Cornucopia
It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord, and to sing praises unto thy name, O Most High: To shew forth thy lovingkindness in the morning, and thy faithfulness every night, Upon an instrument of ten strings, and upon the psaltery; upon the harp with a solemn sound. For thou, Lord, hast made me glad through thy work: I will triumph in the works of thy hands.
Psalm 92:1-4
Sometimes, life doesn’t go the way we plan. There’s the husband who doesn’t get the job. The child who can’t learn to read. The family member with a dreadful illness. The bitterness in our soul from some long ago happening. Perhaps we feel lost in the daily routine that is our world. The laundry that has to be done on a daily basis, dishes washed so we can dirty them again. How do we find the joy in the face of concern or the commonplace ?
Years ago when I was blogging , I began reading the blog, A Holy Experience by Ann Voskamp. She has a series called One Thousand Gifts. Basically, it’s all about finding joy through
gratitude - even in the simplest of things. I started making my own list and
though I don’t have one thousands things on it yet, I’ve found I have much to
be grateful for. The Lord has made me
glad and I can find joy in this world where things don’t always go right. Here is a small sample of some of the things
on my list. The purpose is not just to read mine but to encourage you to begin
your own list. Write down the things that you have in your life that you can be
thankful for, the tiny simple things that we take for granted, the overwhelming
truths about God, the miracles, the ordinary.
Start your list today. Add to it
when you can. Read it over again to
remind yourself just how many gifts you are blessed with each and every day.
Gifts in My Life -
- the LORD who is my Shepherd
- Who is also the Shepherd of my children and loves them more than I do
- Gabriel and Hannah who are far away at college but ever so close to my heart
- Holly who is still home with me and so quickly becoming a young woman
- my husband who works diligently and loves his job
- the privilege of going boldly before the throne of grace
- the promises of God
- forgiveness
- God's mercies which are new every morning
- God's Word to comfort and guide me
- cool fall days
- leaves changing colors
- seasons
- technology
- texting - so I can easily communicate with my children so far away
- the roof over my head
- a comfortable bed to sleep in
- and a pillow
- being held in God's almighty hand
- water coming out of my faucet
- electricity coming through the wires
- the phone coming ..... from somewhere
- food in my pantry
- God who knows me by name
- every moment that God is watching over me and I don't even think about it
1By Karen W of Ellie Marie Designs
6:00 AM |
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Comments (5)
What an awesome post & definitely something to think about. I often say that when counting my blessings, i can't count that high. Yet, you've made me realize that i need to challenge myself to see if that is true, by writing them down. Thank you.
Wonderful reminder to look back on one's many, many blessings from our Heavenly Father.
Karen, I read 1000 Thousand Gifts too and keep a Gratitude Book. I happened to write in it today and am still thinking of thing I'm so grateful for. As soon as I finish this comment, I'm going to put it in there. I am grateful for my house. I thought of how blessed I am this morning when I hung wet tablecloths over the shower rod. So blessed to have more than 1 bathroom. So blessed to have room for all my interests. He is eternally generous with us.
A wonderful reminder. I need to get back to writing what I am thankful for. Running water would be on the list since our power was off for 30 hours and that means no water on our well.
Thanks so much, Karen. What a great reminder to slow down and consider all our blessings.