365 Days of Blessings - Day 23 and 24

Whew! I'm still catching up with my 365 Days of Blessings posts, but I'll try to stay caught up from now on . . .at least until we go on vacation.

365 Days of Blessings, Day 23 and Day 24

1. God's mercies are new every morning.

2. The book of JEREMIAH in the Bible. I dreaded reading it again, but with a lot of prayer, and God's provision, I found myself enjoying it so much that I didn't want it to end.

3. RUN WITH THE HORSES by Eugene H. Peterson (translator of the Message Bible) has been a huge blessing to me in the last few months as I've read through the book of Jeremiah and Lamentations. As a study of Jeremiah's life, the book of Jeremiah, with a look to our own times, this wonderful book gave me a great deal of inspiration, as well as challenges. I highly recommend reading it, especially while studying the book of Jeremiah in the Bible.

4. The book of Lamentations, which I read this morning in my Bible study. It is a blessing to know that our time is not the only time in which there has been destruction and despair, and a need to cry out to the Lord for salvation and strength. In the community where I live, a handful of teenagers have committed suicide in the last year, and these painful deaths are weighing on many hearts in our faith community. Despair is not new to us, but I believe that God always provides hope, life, and a way to live.

5. My husband's ability to capture, render, and edit videos. I know this is a total brag, but he is really talented! We recently watched an old video of our youngest daughter's first dance recital done by a different videographer, and I have a renewed appreciation for the amazing job that my husband does with his "hobby."

6. My daughters' excitement about going to Spotlight Nationals, a national dance competition being held next week.

7. The wonderful half hour sun break we received yesterday. It seems like we've had days of damp, chilly clouds, and so that moment of open blue sky with sun was a real blessing.

8. Being able to celebrate a friend's birthday. She is a wonderful woman, and I really appreciate her encouraging, loving attitude.

9. Gluten-free, chocolate chip cookies made by my daughters - all by themselves!

10. My cat's love of newspapers. I think she thinks that our recycling pile is a bed made just for her to enjoy.

11. My Naturopathic doctor, who is a kind, hard-working gentleman who keeps us all healthy. (my youngest had a check up yesterday)

12. Being able to choose naturopathic health care, and having an insurance company that actually pays for some of it. I think that medicinal doctors are great, but for everyday, regular care we prefer to go to a naturopath, and I'm just thankful we have a choice.

13. Good sleep.

14. An old dog that shows me that she wants to keep walking, keep playing and keep cuddling with the lift of her head and the wag of her tail, despite all those sore joints.

15. Our Beagle's tail that he holds like a flag, waving the white tip at the end now and then.

16. My dog's anticipation of the daily walk. They are ready to go right now!

17. Tea in the morning.

18. My laptop.

19. Fun gadgets.

20. White roses.

"I remember my affliction and my wandering,
the bitterness and the gall.
I well remember them,
and my soul is downcast within me.
Yet this I call to mind
and therefore I have hope:

Because of the Lord's great love we
are not consumed,
for his compassions never fail.
They are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
I say to myself, 'The Lord is my portion;
therefore, I will wait for him.'"
Lamentations 3:19-24