

          a time to tear and a time to mend,

          a time to be silent and a time to speak,

          a time to love and a time to hate,

          a time for war and a time for peace.

This rhyme of Solomon's is a gift as we realize "What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun." Ecclesiastes 1:9

419. Reason: reason is the capacity for consciously making sense of things.

Sometimes - it's hard to make sense of things. Especially looking at our lives horizontally. But then, when we look at our lives vertically, through God - we still may not make sense of if - but we can reason that what is happening is okay because God is in control. 

Coming to this reasoning is a gift from God.

  

3 Gifts That Made Me Smile

414. Grandkid stories!!! I love to hear and to tell the funny things my grands say!! 

415. Last week was filled with smiles and old friends. First a reunion with a friend I hadn't seen since 1990. Then a beautiful wedding of a friends daughter in Oklahoma and seeing many old friends! 

: )

416. My husband always makes me smile!

3 Gifts Found in the Dark

411. The best time of the day. Cuddling with my husband at the end of the day. Reliving the blessings of the day. Talking - usually I talk, he falls asleep!!

412.  God's vast heavens. Stars too many to count. 

413. It is always quieter at night. When I lived in the country and even now, out on the deck, the city quietens and peace descends.

3 Gifts Water

408. Yesterday at church we had a baptism. Such an exciting time. A TRUE gift of water. Given by Jesus.

409. The rain. We have had a drought for the last couple of years and this summer we have had LOTS of rain! Love it.

410. Nothing tastes better than a cool drink of water - at anytime!

3 Gifts Empty

405. The empty nest. At the time, I know I didn't think of it as a gift. But watching my youngest mature, become a man in his own right. That is truly a gift. And before him - as each child left - I was so excited for them - just starting out in life, just beginning to live the lives they had only dreamed of - or never imagined! God is with each of them and I know He hears my daily prayers for them. - no emptiness there.

406. The fact that usually 3 times a day, I have an empty plate in front of me. God provides nourishment and I am so thankful.

407.  The laundry basket. (this is Monday!) I'll be so excited to end the day with an empty laundry basket!!

3 Gifts Inside a Closet

402.  Clothes. I'm so thankful I have clothes for the Oklahoma/Kansas seasons. This means I need winter, spring, summer and fall clothes. 

(oh, and purses. I do enjoy a new purse!)

403. I keep gifts in a closet. I love giving gifts so keep some on hand. 

The candles in my closet are a triple gift.

I can use them.

I can give them as gifts.

I can help support my daughter since she is a DM for this company!

God Blesses!

404. I raised 4 kids. We loved games. I still have many of them. Randy and I don't use these often BUT we do play Words with Friends. He in his chair, I in mine and we spend many evenings playing Words while we watch TV!!

Jonathan always liked games that included numbers - like Sequence.

Heather like Monopoly and Life.

Tim liked anything we were playing.

Holly and I spent many hours playing Gin Rummy. 

(which is my favorite)

Now I play it on my phone or kindle 

because my Gin Rummy Partner lives in Colorado.

Andru likes Apples to Apples!

I love it that God created people talented enough to make these games 

that entertain families for years!!

3 Gifts Found in Christ

384. We have been studying the parables in Sunday School. What a gift we have from Christ in His teachings. He taught for the people he ministered to and with - and He taught for all of us who have come since that time. 

385. His gift of teaching me 9 character qualities for my life in Matthew 5:1-12.  

1. to have an humble and honest opinion of myself
2. to have great sorrow for my sins and to repent
3. to submit to God, be self controlled with everyone
4. to be holy
5. to be satisfied
6. to show compassion
7. to be pure in heart
8. to restore peace
9. to stand up for Jesus and do what is right in God's eyes

386. I'm thankful for His gift of teaching me to pray.

‘Our Heavenly Father, may your name be honoured; May your kingdom come, and your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day the bread we need, Forgive us what we owe to you, as we have also forgiven those who owe anything to us. Keep us clear of temptation, and save us from evil’.”  JB Phillips translation

A Gift of Challenge, of Conflict, of Change

399. A Gift of Challenge: The biggest challenge I have faced in the last couple of years is being at home in Randy's church. I'm adjusting. The one thing that has helped the most is our Life Group. We opened our home for this small group and I love the people, I love our studies. I greatly enjoy our discussions. Other than Randy, this is the main thing that ties me to this church. I don't want to be misunderstood here, it is a great church. Biblical teaching, wonderful worship. The problem lies with me. I know this. I'm working on it. I pray daily about it. God is answering.

400. A Gift of Conflict: getting over myself so that this wonderful church God has blessed me with will indeed become "my church."

401. A Gift of Change: Prayer changes me. I'm praying for God to give me the ability to accept this church as my home. 

3 Gifts in What I'm Reading

396. I enjoy reading Blogs. I have several I follow regularly. With some, I keep up with old friends, with others I am challenged to live a better more spiritual life and with some I get enthused about quilting, painting, or cooking!!

397. I just finished "The Harbinger" by Jonathan Cahn. It was so interesting and caused me to dig deeper for more information. I love that!!

398. Sometimes for a daily devotional I read Proverbs. If you start on the first of the month, since there are 30 chapters in Proverbs you can read a chapter a day for the month. I do this quite often and am always blessed.

3 Gifts About My Home

(my numbers will be out of sequence for a few gifts because I'm not at home and the page with 384 - 392 listed is on my desk.... )

393. 

One of my greatest gifts about my home is the deck. - this window looking out is a great blessing for the times I'm not on the deck!


394.

I'm so thankful for the heritage that I have in my home. Bits of my Maternal and Paternal Grandparents. Bit's of Randy's family. It all forms together to make a home.

395.

A GREAT gift is having a husband who likes to help!! Actually, just sharing a home with this man is one of my greatest gifts e.v.e.r.!!!

A Gift in a Smile, Sign, Snack

381. I got to go to Weatherford and visit Jonathan. His smile makes me happy. I have a "mother's" feelings of guilt on leaving Oklahoma and leaving "my 27 year old." - But I'm adjusting and learning that it's okay for me to have left. Then when I get to see him - and I visit with him, laugh with him, enjoy his smile - I know all is well and I'm very thankful for this.

382. I try to make a regular trip to visit my Mom and Dad every other week. Then I add a run down to Weatherford every few weeks to see Jonathan. This week on my way, I thought I would try for a picture of a sign of each town but didn't get them! But I did get a picture of the sign of where Jonathan works! I'm very thankful he has a great job that he loves!

383. I'm not a lover of apples. But this evening at the hotel, I was waiting to see Jonathan and was peckish. In the lobby was a big bowl of apples so I grabbed one and it was delicious! Made the waiting go quicker!! I'm thankful I get to travel to south-western Oklahoma on a regular basis to visit with my boy.

A Gift of Peace, Hope, and Love

378. The peace that passes all understanding. - Which is the peace that God gives us. I have peace in my heart. I'm thankful for this peace.

379. I have hope in eternal life. It's the hope given by God. I'm thankful for this hope.

380. I love my kids. I'm thankful for this love and I'm thankful for my children.