365 Days of Blessings - Day 111

Blessed Blog Award Friday!
There are so many blogs to choose from, and so many blessed writing posts. If you receive this award, please know that you are a blessing in my life. Your writing has inspired me.

This week this award goes to Grace from a grace story because her life and her posts inspire me to be a better mother, to place every aspect of my life in God's hands, and to have joy in all of life's moments. She also writes beautifully.
Thank you for being a blessing in my life, Grace!


365 Days of Blessings - Day 111
1. The Lord answers our prayers.

2. Resolution.

3. Feeling free of worry. Why worry, when God has everything in his hands?

4. The strength of my family. I see the way that God has blessed us with connectedness as we work together, play together, eat together, pray together, and snuggle together.

5. My youngest daughter, Trisha, saying "Thank you, Mom, for finding my ballet clothes, and making us dinner, and putting my hair in a bun."

6. My oldest daughter, Anna, who often stays calm in the midst of a scramble of dinner-making, clothes-finding, and hair up-doing. She brought me all the necessary hair bands and brushes so I could put hair in buns while dinner made it to the table.

7. Bags of books taken back to the library, and bags of books brought home.

8. Road trip today!!! I mean, educational field trip :-).

9. Ashland, OR and the Oregon Shakespeare Festival.

10. My daughters have found a way to wear their fanciest dresses with warm clothes underneath so they can "dress for the theatre" even though the Elizabethan theatre is outside, and we may be cold. I planned on wearing long johns, jeans, and several layers of shirts plus a sweatshirt or a ski jacket. They spent a half hour last night making sure that tights, leggings, long-sleeved shirts, scarves and gloves looked good with their dresses. Peals of laughter could be heard all over the house.

Scripture Blessings:
"and Jacob, the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ." Matthew 1:16

"after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, 'Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.'" 1 Matthew 1:2o-21

I have often read the geneaology listings in the Bible with some boredom, but today in Matthew as I finished reading that list with Matthew 1:16, I realized that these lists are a way we can be sure that God cares about families and family life. In the context of the story of Jesus' birth, when God sent his only Son to live with a human family, I find these lists meaningful and comforting. God chose a family for his son. Family is a gift.

365 Days of Blessings - Day 110

365 Days of Blessings, Day 110

1. Jesus lives!

2. I finished reading the Old Testament today, and I enjoyed it.

3. I am still marveling at God's providence a few days ago. He sent cousins from Canada, who I've only met a handful of times, to my doorstep when I least expected it, and when I most needed an interruption. I literally had just asked God to guide me, and send me a sign regarding the timing of a phone call I needed to make. I was just reaching for the phone, and there was a knock at my door. Cousins from Canada, an unexpected blessing.

4. Having many reasons to study my Bible, pray, and place all my trust in God, I know that my relationship with the Lord is being strengthened throughout all the storm and trouble.

5. Planning a two day whirlwind Shakespeare trip - the tickets were a birthday present from my hubby, the timing feels off with everything else going on, and we might get rained on - but I'm looking forward to it anyway.

6. Rubbing my wet beagle with an old towel after a long, rainy and muddy walk. He has so much fun getting dry.

7. Finding a simile in the newspaper like this one. "It's something like building the foundation of a house with Jell-O. There are not very many concrete elements." This is the statement of a judge about a particular attorney's case.

8. Hearing my oldest daughter sing last night at church. She has become part of the MS and HS band that leads our Wednesday Night Family Night worship.

9. Wednesday Night Family Night started up again last night with MS and HS band practice, (children's choir starts next week) at 5p.m., Dinner from 5:30-6:30, Worship from 6:30-7pm., youth group, Sunday School meetings, and Bible study groups meeting from 7pm. to 8:30p.m.

10. See you at the Pole! is coming soon!!! We plan on not letting the kids in our schools have all the fun, and we hope to join in the prayers at our mailbox area next Wednesday at 7am.

Scripture Blessings:
"'See, I will send my messenger who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come,' says the Lord Almighty." Malachi 3:1

365 Days of Blessings - Days 108 and 109

365 Days of Blessings, Days 108 and 109

As days go, yesterday was an extremely tough one. I did think of some blessings throughout the day, but I never got to my computer to write them up. There has been a situation in a certain area of my life (not family) that has reached a level of ugliness that I have had to stop and pray more times than I can count throughout the last three days. Yesterday topped it all off . . . and the situation is not resolved. However, I have said what I needed to say to the individuals I needed to say it to . . . and I trust God to take care of the rest.

So here are the blessings I've found in the midst of yesterday:

Day 108
1. God gives me peace, true, honest peace that I know did not come from anyone else, and didn't even come from inside of me.

2. I have a husband who supports me, stands by me, and gives me honest, Biblically sound advice when I ask for it.

3. Friends have stated that they would stand by me.

4. I have prayed, I have read my Bible, I have spoken to my Pastor, and I know that I am standing on solid ground in this situation.

5. Jesus is my cornerstone.

6. The Lord is my rock, my salvation, my shield, and my foundation.

7. God is the best judge of this situation, and I am willing to stand before him and give an account of my actions, and words. He knows all, and he knows my heart.

8. God gave me the strength to stand my ground in a situation where I was questioned repeatedly in a bullying manner, and asked to betray the trust of other individuals.

9. I know that God, in his mercy and infinite wisdom, can use this situation to bring each person involved, and those surrounding this crisis, into relationship with him.

10. "Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres." 1 Corinthians 13:6-7. I love the Lord enough, and I love the kids at my church enough to tell the truth, to protect the kids and families at my church, to trust in God's guidance, to hope for the best outcome, and to persevere in this storm.

"Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed." 1 Peter 13

"Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kinds of sufferings.
And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Chirst; after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. To him be the power forever and ever. Amen." 1 Peter 8-11



And here's today's blessings so far:
Day 109

1. A walk.

2. A quick trip the School District office to file my Home Education Intent form awarded me with three fair tickets.

3. My dogs barking in rythmic harmony: woo woo ruff, woo woo ruff, woo woo woo woo ruff ruff (repeat 3 times).

4. A friendly neighbor who slows his truck long enough to wave, and say hello.

5. Another friendly neighbor who petted our beagle as my mom talked to him. I have a greater trust of those who win my dogs' favor - not sure if that should be the way I am, but it is.

6. Pancakes for breakfast.

7. Bright sunlight shining through green leaves and creating a pattern of shadows on my window.

8. Ironing my husband's work shirt this morning . . . some mornings ironing is a blessed moment of reflection on an awesome marriage.

9. My daughters' readiness to do their lessons.

10. Walking with God every day, and having God's word by my side.

Scripture Blessings:
"Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly." James 3:1
and
"Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom." James 3:13

355 Days of Blessings - Day 107

365 Days of Blessings, Day 107

1. The Lord protects us, comforts us, and strengthens us in the midst of life's storms.

2. The awesome shoulder, advice, and thoughtfulness of my husband! In the last week, we've had lots of opportunities to talk, and I needed that!

3. Home-school cooperative!!!

4. My first day of teaching classes is done! Mistakes made, yes, but I took notes, and made plans for improvement. I really hope that my students will come away with a love of writing, and an enjoyment of Shakespeare (2 different classes).

5. Writing in a classroom with 9 kids that I just met today. Wow!

6. Writing a lazy sonnet, and looking forward to reading my Shakespeare class' lazy sonnets.

7. Hearing my kids' excitement over their classes and lessons, and being given a play-by-play account of their day in the car, and at home, and in the car again on the way to dance class.

8. My oldest daughter's confidence and persistence in making friends. Today, I watched her get ignored in a group conversation, trying to break in over an over . . . until finally, on her fourth try, the other girls turned, listened, and included her in the conversation.

9. My youngest daughter's excitement at learning. She wanted to teach me everything she learned today.

10. Back to the regular dance schedule . . .hanging out and eating dinner in the studio with al the company kids and company parents. What a fun group of people!

Scripture Blessings:
"And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication. They will look on me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son." Zechariah 12:10

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him."
John 3:16-17

365 Days of Blessings - Day 106

365 Days of Blessings, Day 106

1. The Lord remembers us.

2. A wonderful song my kids sang in children's choir last year that's running through my head this morning. The chorus goes something like this: "I am not forgotten, I am not forgotten, I am not forgoteen, God knows my name."

3. Stretching and waking up some of my forgotten muscles in the morning.

4. Having a day to get things done . . . like errands, planning, and some house-cleaning. Plus, I did some book reading as well . . . and some writing, and had some fun. I like Saturdays.

5. The amazing expertise of the guitar salesman at Ted Brown Music in Tacoma. He gave my oldest daughter her first lesson in guitar basics - how to hold the guitar properly, and why.

6. Getting a nice sounding guitar at a reasonable price.

7. Writing the rough draft of a short story in thirty minutes!

8. Struggling through a writing prompt this morning, but then finding a way to make it fit my novel, The Crystal Sword.

9. Reading the Narnia series aloud in the evenings at bed-time. We just read the scene where Aslan leads Lucy and the others through the woods and across the river, with Lucy being the only one who could see him. There are so many juicy Biblical principles at work in that scene . . . like trusting and following Jesus even when no one else believes, and standing up for our faith and doing what is right even when it's uncomfortable.

10. My dogs believe that the first phone call of the morning is for them, and them alone. Monday through Saturday they walk with my mom and I, after she calls me or I call her. The sad part is that it is Sunday today. I think I'll take them out to get the paper at least.

Scripture Blessings:
"From Judah will come the
cornerstone,
from him the tent peg,
from him the battle bow,
from him every ruler."
Zechariah 10:4

"Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord."
Ephesians 2:19-21