Let me rediscover You
And breathe in me Your life anew
Tell me of the God I never knew
Let me rediscover You

Rediscover You, by Down Here

Counting 1,000 Gifts….

#1000 The journey

Yesterday, I sat and watched as my girls played red light green light in a field and my husband snapped pictures. I took the moment and framed it in my mind, silently counting it. I smiled and realized that after 72 weeks of Multitude Mondays the treasure I take away is the journey.

There was a time, when I labeled only good things as gifts. Sunrises are good, but cancer it is bad.  Girls who laugh with their sisters are good, but being up all night with a fussy baby is bad. So count the sunrises and happy girls as gifts, but definitely not the cancer or the fussy baby.  The journey has taught me that each one is to be counted  because it is a new way to rediscover who He is. In the good,  He overwhelms me with grace.  And when I face the hard, difficult, or bad, then He still overwhelms me with grace.  Either way, as Ann so beautifully says, All is grace.  And because of that, every thing He brings into my life is a gift and it is good.

A thousand things all piled up into a mountain of blessing, so how can I ask for more? But, I will.  And He will continue to give and give and give. I will count them, maybe not here, but one by one in the quiet places of my heart.

Thank you so much for letting me share this journey with you.

: : :

Gratitude is a funny little thing.  It doesn’t take much to say thank you. I only had to open my eyes to the life happening around me.   This is life.  All piled up into almost 1,000 things that are all worth saying thank you over.    He gives, He gives, He gives.  And tears well up in the corners of my eyes, because I wonder how many I missed.

Counting 1,000 Gifts….

#991  To India and home again, safe.

#992  Little girls who run and fall into daddies arms.

#993  Good report from the doctor for my dad, still cancer free.

#994  Sweet baby Carson and his mama are doing great.

#995  The struggle for routine and learning that is good and right and worth it.

#996  2 years of blogging. hippobirdietome

#997  Some doors open wide, others not so much, but You have a path carved out just for me.

#998  Coffee Almond ice cream, and I’m not even kidding.

#999 Jesus paid it all.  All to Him I owe, sin had left a crimson stain, He washed it white as snow.

If you can’t enjoy the presence of God, you’ve missed the point of being here… Charles Billingsly

Counting 1,000 Gifts…

#979  A first time ballerina.

#980  The first day of Kindergarten, 3rd Grade and 6th Grade.

#981  Hearing what my girls want to learn.

#982  The first Mommy & Ali day.

#983  Making it to today, and 12 days of being home with the girl on my own.

#984  Holy is your name.

#985  Worship that heals.

#986  The body of Christ is so beautiful.

#987  New Sunday School Teachers.

#988 A challenge to stay in the center

#989 Praying at church today for educators, and they included homeschool moms.

#990 Enough.

She decides to make him a pie for his birthday.  It’s her first attempt at putting love in a dish.  I shuffle through my recipes and put together the perfect combination of cookie crust goodness and sweet blackberry filling.  Frozen not fresh, but still, he will smile and love it and she will beam.  Learning early that blessing and love sometimes come as we mix,measure, and give of ourselves. He feels it with every last bite that he eats, right from the pie plate on Sunday morning after church.

Counting 1,000 Gifts…

#959  How they really get more excited than he does about his birthday.

#960  Handmade cards.

#961  Making pie and memories come flooding back – of picking berries with papaw.

#962  Settling in.

#963  The chance to cook in my kitchen again.

#964  A noisy house.

#965  That we have His name.

#966  Play Dates for kids and moms, too.

#967  A chance to encourage another with my story.

#968  How He thinks of us.

#969  What He thinks of us.

#970  That He even thinks of us at all!

: : :

My journey began here, with Ann, at A Holy Experience.  I am nearing my goal of 1,000 gifts and I am changed and humbled by the invitation she sweetly gives each week to join her at a her place.  It is the closest you will get to having Sunday dinner on her Canadian farm.  Please, won’t you join her and her multitude of gratitude chasers?

Counting 1,000 Gifts….

#947  A little French Cafe and the most insane chocolate almond croissant with Robin!

#948  Painted pianos in old town meant for public serenades.

#949  One last night of fun {pizza and ice cream with time to play of course}.

#950  Rainbows and storm clouds.

#951  Girls who travel well.

#952  My mom who saves everything means my girls are playing with my old dolls.

#953  Time to finally finish One Thousand Gifts, what a glorious read! Thank you Ann, full of grace!

#954  Time and time again, the Lord’s mercy as we drove on and on through 9 states in 4 days.

#955  Home – is there any better place to return to?

#956  Girls all tucked in safe and sound.

#957  My bed!

#958 Sunday morning quiet to myself and I read, “All the paths of the Lord are lovingkindness and truth…” Psalm 25:10 – Yes! They are, they really are!