3 Gifts Found in Little People

519. Their words. I love to hear them learning new words and using them - sometimes correctly, sometimes not. But you can just see their minds growing and learning. I. Love. This.

520. Their energy. Wow. I love to watch them run and play. Turn cartwheels and somersaults. 

520. Their purity of heart. That is a beautiful gift. 

A Gift Light, Dark, In the Shadow

516. A Gift Light: On days with the grands, it's always nice to wake up to sunshiny skies. Knowing we can spend a fun day outdoors. 

517. A Gift Dark: On days with the grands I  always look forward to bedtime! They wear me out!

518. A Gift in the shadow: When we are outside with the grands and it is summer hot, I always look for a shadow to stand in!

A Gift Bent, Beautiful, Loved

513. A Gift Bent: My Mom is losing inches. You know, when they reach an age where they begin getting shorter. This doesn't happen to everyone but to many it does. My Mom, even in her bent condition is a gift to me.

514. A Gift Beautiful: I am truly blessed by the beautiful older people in our church. I love to watch them praise and love on everyone at church. Beauty has NOTHING to do with the way you look, true beauty has to do with who you are - in the inside.

515. A Gift Loved: My husband, my children, my grands, my parents, my extended family, my church family, my friends, etc.

A Gift Sweet, Sour, Salty

510. A Gift Sweet: My favorite cookie is my homemade sugar cookie. I won a Blue Ribbon at the Major County Fair in 1968(?) I think, I mean that's been a few years ago. - Anyway, these are my favorites.

511. A Gift Sour: I remember as a child loving to cut a lemon in half, adding a bit of salt and eating them! I loved to drink the pickle juice out of the dill pickle jar. I don't indulge to that extent anymore, now my "sour" love is a good Limeade from Sonic!!

512. A Gift Salty: I love going to a good movie and getting some popcorn and a soda! We don't go to many movies but when we do we always share a big box of this salty treat. Our latest was Despicable Me 2. 

3 Gifts Baked

507.  

Birthday Cake for our Life Group.

508.

My favorite Sugar Cookies.

(sent some to Jonathan)

509.

When I make a trip to Weatherford I always ask

Jonathan if he wants me to bring food.

He loves Bierocks and often asks for them.

They are easy to freeze.

3 Gifts You Became Today in Serving

My friend Audra taking donations at our

Youth Fundraiser.

504. A Server:

I served baked beans to the left of the husband.

505. A Photographer for the fun event:

Jordan always gives me a pose!

 

Twins?

and of course - The Preacher!!

(it was a gift in serving as the photographer - I didn't say I was good at it!!!)

506. A Gift in Cleaning up:

Many times, the true fellowship, happens in the kitchen!! 

3 Gifts From Childhood

501. My parents raised me in a small church in our small town. No other gift is as important to me as the foundation for my faith.

502. I lived on a farm. That alone was a gift for me. As a teen I didn't think this way! But as a child I did and as an adult looking back I realize how blessed I truly was.

503. I was a reader. One of my fondest memories is reading books, then acting them. We had a concrete square over our septic tank and this was a perfect "stage" for acting out books.  It became a house, a church,  a school, a business, a courtroom, a boat - anything my mind could imagine was played out on this piece of concrete. A true gift for a child.

3 Gifts Musical

498. I was a young Christian adult when the Christian music scene exploded. The 70's - 80's - with the Gaither's, Sandi Patty, and on and on. It was an exciting time and I have watched God's people continue to stretch our spiritual lives with music that truly blesses us and worships Him.

499. I listen to spotify on my computer and I love being able to enjoy the same music at my desk as I do on Sunday mornings.

500. I have a grandgirl that is very musically talented. I pray that she uses this gift for the rest of her life!

3 Gifts From Your Heavenly Father

495. I have lived where the seasons don't change. It's basically the same day after day. It is a true gift for me to be able to watch as plants go dormant and then come alive again after a few months. I LOVE watching God change the seasons.

496. His Son, His Word.

497. Realizing that if I look to God, He will always answer. Maybe not the way I want but the best way - His way.

3 Gifts Unexpected

492. My step-granddaughter, Lauren, is a beautiful Christian girl. This summer she had an opportunity to go to Kingston, Jamaica on a missions trip. I was so very excited to find out that her group worked at the same church we worked with while we lived in Jamaica! What a small world. She got to meet some of the amazing people I worked with while there!!

493. Every day I am amazed at the unexpected wonderful gift I found in my husband. God has truly blessed me.

494. I am a home body. I love being at home. It has been a wonderful gift being able to work from home and spend so much time in my favorite place!

3 Gifts Learned

489. "In hard times I've learned 3 things: I am stronger than I ever imagined, Jesus was closer than I ever realized, and I am loved more than I ever knew."  I read this one day on a devotional flip calendar and knew it was written for me. I hope to never forget these 3 things.

490. I've learned that the joys, hurts, aches and pains of being a Mom - never go away no matter how old your kids are.

491. I've learned that I feel better when I exercise.

3 Gifts in Your Dad

486. I realize that our world is made up of "step" families. It's very common. My sister-in-law, Minda, told me of a 5th grade class she had a few years ago with every student in a situation where they lived with only one biological parent or no biological parent. EVERY student.

But in 1957, being in a step family wasn't that common. My Dad accepted me as his and I never felt left out or mistreated because of this "step" situation. He took me in as his own.

487. My Dad has always had a wonderful work ethic. Being a wheat farmer - he also has shown a perfect example of being a hard worker.

488. As my parent's have aged I realize what a gift it is for my Dad to be so willing to care for my Mom. I know its not always easy for either of them.

A Gift in a Box, A Bag, A Book

483. A Gift in a Box: Our shipping supplies come in boxes. These are a gift because it is another example of a retired couple supplementing their income in such a fun (most of the time!) way.

484. A Gift in a Bag: This summer when we took the grands on vacation, I decided I needed to be a bit more organized - (My sister-in-law Debra laughs at my "organization") anyway, it was so nice to have this backpack and have all things readily available. While spending a day in an amusement park having wet wipes, chap stick, sun screen, (I have a very handsome ginger for a grandboy) my camera and all the other "essentials" right there! PLUS, imagine the calories I burned carrying this heavy thing around all day!!!!

485. A Gift in a Book:  Are you kidding me??? I very seldom meet a book that I don't find some kind of gift within her pages. Whether it is a life changing book - like the Bible or Ann Voskamp's book "One Thousand Gifts," or a book telling me more about history, a fiction book where the characters become my friends or enemies - all books can offer a gift. It may be the gift of choosing to put it down and never finish it - but really, that's a gift, too - it proves to me the freedom I have.

3 Gifts Hanging Down

480. One evening, Randy and I were sitting on the deck, enjoying the weather and talking. I noticed something behind his head moving. Imagine our surprise when we realized a snake was moving along our railing! Partially on and partially hanging down. Now, I'm not sure this was a real gift but once we got Andru out to see it we all had a good laugh over it. - And laughter is a gift.

481. The honey suckle hanging down from our windmill in the back yard.

And our tree that has ivy hanging down from it. It stays green all year and is beautiful.

482. The swing we found at an estate sale. Randy completely repainted it and put on new wood and chain. We couldn't find chain the right size except in green and bright yellow! We chose the green for our swing to hang on.

3 Gifts Moving

477.  Grandgirls playing in the water!!

478. My daily workout keeps me moving.

479. The wind blowing in some cool air and rain.

3 Gifts Found in His Word

Matthew 6

474. Instructions on giving to the needy.

475. Instructions on prayer.

476. Instructions on fasting.

3 Gifts of Stone

471. My Oklahoma stone in the backyard.
           

472. The foundation stone of every home I have ever lived in. The foundation stone of every church I have ever worshiped in.


473. Peter. 

Matthew 16:18

18 And I tell you that you are Peter,[a] and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades[b] will not overcome it. NIV

18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. KJV

3 Gifts in His Word

I love my Bible. 

468. First of all, God gives us words of comfort, encouragement, peace and I could go on and on. His Word is sufficient for all instances.

469. God's Word Gives us a description of the early church - we should model our churches after this.

Acts 2:44-47

470. God's Word tells us the "end of the story." We, who believe, should have no worries about how this will all play out. God has a blueprint and He has shared it with us.

His Gift to Us.

3 Gifts About You

Does everyone else find it as hard as I do to say kind things about myself? It's easier to go to someone else and say "Can you tell me 3 gifts about me?" But this time I'm going to list 3 characteristics I believe are gifts about me - then I will ask the husband and see if they are similar.

465.  I try very hard to be kind. At my age :) sometimes I can get grumpy but I still try to be kind. My motto - the one I found several years ago and have tried to live by is "Be kinder than necessary for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle." Of course the reason this made such an impression on me is because I was living in a battle of my own.

466. I love my family. Not in a suffocating way - which I often see in adults, but in a way that lets them be their own people and go on their own paths. And often believing "I" know best - this is not always an easy task.

467. I have a great sense of humor!! Although I can often be sarcastic. I love to laugh and enjoy life.

So, I asked the husband.

He said:

     I know how to meet and greet people. I can work a room.

     I can carry on good conversations.

     I am very good at hospitality.

This is an interesting prompt because often we see ourselves differently than others see us. Often it's hard to even find a gift within ourselves - depending on the day and the time of our lives. 

I love it that Ann Voskamp challenges us to see ourselves as others see us and to contemplate how God sees us.

3 Gifts Yellow

                          
                           462.

  

                                              

                                463.

 464.