weekly gratitude

As the road stretched out before me, there was no sound other than the gravel under my feet and the steady breathing of my canine companion. The sun was rising and everything around me testified to the tranquility of the God that sustains it all. The drops of rain that fell through the night still lingered over the flower petals and blades of grass that waved softly in the breeze that came from the west. As I stopped for a second and inclined my ear to the sounds around me I could hear the echo of a woodpecker, the calling of birds and the croak of a few reptiles. I could hear the awkward crow of one of our new roosters trying to learn the ropes of 'rooster-hood'. It sounded more like a squeaky bike horn, but made me smile none the less.

It is in these moments--the quiet of the morning, before the phone is ringing, the kids are hungry or the car is started--that I am reminded of the constant presence of God. This morning in particular, I was overwhelmed with gratitude as I looked around me. This was mine. I didn't have to travel miles to come to this country oasis, but rather, it runs along the property that my husband fell in love with that fateful July day in 2004. I have grieved that purchase in many ways, but in others it has been the tool by which God has shaped me and loved me. I have met God many times not with a heart of gratitude but rather with a heavy satchel of complaints and agony. My friends have encouraged me, my husband has prayed with me. My God has heard me and quieted me with His love and unfailing faithfulness.

As if she could hear my thoughts, my eight year old just softly said without looking up from her drawing, "I love it here. It is the best place in the world."
Perhaps she is right.

With that said, 

I will share a few of the undeserved blessings that have come my way....

~sunshine

~sunscreen

~God's Word and children that love to read it

~swim lessons

~new friends

~mosquito spray

~the inspiring story of Corrie ten Boom and others like her

~the hospitality of friends

~the ability to remember

~the blessing of forgetting

~the imagination of my kids 

~knotted hair, sleepy eyes and brown skin of kids savoring summer time

~a budget

~having enough to pay the bills and send the kids to horse camp

~an unexpected word of encouragement

"Sing praises to the Lord, O you His saints, and give thanks to His holy name."

Psalm 30:4

I pray that your heart and mine as well, would choose gratitude rather than discontentment. 

I pray that we would choose peace rather than strife.

I pray that we would choose stewardship over carelessness

and

the eternal over the temporary.

Savor that which is precious

and express your love and appreciation to someone today.

It might be the only ray of sunshine in their whole week.

May God give you eyes to see the eternal through the temporary and the blessing through the pain. 

Happy weekending!

blessed.

tiffany