Endless Gifts

Gratitude:

1011. how he ran from his room announcing, "Mommy, I'm so blessed! I have 24 (toy) cars!"

1012. gathering around two Thanksgiving tables with two families that make our lives full and rich

1013. her thankfulness for Aunt Linda, who was diagnosed with stage four cancer this summer

1014. how my husband's sister was feeling strong this weekend and how that strength helps the rest of us deal with her illness

1015. how my father-in-law always reads the Bible after dinner... to all 34 of us

1016. dirt bike entertainment at both gatherings

1017. how my nephew squeezed his little self in between his two aunts during tea time

1018. sun-splashed fields of soybeans

1019. warm October weather

1020. how my sister has taken up hand-quilting (you go, Girl!)

1021. pumpkin pie that tastes just like Mama's

1022. braided buns on little girls

1023. how she cried when I told her how the Lord had given me a dream about encouraging her

1024. how our country still celebrates a holiday set aside just for gratitude :)

Happy Thanksgiving (and what ingratitude does to us in North America)

The way they whipped off those "thankfulness flags" easily and in just a few short minutes became my biggest gratitude that day. You see, the Lord has been working in my heart for some time now, about being thankful always, about being content. It's spilling over onto my children and this is becoming a home of praise to God.

However, we're all still a work in progress. And we, who are so pampered in the West, we who truly live like kings and queens (no matter what our financial bottom line) in global comparison, are often so discontent with our lives. We who fill the counselors' rooms in search of why we're so discontent. We who are so "me-centred" that we are too distracted to feed a hungry world. We, who need to "sort out our stuff" before we're "strong" enough to witness to our unsaved neighbours. We who need to get "cleaned up" before we feel worthy of God and His message. We, who are too busy to notice that there are many little things for which to be grateful. Believe me, I'm all for Christians working through tough issues. I've been there myself and the Lord desires to heal broken people. But it can become a distraction from our purpose and often gets dragged out long beyond what it should. The enemy of our souls is still out to kill, steal and destroy and I believe head and heart matters stifle Christians in North America more than anything else.

I read yesterday that less than fifty percent of our area took the opportunity to vote on Thursday. That is a staggering commentary on the ingratitude for our freedom to vote. Will we have to lose before we will wake up to what we should have been grateful for? I for one, lived many years of unthankfulness until I was taken on a journey by God and shown my ugly discontentment. No more! I'm learning to offer my life as a praise in the storms and in the beautiful sunshine. Friends, don't allow this Thanksgiving weekend to be all that fills your heart. Seek to give Him praise in all things, every day. Witness how a life of constant gratitude opens your eyes to the needs of others and finally removes the unhealthy self-focus that plagues us in North America.  

...rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.

Colossians 2:7

Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts.
Colossians 3:16

(photos of Miss Molly taken by her proud Daddy)

Together In The Woods

Dashing from a fallen log to a moth alighting on a rust-coloured leaf to a teddy bear caterpillar to the splashing falls, my children burst through the woods. Nature journals tucked under their arms, they search for extraordinary treasures to sketch. Pencil to paper is frustrating though, as they begin to recognize they aren't the artist that the Creator is. Still I urge them to try and render their best and remember to draw what they really see, not what they think they know about His beauty. Soon they settle and begin and scratch diagrams that will impress this place upon their minds in years to come. 

And since a picture is worth a thousand words, be it by pencil or camera, we'll never forget our days together in His woods.

Let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them; let all the trees of the forest sing for joy.

Psalm 96:12

Two Years Shy Of A Century

Isn't she lovely?
She turned 98 this past September and once again we all gathered for the big party--her children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren. She still has a skip in her step and a keen, sharp mind with a strong memory. Oma whispered to me that she noticed my kids always make her homemade cards. Doesn't every grandmother just love homemade cards?

I had a dream that we rolled in 98 pink, tiered cakes on tables for her birthday, as we sang, and she jumped up and shouted, "Yes!". I couldn't help but wish I could have made her all those cakes but these Dutch chefs in the family set out a wonderful spread anyway :)

May this be your best year yet, Oma.

God bless you immensely!

The Makings Of Laundry Love

No, there was nothing wrong with my washing machine. I read this book, recommended by my sister, and the next day I packed up Laundry Mountain and my children, and headed to the town laundromat. And when I find a good book that inspires me, I do whatever it tells me to.

I had the best help I could possibly ask for as they ran from machine to machine, slipping in coins, changing loads and wheeling the laundry cart around the room.

Complete with a kids' play area and space for drawing and hanging out, we thoroughly enjoyed our stay (escpecially my little photographer daughter). Since folding laundry is actually at the top of my list of household chores, I savoured this time, pressing smooth the sheets and lining up square piles that might otherwise have been quickly corrugated in a haphazard conglomeration. I never did sit even once that day as I raced from van trunk to machine, dragging garbage bags, running home for forgotten fabric softener, switching loads, and then doing it all over again. Just as the book suggested, I set aside a "goodwill bag" and I found my groove with the faint sound of the radio amidst white noise of washers and dryers. With Downy filling my nostrils, I sang along and no one even heard me :)

Yes, we monopolized a whole row of machines :)

Six hours and eight loads later (I know, I know), the tiny, Asian owner, who had kindly guided me along the way, turned off her office lights. I began to panic and collect our last bags when she calmly assured me that the laundromat would stay open long after her work was done. I'm learning :) But the last half of an hour met with the challenge of antsy and hungry-for-supper children. I was proud of them for lasting this long so I rallied the troops to load the van with promises of pizza. They swiftly obliged.

On the way home, we dropped off the large accumulation I had set aside for the goodwill store and I sighed a satisfying sigh at a job well done. I'm thankful for a working washer and dryer but I could get used to this little escape.

Now...  to put it all away.

Gratitude:

1001. how easy it is to be grateful beyond 1000

1002. for laundry--yes, praising for laundry!

1003. our homeschool group of amazing mommas and all of our kiddos who have a blast together

1004. studying Native Canadians--I'M learning so much! :)

1005. the way my little girl snuggles in with me each morning

1006. how when I peered over the edge of the bed this morning, I found a sick little boy lying on the floor, who said he was praying for himself (when I wasn't awake yet, he knew Who was)

1007. how she felt like everyone was looking at her new pierced ears and loving them as much as she does

1008. pictures from the Lord (in quiet time) that come with answers that make sense for my life

1008. our new homeschool science group

1009. finding yummy alternatives to favourite unhealthy snacks

1010. patterned tights on little girls