Many thanks to Viklit for this inspiring weekly celebration of the small things!
1. I finished two syllabi for the homeschool co-op classes I teach. I have one more to finish today. (I meant to get it all done earlier this summer, but here it is, one day before the deadline, and I'm scrambling to finish)
2. Had a fun Writer's Workshop on Monday night. As always, I'm blown away by the talented writers that come, and I wonder what I'm doing leading the group.
3. Had a wonderful ladies night out with six friends who I don't see often enough, to celebrate one of our friends coming into town for a visit.
4. My oldest daughter went out for the high school cross country team this week. She loves it, and while she's at practice, my youngest daughter and I go for a run/walk. (Sometimes I huff and puff up hills, but I make it up them, so that's all that matters.) Plus, I'm still bicycling with my husband 3-4 days a week, even in the rain. Someday, I will lose the extra 35 pounds I'm carrying and have muscle!!!
5. We have an unexpected guest in our household:
(Please ignore messy house reflected in the background)
This little dog/puppy was running lost at a park where my husband plays softball, and despite all our efforts, we can't seem to find his owner. Some kids at the softball game (mine weren't there) asked everyone in the park if he belonged to them, we've had him checked for a micro-chip (nothing there), we've put up flyers in the area of the park and at pet stores and vet clinics, driven him back to the park and tried to have him walk us home (he found lots of good smells but didn't follow any direct route) and posted about him on facebook. It's been six days . . . and he's growing on us. So he's a mixed blessing: we want him to have a really good home and we would love for him to find his original owners. At the same time, my husband named him the first day he was with us (Clyde - not my choice of name, but it fits somehow), he cuddles with all of us, and he's really sweet.
So, what are you celebrating this week? Have you experienced any mixed blessings lately?
Happy Weekend!!!
And, next week or the week after (I need to check my calendar), I'll be starting some interviews on Friday and shortening my Celebrate posts! (if I can - Viklit has reminded me of how much there is to celebrate!)
Whew! Days have flown by and I haven't kept track of my blessings very well. This project has grown tougher as the year has progressed, and I'm not sure why that has been true.
So, here is the best I can do, with limited time, and limited notes:
Today, I'm giving thanks for:
1. New leaves.
2. The way our cat watches my husband's every move. He is her favorite person.
3. Watching my husband play with our cat. When I married him, he hated cats. Now he loves our cat.
4. A new adult tap class at our dance studio. My husband and I are both taking it together.
5. My "squeaky" husband tap-dancing in his work shoes.
6. Waking up with a story in my mind.
7. Writing a rough summary-outline of a story, first thing after waking up.
8. Researching names in a language that I'm unfamiliar with . . . to break my tendency to name my characters randomly, and similarly.
9. The sleepover my oldest daughter went to last weekend.
10. Getting a garden bed cleaned out - away with those old leaves.
11. Hasty gardening - my new method that I hope will help me get the work done quickly.
12. Vacation plans.
13. An unexpected visit from family.
14. Vacation meal plans with my sister-in-law.
15. The gift of a trip from my in-laws.
16. My parents are home for a few days.
17. My mom brought me home a sparkly blue hat from her travels. Now I match her, and my daughters. My mom has a sparkly silver hat, my oldest has a sparkly black hat, my youngest has a sparkly pink hat, and now I'm sparkly blue.
18. My mom gave my daughters a couple of interesting crinkle shirts that she found in Mexico. They shrink into a tiny size when they aren't being worn, but stretch out and look baggy while worn. Interesting material.
19. My Dad is back to tinkering with stuff to make it work. He may not be happy that their water-based floor heating system burst and flooded their basement, but it gives him something to fix. He likes fixing stuff.
20. Looking forward to PJ day with our Wednesday Co-op group.
21. Pancakes for lunch today!
22. Worship last Sunday was awesome.
23. The Story of the World books by Susan Wise Bauer.
24. Yukon Ho! - a Calvin and Hobbes book.
25. A bulletin board full of homeschool art, and homework.
26. Finally feeling as if I've given my Shakespeare students enough creative options for a project. We were all tired of writing papers every time.
27. Being able to commiserate with a friend over troubles.
28. Thinking of a t-shirt that would read: "So many Bible verses, so little time." Just my quirky brain trying to be creative with an old theme.
29. The new Youth leader at our church is putting together a group to go to Creation Fest Northwest!!! Woohoo!
30. I'll be leading worship, and speaking the message tonight at our Lenten worship for our new church. And I feel mostly ready, and I have notes.
31. Surprised by a package on my doorstep!
32. Our album from Snapfish has arrived!
33. Fun looking at an album . . . and plans for how we would make it better, and more cost effective next time.
34. Reading the line up for Every Day Poets in April. My poem "april second" will be out April 2nd. :-)
35. Sharing crazy dream story ideas over breakfast with my daughters.
36. My oldest daughter finished her math before breakfast today . . . now I have to check her work, but I'm excited that she took the initiative.
37. Finally learning how to embed video - hope this works:
38. The corner store . . . supplying us with all our last-minute-oops-I-forgot-that-at-the-grocery-store needs like chocolate chips for chocolate chip pancakes.
39. The melting pot of the English language - old English, Celtic, Viking/Scandinavian, Latin, Greek, French - all mixed together in the wonderful, complex, rich language.
40. Piles and piles of books. Ok, I need to re-shelve in the midst of my planning/dreaming/reading/homeschooling days, but there are few "things" in this world I like better than piles of books.
41. Looking forward to Creation Fest Northwest 2011:
42. Looking forward to seeing Nick Vujicic at Creation Fest:
43. One blessing of having a messy house today - our cat loves to play with stray socks left on the floor.
44. Science Experiments with friends.
45. Art with friends.
46. Story sharing with friends.
47. Latin with friends.
48. The fruit of the Spirit in sign language.
49. An afternoon cup of Vanilla Chai Tea with honey.
50. When we surrender our lives to Christ, the Lord grows the fruit of the Spirit in our lives.
Scripture Blessings:
Galatians 5:22-23 "The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control."
Publication:So Cold is on-line today at Every Day Poets. I admit it isn't my favorite poem, and I want to re-write it, right now, again. The super short poems seem to be the most challenging for me. However, I am still thankful for the honor of being published, and I'm excited about it too. Stop by, give a read and star rating!
The Top Ten Bloggers Who Make Me Happy Award
Wow! When I most needed encouragment, I found this award waiting for me at Write Now, from Karen Lange. Karen has been a blessing and encouragement to me since the first year of my blog. I really appreciate her insights about writing. Thank you, Karen. You are definitely a blogger who makes me happy!
Now, who do I pass this to, when so many bloggers make me happy. All of the blogs I follow make me happy, and there are more than ten of them . . . but here goes:
1. Melissa at Through The Looking Glass makes me happy with her insightful, thought-provoking posts about writing that are always coupled with allegories from her favorite books, holidays, sports, and vacations. There is always something in her posts that make me smile, or laugh, and something that makes me think, and want to write. Thank you, Melissa.
2. Heather at Writer's Manna is a blog I started following recently, and I've found her posts to be very inspiring. Thank you, Heather!
3. Jill Kemerer, Author makes me happy with her fun, and insightful posts. Thank you, Jill.
4. Chaplain Mike at Internet Monk offers up inspiring and thought-provoking posts that have get me into God's word in the middle of my day and thinking over just how I may or may not be living out God's Greatest Commandment.
5. Gretchin Rubin at The Happiness Project is amazing, and I just started reading her posts. I think the title says it all.
6. Angie at Notes From the Writing Chair shares her personal journey as a Christian writer and editor with a wonderful flair for humor and introspection in the midst of honest reflection. Thank you Angie!
7. Julie Dao at Silver Lining wows me every time with her amazing writing allergories, and I can't wait until she finishes her Princess story . . . it sounds awesome.
8. Grace at a grace story is a wonderful mentor and friend in my life, and her blog posts reflect God's grace working through her grace-filled life.
9. Nevets at Nevets QST shares and honest look at the writing life, and how life and writing mix together. Thank you Nevets for your awesome posts on transitions, and your rants . . .they help me realize that I'm not the only one who feels a need to rant now and then.
10. Shannon at Book Dreaming shares thought-provoking, and fun quotes that get me thinking about my writing in new ways. She has book reviews that send me to the library, and sometimes to the bookstore . . . and she has such a joy-filled outlook that it makes me smile every time I go to her blog. Thanks Shannon!
These 10 blogs are blessings in my life, and make me very happy. So, please, if you received this award pass it along. If you didn't, please know that your blogs bless me, and make me happy too . . . but I just couldn't list them all.
Scripture Blessings: "Rejoice in the Lord always. Again, I say, Rejoice!" Philippians 4:4
1. Two friends' gentle rebuke. It is amazing how comforting, and how right those words were to me both yesterday and this morning. Thank you, dear friends.
2. Knowing that only God is Good.
3. Knowing that God's provision is enough.
4. Knowing that God's grace is enough.
5. Knowing that God, and God alone, is just.
6. Blessing and releasing. Letting it all go, and letting God do what He does best.
7. The prayers of friends and family - thank you so much.
8. Taking with me only the good stuff, the good memories and the sweetness. Those are the right things to pack when leaving a place and moving onto another.
9. Thinking about a Go.Do.Likewise. blogfest . . . not sure what it will look like yet, but I am thinking about trying to spread the kindness.
10. Two friends of mine shared Biblical passages with me in the last 24 hours, and they made me take a step back and think.
Scripture Blessings:
Psalm 101 "I will sing of your love and justice; to you, O Lord, I will sing praise. I will be careful to lead a blameless life - when will you come to me?
I will walk in my house with blameless heart. I will set before my eyes no vile thing.
The deeds of faithless men I hate; they will not cling to me. Men of peverse heart shall be far from me; I will have nothing to do with evil.
Whoever slanders his neighbor in secret, him will I put to silence; whoever has haughty eyes aand a proud heart, him will I not endure.
My eyes will be on the faithful in the land, that they may dwell with me; he whose walk is blameless will minister to me.
No one who practices deceit will dwell in my house; no one who speaks falsely will stand in my presence.
Every morning I will put to silence all the wicked in the land; I will cut off every evildoer from the city of the Lord."
Psalm 39:1 "I said, 'I will watch my ways and keep my tongue from sin; I will put a muzzle on my mouth as long as the wicked are in my presence.'"
Psalm 40:1-3 "I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and the mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear and put their trust in the Lord."
Stuff I'm thankful for, and count as good, good blessings today:
1. Relief at finally fulfilling my word count for the day for NaNoWriMo. I struggled today, but I still achieved my goal.
2. New widget on the right, the NaNoWriMo Progress bar.
3. I had a very simple plot point to fulfill today, and yet my characters kept making it more complicated. Yet, I'm thankful. I know now what my MC is like under major stress, running through dark underground passageways, holding a dying child in her arms, meeting up with another group of refugees and being reunited with her parents . . . in less than 2,000 words. Wow. I even answered a question about my character that I didn't even know I had . . .
4. Writing daily, and writing more than I usually do daily is good for me.
5. My kids are signed up for the Kids NaNoWriMo, and they are fulfilling their daily word goals with joy and enthusiasm.
6. My mom is writing daily now too, although she's not officially doing NaNoWriMo because she would rather have the option that the kids have, and choose her own word count maximum.
7. Time to talk with dear friends.
8. A science experiment involving soda and balloons - fun stuff.
9. Getting into the swing of a new math curriculum.
10. Tomorrow is Friday. Usually that's not a big deal for me, but this week I am so thankful for the coming weekend.
11. God shields us and protects us.
Scripture Blessings: "Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people." Ephesians 6:10-18
Posted yesterday's today and here's today's blessings:
1. Waking up to the Newsboys singing praises to God on my alarm clock.
2. Rain giving way to blue sky.
3. Saturday morning. I get to walk. I get to write. And then, I get to prepare for Sunday morning and the week ahead.
4. Walking in puddles.
5. Candlelight.
6. Wonderful friends, and big hugs.
7. My husband is a gentle man with a wonderful heart for people.
8. A friend thanked me for having such "kind, sweet girls." Wow. I'm thankful for that too.
9. My old dog, no matter how long it takes her to stand up and sit down, still wants to go for a walk once she is warmed up.
10. The Lord blesses us with life.
Scripture Blessings: "Show me your ways, O Lord, teach me your paths; guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long." Psalm 25:4-5
(Please ignore messy house reflected in the background)
