Day 152

I am grateful for rainbows.

I guess I'm doubly grateful for double rainbows! This one was in the backyard. I looked for it later, but there was no pot o'gold. The memory and the photo remain for my savoring, however.

Thank You, Lord, for this bright symbol of hope and promise.

Day 151

I am grateful for this poem.

I memorized it as a college student when I fell in love with how it described my most meaningful friendships. It's by Dinah Maria Mullock Craik.

O, the comfort!
The inexpressible comfort of feeling safe with a person,
having neither to weigh thoughts nor measure words
but pouring them all right out ,
chaff and grain together,
certain that a faithful hand will take and sift them,
keep what is worth keeping,
and with the breath of kindness
blow the rest away.

Thank You, Lord, for this beautiful, perfect poem.

Day 150

I am grateful for wheat pennies.

They remind me of my dad. He collects coins, and we would always go through our change to see if any were wheat pennies. They remind me of my childhood. My adopted grandpa was a wheat farmer, so that adds to their worth in my eyes.

Thank You, Lord, for this humble coin.

Day 149

I am grateful for Memorial Day.

My dad had a career in the Air Force. My older brother served for four years. My younger brother was in the Army for four years as well. My oldest son is currently a 1st Lieutenant in the Air Force. Service to our country runs in my family. My niece is married to a an Army sergeant who's in Afghanistan, his fourth deployment. We are thankful every single day that we have been spared the ultimate sacrifice anyone makes for such service.

This is an Air Force major who's at the grave of her son in Arlington who was 19 when he was killed in Iraq. Brett will be deployed later this year, flying cargo or medical evac planes. This photo touches me to the core.

Thank You, Lord, for the men and women who've lost their lives protecting the freedom we so easily take for granted. Hold their families tenderly, and thank them for us.

Day 148

Snoqualmie Falls, WA

I am grateful for waterfalls.

They're like the clouds of earth. The smaller ones mesmerize as they rush past unbothered by boulders or banks. I could spend hours just being near. The long ones fascinate with their power and danger. It makes me feel so small to be so close to that kind of force. I love gazing from afar.

The combination of beauty and strength make me think of the women in my life who've modeled these virtues and inspire me to nurture them in my own. Each, a waterfall soul.

Thank You, Lord, for these shows of Your beauty and strength.

Day 147

I am grateful for the piney woods.

Hiking in the woods is my favorite form of exercise. There are no cars, no other people, just my doggy buds and me. I love the smell out there. It reminds me of camping, which triggers happy memories from both childhood and raising my own kids.

The wildflowers have started their cycles, each coming into bloom at the tail end of another's to grace field, path, and hillside all. I'm grateful to have neighbors on both sides who graciously let us hike their property.

Thank You, Lord, for marinating me in beautiful woods.

Day 146

I am grateful for harmony.

I love the harmony of voices meant to sing together. I love the harmony of a family who live out love and respect. I love the harmony of a well-planned garden. My God created order and complements, and I love it when His plan comes together.

Thank You, Lord, for Your marvelous Harmony.

Day 145

I am grateful when I find money in a pocket.

Bills or coins, it's one of those moments that always cheers me. It's just a simple little moment, an unimportant few seconds, but it makes me smile. Maybe it reminds me that all my needs are met. I want for nothing really. It feels good to turn around and even surprise someone with it. (I don't get out much though, so by the time I go somewhere I've completely forgotten about it. =)

Thank You, Lord, for sweet surprises.

Day 144

I am grateful for sprouting seedlings.

While I am not a skilled gardener, I do have a deep appreciation for what I am able to produce from my garden. I haven't had a lot of success starting my own seeds, but I gave it a try this year after being inspired by my dad.

I am happy to announce that we planted three pumpkin plants, and I have cucumbers, zucchini, and green peppers all coming up big time on the window sill. In addition, I also have a container of densely planted cilantro that is flourishing and from which I've harvested several times already to keep it from bolting. Sweet, sweet success!

Thank You, Lord, for my lovely seedlings.

Day 143

I am grateful for Blue Like Jazz.


A friend loaned this book to me a few years ago during what was probably the heaviest buzz about it until now with the movie coming out. It was so novel to me, his bio about being a Christian and attending Reed College, a decidedly liberal school. His experience in the confession booth was powerful and thought-provoking. How healing confession and apology would be if we would  take that to the world instead of finger-pointing, protests, in-fighting, and exclusion...

I'm interested to see how closely the movie sticks to the book. I hear there's some controversy over it. Questioning the status quo always is. The actor who plays Miller doesn't look anything like him, but I hope he does a good job.

Thank You, Lord, for this book.

Day 142

I am grateful for overcoming.

There is nothing like the feeling of being able to do something you thought you couldn't. We all have those defining moments; they light up our memories like blazing altars.

I'm working on incorporating some jogging into my hikes. I've only been walking for a couple of years now after my knee started hurting, but it's better now. My daughter-in-law is totally killing the Couch to 5k program. The progress she posts in her blog is so inspiring and motivational! Maybe I see another altar in my future...

Thank You, Lord, for these overcoming experiences.

Day 141

I am grateful for the sense of taste.

I love food. I always have. Got it from my mom. I even go so far as to remember occasions according to the food I had. I like trying different restaurants and the food of different cultures. I thoroughly enjoy my taste buds.

My dad lost most of his sense of taste about ten years ago after his chemo treatments. No smell, almost no taste. That would launch me into a catatonic depression.

This isn't my picture (yes, I pilfer from the interweb frequently), but I love the look on her face! That's me after the first bite of Jylle's chicken pot pie, my mother-in-law's blackberry cobbler, salted caramel shortbread, a strawberry lemonade smoothie, prime rib Outback style, red velvet froyo... I bet you have your own list.

Thank You, Lord, for this quite exquisite sense.

Day 140

I am grateful for Shane Claiborne.

Never heard of this guy who looks like a hippie and writes like a philosopher until my daughter-in-law gave his book Irresistible Revolution a huge thumbs up. Just the overview of it gave me cause to weigh whether or not I was up to be convicted and challenged. Would I be willing to examine honestly where my rubber meets the road on the bottom line of what I believe and how that plays out in my life?

It was every bit as challenging as I feared. But my God is not a god of fear, and in the end, I just put one directed foot in front of the other, go where He leads, say what He says, and live as uprightly as I know how in yielded dependence and excited anticipation. Because He is anything but boring! I am thankful for the huge message of this book.

Thank You, Lord, for the life and example of this controversial child of Yours.

Day 139

I am grateful for penguins.

I suppose it would be more appropriate to say that I appreciate them a great deal since I don't own any. I am grateful that they exist though, and if you haven't seen "March of the Penguins," I will buy it for you because you will want to watch it more than once.

I tend to think of the typical black and white species when they come to mind, but the Emperor is my favorite. It's the largest, and well, I really liked that documentary. I think Morgan Freeman could narrate the phone book, and it would be fascinating. I would love to hold a Fairy Penguin, and perhaps one fine day I shall, should I ever be able to visit New Zealand or Australia. I'd even settle for just a picture.

Thank You, Lord, for this amazing species.

Day 138

I am grateful for fountains.

There is something soothing about the sound of flowing water (as long as it's not a busted pipe). The smallest countertop fountain provides this, and I appreciate its bubbly offering.

Friends have the kind in this picture. My brother made one with some boulders that's really cool. It'd be nice to have one in our front yard, but that'd be #183 on this list of to-dos. You know what I mean.

We had a grand time in Vegas watching the evening fountain show at the Bellagio. Talk about cool! This wasn't so much soothing as it was exciting! I wonder if I'd tire of it if it was in my yard...

Thank You, Lord, for the joy of fountains.

Day 137

I am grateful for the sense of touch.

Hugs, holding hands, scratching my horse, petting my dogs, stroking my cat, palpating muscles for knots, massaging my daughter's sore shoulders, brushing the downy feathers of a spring chick--make me thankful for the sense of touch. It is my most visceral sense, capable of evoking great pain or great happiness.

Embracing one of my kids after a prolonged absence is one of my profoundest joys. My cheek rests against his, my arms press into his strong back, and I drink in his nearness. In my heart, a part of him will always be my little one.

Someday I will have a new body, glorified and perfect. As much goodness as this one can experience, I can't imagine what potential that one holds. Someday, I will be held and hugged by Jesus...

Thank You, Lord, for this incredible sense.

Day 136

I am grateful for cascading plants.

We have a retaining wall with two levels. My dear friend Cheryl gave me a bunch of plants for it a number of years ago, and they have since settled and thrived. This is not my wall, but mine could resemble it someday with continued elbow grease and proper watering. My favorite is the creeping phlox. The snow-in-summer is prolific and invasive, but hardy and forgiving. There are two others whose names escape me, but they love not being watered. My kinda plant.

Thank You, Lord, for easy beautification.

Day 135

I am grateful for Watchman Nee.

Most of my favorite authors have long gone Home. Watchman Nee is one of them. I've only read three of his many books because it takes me so long to study through them. He is a younger contemporary of T. Austin-Sparks, and their interpretations are similar. He explains through personal experience and scenarios some difficult-to-comprehend and misunderstood concepts in the Bible.

My favorite of his works is The Normal Christian Life, followed closely by The Overcoming Life. They have been instrumental in my walk, and I am deeply grateful.

Thank You, Lord, for Nee's life and writings.

Day 134

I am grateful for consequences.

This may sound odd, but if not for consequences, I might rather stray. Sometimes I want what I want. Sometimes I can't have it. If not for the reality of having to pay the piper should I risk pushing past the boundaries, I could really get myself into a pickle or two.

Dealing with the consequences of wrong choices has been a teacher for me. As a parent, it was always my hope that my kids would encounter them and learn as well, but with the mildest suffering possible.

Thank You, Lord, for Your always-grace.

Day 133

I am grateful for hummingbirds.

Saw my first one of the year the other day and ran to set up the feeder. The li'l guy came back five minutes later, followed by others who proceeded to war like Jedi over this new watering hole.

They are the only birds I know of that everyone loves. Everyone. They are welcome wherever they go, and that's saying a lot. Cute, tiny, quick, hard-working, and entertaining--they are most certainly welcome here.

Thank You, Lord, for these sweet little creatures.

Day 132

I am grateful for my Kim.

We were neighbors for seven years and each had three kids similar in age. We started walking every weekday in the summer where we shared news, problems, family issues, and generally solved the world's problems, even if no one in the world cared.

She is one of the BEST bakers I have ever known. I have never had anything she's made that I haven't wanted more of, and that goes double when she makes cookies!

We try to get together once a month for coffee to catch up and continue our penchant for solving world problems, even if now it's just our own little worlds. She is generous, thoughtful, kind, cute, funny, and full of grace and truth. We share a love of Jan Karon's Mitford books from where Cynthia is a main character. We can't "pop through the hedge" anymore, but we will always be neighbors of the heart and soul. On this, her birthday, I celebrate her life and friendship.

Thank You, Lord, for my Kim.

Day 131

I am grateful for sunsets.

There's something soothing and wondrous about a brilliant sunset. I love the ones that make me feel like God painted it just for me. Kev built a porch swing for me for Mother's Day because he knows how much I love watching the sky lit up like it is in this picture. They recall to me the cycle of life and how even with all the hurt and weirdness in this world, my Sunset Painter sees and knows and cares, coloring my world with visible reminders of His presence and His heart for me.

Thank You, Lord, for Your gorgeous sunsets.

Day 130

I am grateful for Louisa May Alcott.

I read Good Wives last month, which is the sequel, but with which I have issues because there's a whole lot that's similar to the first novel and doesn't pick up where the former left off. Anywho, I followed that with Little Men, which was every bit as enjoyable as its counterpart. I'm almost finished now with Jo's Boys, and it's almost as good as its predecessors.

I find these works of Alcott's to be interesting, thoughtful, quaint, upright, and moral. I can see how building up women and women's rights in her day was edgy and risky, and hindsight is fun as I see how she tried to challenge her readers' positions and cause them to question the status quo. All wrapped up in stories of mischief, whimsy, romance, and the priceless gift of a good heart.

Thank You, Lord, for this author and the legacy of her gifts.

Day 129

I am grateful for perennials.

When spring arrives and storefronts spill over with plants in all heights and widths and colors, I think of my perennials and give thanks. I get overwhelmed easily with too many choices, plus I'm not a gifted gardener. I know to water, weed, and fertilize when necessary, but that's about it. I have to look up how to prune and separate, but I'm okay with that. I'm just thankful for the plants that come up all by themselves year after year--bulbs first and then the other flowering decorations. Lilies of the valley bow lovely in one bed, coreopsis, sedum, phlox, and lavender in another, columbine, peonies, and brown-eyed Susans in their seasons for me to enjoy from the front porch swing. Gifts, all.

Thank You, Lord, for these seasonal bouquets.

Day 128

I am grateful for Ryan's graduation from college.

Four years went by like *that* we all agreed as we celebrated Ryan's graduation from Montana State with cum laude honors. He was in the Honors program, which is even more difficult, so we thrilled for him that he was able to do so well. The Honors program holds its own ceremony separate from the big one on Saturday, and the celebration was Friday night. We took his girlfriend's family out to dinner at Famous Dave's and then joined up again at the auditorium. It was a night of admiration and awe as we listened to the names called, which laude they were (and all 60 graduates were one of them!) and read their list of accolades and awards in the program.

Ryan's degree in BioChem will prepare him for medical school. He starts this August and will attend the UW Spokane campus. His passionate heart for people will allow him to bless and help in rural areas. He continues to inspire me with his intelligence, warmth, humor, and sincerity. God has blessed him, and he is humbled and grateful. And that blesses me.


Thank You, Lord, for this momentous milestone in Ryan's life.

Day 127

I am grateful for candles.

There are SO many wonderful candle scents now. I prefer florals and fruits, but there are some "warm" or "amber" scents (my descriptions) that are really nice.

Their gentle glow calms and relaxes, their fragrance refreshes and eases. An affordable luxury, a useful tool in a power outage, a lovely decoration--can't beat that.

Thank You, Lord, for this gift.

Day 126

I am grateful for Beth Moore.

I'm fairly skeptical of people who become popular so quickly. I resisted seminars, studies, and press about Beth Moore because I didn't want to be part of the fad. The more I heard her name, the less interested I was in her ministry.

Then I caved and joined a study at church when Jylle said she wanted to go to it with me. It was called "Breaking Free," and I loved it! They put the DVD in, and she had me from the get-go. Besides the content of the workbook being solid and sensitive, her words have counseled, blessed, educated, edified, and entertained me. She makes me feel like she's coming alongside and going through it with me, like she's cheering me on as a friend who truly cares.

I hope to be involved in another of her studies when the time is right. In the meantime, I can catch her online and review the material from the last study. It never gets old.

Thank You, Lord, for ministering in and through this lovely child of Yours.

Day 125

I am grateful for my vision.

I enjoyed 20/20 vision until college when I got my first pair of contacts. I was 19. I was disappointed, but sincerely grateful that my vision could be corrected so easily. The optometrist was thorough in seeing to it that I was well taken care of, and four pairs of trial contacts later, I was.

Despite the mess this broken world is in, there is so. much. beauty to behold. I can see the faces of the people who mean everything to me. I have a lovely, peaceful view out my backyard. God's imagination and brilliance I see in plants and animals. I've seen a full moon over the ocean in Hawaii, colorful open markets in the Philippines, the loveliness and geometry of a dandelion in seed, movies, art, books, games, and I can drive! There's just so much to see!

Thank You, Lord, for this sense that I never want to take for granted.

Day 124

I am grateful for Tina.

Summer 2003 (I think)

We lived in Central Washington for four years, first moving there when Brett was just a baby. A mutual friend told me to look up Tina and her husband, Mark, when we moved, because they were just simply wonderful people. It wasn't until the end of our first year there that I met Mark and having totally forgotten to look them up, stuttered, "You! It's... it's you!" when we were introduced at a Young Life function.

Tina and I got together shortly after that, and strangely enough, we didn't really get close until after we moved back to this side of the state. We started writing letters, pages and pages each of them and all long hand. I have her beautiful, artsy script in bundles of letters tied up in satin ribbon.

She is a photographer and had her first show last fall. She and her husband run a cattle ranch and raise THE BEST beef I have ever had in my life. Whenever we get together, we just pick right back up where we left off. She lets me be myself. We can discuss opposing opinions without offense. We break into exaggerated Southern accents at random moments. We both had two boys and then a girl, all nearly the same respective ages.

She wasn't excited about the third pregnancy at first, thinking she was done. When I found out I was pregnant less than a month afterward, I sent her a postcard. I drew a surprised face on it and wrote, "Me too!" She knew exactly what it meant.

I love her character and passion. She is honest, real, beautiful, fashionable, generous, and she makes me laugh and think. She calls us clones, as we find something similar happening in our lives that's not happening in anyone else's. I'll take it. I love this girl.

April 2012

Thank You, Lord, for my Tina.

Day 123

I am grateful for T. Austin-Sparks.

I was introduced to this author by my friend, Mae, who years ago gave all the Ya-Yas one of the books he's best known for, The School of Christ, a small, thin book with Godzilla impact, but in a good way. Through his writing, I have come to understand some Scripture truths that had me puzzled or that I'd never thought of, and I am profoundly thankful.

I own about ten of his books, all of which are available at no cost, thanks to the ministry of a church in the Midwest. Perhaps there is a more prolific author, but I don't know who that would be, except maybe his contemporary, Jessie Penn-Lewis. (What's with the hypens? They were both born in the late 1800's...) There is an online library of his works, and I didn't count, but there must be over 120! The wonders of the Interweb!

Thank You, Lord, for the incredible ministry of this author long Home.

Day 122

I am grateful for salmon.

We ate a lot of fish growing up. It was mostly trout, and the spare times I had salmon, I thought it tasted just like trout, which I don't like unless it's smoked. When I visited Kev's parents for the first time, Mom made salmon for dinner. I was mortified when Kev told her I didn't like it and that she quickly made some spaghetti for me. I felt so bad! I'm one of those people who'll eat something I don't like, if I can, to save someone's feelings. You're probably like that too.

I quickly came to love salmon, having had it prepared in beautiful and delicious ways. It's so good for you, one of the best sources of omega-3. I've heard something about mercury being stored in fish fat, but I'll turn my cheek and keep on declaring it a power food!

Thank You, Lord, for salmon.