I am thankful, and it isn't even Thanksgiving yet!
#1 - music & how thankfulness slows me down to hear & listen – lingering in a store just a little longer after checking out to finish listening to the song that’s playing
#26 - my boys both curled up with pillow, blanket, & book… this warm wintry moment --- one in Narnia, one in the Shire, and me… all here!
#135 - a phone call … and a realization that a burden has become a blessing – who would guess that what I dreaded would become a delight… not wanting to go back (or have back) the thing I “gave up” – wondering, why all the struggle & hesitation to let go? – finding freedom & blessing in the loss… discovering that holding on was yoking me to a burden from which God was freeing me … and all this revelation from one phone call.
This morning I logged #615 …
Who but God can truly count the gifts of God?
Some entries started as one thought and ending with mini-lists filling 2 and 3 journal pages
With 20+ lines on a page, and multiple “gifts” on a line, how many “gifts” are wrapped up in a number?
Someone’s name …
I’m thankful for the blessing of their friendship,
and so many wonderful memories associated with the thought of them.
One moment …
and the details that make that moment special.
a season,
a holiday,
a weekend,
a date,
a day dream,
a meal,
a surprise,
a place … and a chain of presents tied to each gift.
Even the abstract blessings of
freedom,
peace,
hope,
grace,
faith …
inspire line upon line of concrete blessings.
I ponder the math.
What number should I multiply to give an estimate count of His good gifts?
When I started this gratitude journal in January I thought I’d reach 1,000 within a few months, but with Thanksgiving only a few weeks away, I doubt I’ll have numbered 1,000 gifts by then.
“1,000” … what is a number?
Since this is a habit I intend to keep all my life,
how many volumes of journals will I have?
And what number will I reach when I write my last entry?
And how many gifts will have gone unwritten?
Only God knows…
Every heartbeat, every breath, every sunrise and sunset, …
If the average heart beat is 72 beats per minute…
72 x 60 mins x 24hrs x 365.25 days = 37,869,120 blessings every year
Gifts I’ve Been Given = ?
I have been most blessed by a most generous God.
I’ve earned none of it. I deserve none of it.
I am rich.
#26 - my boys both curled up with pillow, blanket, & book… this warm wintry moment --- one in Narnia, one in the Shire, and me… all here!
#135 - a phone call … and a realization that a burden has become a blessing – who would guess that what I dreaded would become a delight… not wanting to go back (or have back) the thing I “gave up” – wondering, why all the struggle & hesitation to let go? – finding freedom & blessing in the loss… discovering that holding on was yoking me to a burden from which God was freeing me … and all this revelation from one phone call.
This morning I logged #615 …
Some entries started as one thought and ending with mini-lists filling 2 and 3 journal pages
With 20+ lines on a page, and multiple “gifts” on a line, how many “gifts” are wrapped up in a number?
Someone’s name …
I’m thankful for the blessing of their friendship,
and so many wonderful memories associated with the thought of them.
One moment …
and the details that make that moment special.
a season,
a holiday,
a weekend,
a date,
a day dream,
a meal,
a surprise,
a place … and a chain of presents tied to each gift.
Even the abstract blessings of
freedom,
peace,
hope,
grace,
faith …
inspire line upon line of concrete blessings.
I ponder the math.
What number should I multiply to give an estimate count of His good gifts?
When I started this gratitude journal in January I thought I’d reach 1,000 within a few months, but with Thanksgiving only a few weeks away, I doubt I’ll have numbered 1,000 gifts by then.
Since this is a habit I intend to keep all my life,
how many volumes of journals will I have?
And what number will I reach when I write my last entry?
And how many gifts will have gone unwritten?
Only God knows…
Every heartbeat, every breath, every sunrise and sunset, …
If the average heart beat is 72 beats per minute…
72 x 60 mins x 24hrs x 365.25 days = 37,869,120 blessings every year
Gifts I’ve Been Given = ?
I have been most blessed by a most generous God.
I’ve earned none of it. I deserve none of it.
I am rich.
