365 Days of Blessings, Day 185

Wow, Day 185. That means I'm almost halfway to my goal. This project started with a feeling of a call. The kind of call that reaches out through two Pastors and a youth director's words and sits in a person's heart and mind, gets stirred a bit with life experiences, and then coalesces with the word of God hitting that person in the right spot at the right time. Maybe that's not the best way of describing it, but that seems to fit with how the call reached me in the seat of a church pew just 180 days ago.

These phrases from three different Christian leaders stirred me:

A gift, unopened. . .

Developing an attitude of gratitude. . .

More blessings than we could count, even if we sat and counted for all eternity . . .

Then my own experiences with thought and language resonated with their words. When I have chosen to speak and think positively and thankfully about the life I have, my life has been brighter, more joyful, and more rich with meaning and good relationships.

So, I felt compelled to take my blog in this direction for a year, for a project that focuses on counting my blessings, developing and attitude of gratitude, opening and giving thanks for the gift of life that the Lord has given me.

I've tried to count unique blessings each day, and I know I haven't held to that. God's love, water, laughter, family, and tea have been mentioned many times over, and I will probably mention them again. However, I will continue to try to find new blessings to give thanks and praise for, as much as I can each day.

I hope that this project has had a positive affect on my friends and family, and I hope that your lives are blessed richly!

Day 185's blessings so far:

1. Dog treats. They make our beagle's eyes light up with instant excitement, and obedience.

2. Dog leashes that are sturdy and wide, easy to grip.

3. Walks in the woods behind my parent's house.

4. My oldest daughter is well, even though the rest of us are sick.

5. My mom and my oldest daughter working on their guitar strumming skills together, and while discussing them, our beagle is jumping up and down in time with their hands. His name is Jumper for a reason.

6. My youngest daughter is sleeping in, and this is good, since she woke in the night with a fever. I am hoping that she can sleep off most of the sickness.

7. The wonderful anticipation of advent candles. This week we light just one candle, then next week we light two, and so on until Christmas when we light our Christmas candle.

8. Advent devotions by candlelight each night as a family.

9. Advent chocolate.

10. This awesome blog post I just read at A Grace Story


11. The Lord is our Hope!

Scripture Blessings:
We wait in hope for the LORD;
he is our help and our shield.
In him our hearts rejoice,
for we trust in his holy name.
Psalm 33:20-21