Day 366

I am grateful for God's provision all year long.

This blog was a project that seemed both attractive and challenging when it first occurred to me, motivated by Cake and my princess daughter-in-law. To name one thing I was grateful for every single day of one year seemed little compared to all that I am blessed with, all that I have been gifted and have received in extravagant abundance.

Lord, You have provided, guided, delivered, reminded, strengthened, deepened, broadened, and come alongside me every single second of every single day of this year. Every blessing that I know, every good and perfect gift, everything that I hold dear and of any degree of value came from You. You are Provider, Comforter, Helper, Advocate, Intercessor, Strengthener, Standby, Song, and Best Friend. You are always and only Good, Author of all that is of highest accord. This year and every year before and every one after are provided for by Your gracious hand. There are no greater thanks and worship I can offer here for Who You are and what You have done.

Thank You, Lord, for this encounter with You.

Day 365

I am grateful for order.

Order keeps me sane. It allows life to run smoothly. It provides predictability so that I don't have to modify, adapt, substitute, pinch hit, question, or panic.

It's ironic because I'm a pile person. I have to be intentional about keeping spaces tidy. When I get busy or lazy and surfaces become filled with loose ends and just "stuff", I get gritchy. Then I launch into nesting mode, and it's every man for himself.  We needed housesitters one weekend, and it was our youth pastor and his wife. She commented to Jylle afterward, "Your mom is so organized." My jaw dropped when Jylle told me. No one has ever accused me of that in my entire life, and it made me so happy.

Whether it's cupboards, shelves, drawers, nature, or life, I appreciate order. It makes the world go round in an organized way, and I am thankful.

Ours is a God of order. All of nature gives testimony to intelligent design. The seasons bring their own weather, and we know generally what to expect. Life is arranged according to a certain grid and for our benefit.  There are bunchloads of stuff that happen outside of that, but it's the ordinary, everyday, and expected that I am thankful for here.

Thank You, Lord, for order.

Day 364

I am grateful for humility.

"If you are humble, nothing will touch you, neither praise nor disgrace, because you know what you are.” ~Mother Teresa

I am so drawn to the humble heart. One of the things I dearly love is discovering that someone did something without ever mentioning it. I also very much appreciate a straightforward "Thank you" after gratitude is expressed, even when it's not by me. This is one of the best definitions of humility:  A humble person isn't one who thinks less of himself. It's one who thinks of himself less. Humility is not putting yourself down. It's knowing who you are, Whose you are, and what that means. It comes from abiding in wisdom and grace.

The peacocks of the world can take it somewhere else. A humble heart is one of the most beautiful things in the universe.

Thank You, Lord, for humility.

Day 363

I am grateful for creativity.

Creating is one of the many wonderful attributes of God. We are made in His image, and we experience divine wonder and joy when we create something good.

Lydia knitted a cowl for me for Christmas in my favorite color, and it's beautiful, kind of like this one, but a design that's lacy and feminine. She included a pick so that it can be arranged around the neck and pinned in place.

Amy drew a copse of birch trees and lithographed it herself. She signed, numbered, and wrote out Proverbs 17:6 on them and gave one to each family or couple in her family and Ryan's for Christmas. They were sweetly wrapped in cardboard and jute. I wish I had a picture of it.

Jylle crochets hats and headbands like this one. She made a black headband with a gray flower on it for me, and it's so comfortable and warm. She has made hats for her brothers, friends, and herself that are cool and comfy.

I made Lydia an earring holder like the one below. I first saw one in  Amy's dorm room that she made herself. It's similar to this one, but the frame has sparklies in it and so does the lace. It was so fun to put together.

The majority of pins on Pinterest have creativity at their heart. Food, crafts, architecture, clothing, music, photography, gardening, and all combinations of everything come together at a site that screams Imaginative! Clever! I want that!  Those are some of the same exclamations I make when I witness God's creative genius.

Thank You, Lord, for creativity.

Day 362

I am grateful for homecomings.

Jylle came home for Christmas break on the 7th. Ryan and Amy arrived for a couple of days on the 18th, along with Brett and Lydia. My babies were all home! I love homecomings!

We were all together, the seven of us for less than 48 hours, but I savored every bit of it. I can't even count the number of times I breathed thanks for such precious time. With Brett scheduled to be deployed in Afghanistan this coming March, it was a week full of love, fun, and meaning. Brett was home!

The third annual Crae Bon Rye was a smash. Ryan buys a crab for everyone and some other kind of seafood, and enjoying them all together is his Christmas gift to us all. Brett and Lydia participated in the first one, so it was wonderful to be reunited for such a lavish event. Ryan was home!

Jylle lives at my dad's now and isn't in medical school, so her homecomings can be more frequent than the boys'. They're always sweet though, and I look forward to every one of them. She doesn't go back to school until the 7th, so I will have had her for a month. Jylle is home!

Over time, I hope Lydia and Amy will come to feel quite at home here. I know it can never be associated with their childhood, but with lots of love and memories, it is my dear wish.

Thank You, Lord, for homecomings.

Day 361

I am grateful for couple friends.

By that, I mean being able to enjoy a friendship with both the husband and the wife. We have, in alphabetical order, the Reinhardts (Barb and Dave), the Schaffers (Jim and Betsy), and the Timmermans (Mark and Tina).  Kev and I can have conversations with all six of these friends easily, and I truly appreciate that. There is a familiarity and ease with them that makes every get-together more like spending time with family. We all have similar values where faith and family means everything.

I wish I had a picture of all of them for this post, but the ones in my head will have to suffice. Friends are a treasure, and these are souls we cherish in that rich chest.

Thank You, Lord, for these couple friends.

Day 360

I am grateful for Christmas.

What a precious day. God dressed down and came to us in the most vulnerable form. He was born to die so that we could Live. The angels must have looked on in perplexity and wonder that their glorious, beautiful, all-good King traded His rightful throne and privilege for disgrace and murder. All for the most incredibly wonderful plan in the human timeline.

Love came down and stooped to save a wretch like me. I can barely stand the bewilderment of it. What a day. What a wonder. What a God.

Thank You, Lord, for Christmas Day.