365 Days of Blessings, Day 63
1. When we quiet ourselves and listen, we can hear God's voice speaking quietly into our lives, through his Word, and through prayerful certainty.
2. My husband is an awesome technical helper. Yesterday when I struggled to do the simplest of tasks (insert text into a picture to create the Blessed Blog award), he sent me a detailed e-mail message with pictures taking me through the process step by step. I am thankful for his help, and his realization that I need visuals.
3. A three mile walk this morning! I feel so blessed to be able to walk to a cliff's edge by the ocean shore. (It's gated off so I can't get down to the beach but there is a beautiful view)
4. My old dog wants to go, go, go, even if it means our return trip is slow and arduous for her. She is so much happier when she walks.
5. Our cat thinks she should get a "walking treat" too when I return home with the dogs and they get theirs. She meets us at the door, and sits with them while I get the treats out of the treat container. If I had more time, I could probably train my cat.
6. My husband is hard at work on the bathroom remodel project this morning! Woohoo! He is doing some tearing out of the old flooring, and on Tuesday the new floor comes, along with the new toilet, and sometime soon, we hope to have a new bathtub and shower combination put in. We have only one shower in our house right now. Of course, I have to remember that compared to most of the world, we live in ultimate luxury because we have a shower.
7. I get to re-paint the bathroom soon! Either today or Monday. Blue lagoon, or sandy shore . . . actually don't know if those are paint colors, but I have high hopes of finding something like those colors today.
8. Deer eating apples from our old apple tree.
9. Applesmear softball with family, using only the unripe apples that have fallen onto the ground, of course. The ones that aren't getting eaten by the deer.
10. Seeing a really fun movie with family! We went to see Sorcerer's Apprentice last night, and we enjoyed it immensely. We especially liked seeing the mop scene, a new take on Disney's Fantasia mop messiness. I also liked how the magic was likened to science, and that started some discussions as a family.
Shared Blessing for the Day: My parents are thankful for their scooter trip!
Website for the day: Bible Gateway
Scripture for the Day:
"The king was overjoyed and gave orders to lift Daniel out of the den. And when Daniel was lifted from the den, no wound was found on him, because he had trusted in God." Daniel 6:23
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Thursday, July 29, 2010
365 Days of Blessings - Day 62
Every Friday, I'll be giving out a Blessed Blog Award! If you receive this award, know that you have blessed my writing and my life by inspiring me with your words, and your insights. Please feel free to pass it on.
Today this award goes to: Angie Lofthouse, from Notes From the Writing Chair
Angie's insights on writing and editing are treasures, and she has a gift with encouragement. Thanks for being a blessing, Angie!
365 Days of Blessings, Day 62
1. When we place all of our trust in the Lord, we become more trustworthy.
2. Pillows. Wonderful, soft, pillows. (I slept in this morning)
3. Blankets. In the Northwest we have some very cool, gray mornings that burn off into sunny afternoons. Plus, many people in the world do not have the luxury of blankets like we do in the United States.
4. Quilts. They have meaningful designs, and are often made with loving hands. My church makes nearly a hundred every six months and gives them to a world relief organization that delivers them to people in need. I don't sew, but I help pack up the boxes for shipment, and pray over them.
5. Alarm clocks that have snooze buttons. Two out of four people in my house wake up instantly . . . my husband and my youngest daughter. My oldest daughter and I need about an hour to have full thought capacity. Which is why it is dangerous for me to write these posts when I first get up. Usually I try to get in a walk, or at least a long stretching session, and some Bible study beforehand.
6. Cloud cover that rests among the tops of the trees by my house, so that we are surrounded by a gray-white blanket. There is a softness to these gray mornings that is somehow comforting in a way I'm not sure I can describe.
7. Variety in every day's weather. Yes, some places have more distinct seasons, but where else can you have cloud cover, rain, sunshine, and rainbows throughout each day? Plus, go from 55 degrees to 78 degrees from morning to afternoon?
8. Recently, our regular "lawn mower guy" at our church has fallen ill, so my husband has been filling in. My husband is the kind of guy who will mow the church lawn, and not necessarily mow our lawn. Sometimes that's aggravating, but yet, I love his passion for serving too.
9. Cool floors under bare toes.
10. Stretching. It's a must for me and my back, but it feels good too.
Shared Blessings:
1. Karen, a wonderful writing friend, has a new niece!
2. Another friend of mine shared her joy of hearing her daughters giggle together.
Scripture for the Day:
"For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep we may live together with him. Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing." 1 Thessalonians 5:9-11
Blessed by the Every Day Life - 365 Days of Blessings, Day 61
365 Days of Blessings, Day 61
The day after a birthday celebration is usually a day that includes half rest, and half clean up in our household. So today, I have been blessed by the Every Day stuff of life, some of which marks me as one of the richest people in the world - maybe not compared to Miley Cyrus, but definitely when compared to many people around the world who don't have what we consider to be basic necessitites.
1. God is my refuge, and my strength. He is my shield, and my portion. All the rest of this stuff is extra icing.
2. My husband is a wonderful man. He is faithful to our marriage. He believes in the Lord. Although at times he can get crabby, just like me, he is a very loving, kind man. I am very blessed to have him in my life.
3. My children are happy, healthy, and able to get a good education at home. We have the ability to choose how they are educated, and that is a great blessing.
4. My parents are happy and healthy, currently on another adventure, but this time in our country with their RV and their Motor Scooter.
5. My parent-in-laws are happy and mostly healthy. My mom-in-law is a cancer survivor, and they both have more energy than most people I know.
6. We have a wonderful family and friends.
7. We have indoor plumbing, with both hot and cold clean water available at the twist of our fingertips. There are many places in the world where this is not an option.
8. I have an in-house vacuum cleaner. Did I mention this one already? I'm not a great house-cleaner, my husband and I both have problems with stirring up dust (sneeze attacks galore), and the in-house vacuum makes our lives a lot easier. Now, if I could just in-house vac. all my shelves without sucking up any nicknacks and life would be perfect.
9. I have two bookshelves bursting with books, a library down the street, and most importantly, I can read the Bible in my own language in several translations. Not all people have those kind of luxuries.
10. I live in a country where freedom is defended valiantly by men and women who are willing to sacrifice their lives for liberty.
Bonus Blessings: I live in a safe country, where justice prevails most of the time, and children are not usually forced into slavery, or prostitution.
Shared Blessings:
A dear friend, Louise, told me she is thankful for a forgiving God.
Scripture for the day:
"The Lord is my strength and my
shield;
my heart trusts in him, and I am
helped.
My heart leaps for joy
and I will give thanks to him in
song."
Psalm 28:7
The day after a birthday celebration is usually a day that includes half rest, and half clean up in our household. So today, I have been blessed by the Every Day stuff of life, some of which marks me as one of the richest people in the world - maybe not compared to Miley Cyrus, but definitely when compared to many people around the world who don't have what we consider to be basic necessitites.
1. God is my refuge, and my strength. He is my shield, and my portion. All the rest of this stuff is extra icing.
2. My husband is a wonderful man. He is faithful to our marriage. He believes in the Lord. Although at times he can get crabby, just like me, he is a very loving, kind man. I am very blessed to have him in my life.
3. My children are happy, healthy, and able to get a good education at home. We have the ability to choose how they are educated, and that is a great blessing.
4. My parents are happy and healthy, currently on another adventure, but this time in our country with their RV and their Motor Scooter.
5. My parent-in-laws are happy and mostly healthy. My mom-in-law is a cancer survivor, and they both have more energy than most people I know.
6. We have a wonderful family and friends.
7. We have indoor plumbing, with both hot and cold clean water available at the twist of our fingertips. There are many places in the world where this is not an option.
8. I have an in-house vacuum cleaner. Did I mention this one already? I'm not a great house-cleaner, my husband and I both have problems with stirring up dust (sneeze attacks galore), and the in-house vacuum makes our lives a lot easier. Now, if I could just in-house vac. all my shelves without sucking up any nicknacks and life would be perfect.
9. I have two bookshelves bursting with books, a library down the street, and most importantly, I can read the Bible in my own language in several translations. Not all people have those kind of luxuries.
10. I live in a country where freedom is defended valiantly by men and women who are willing to sacrifice their lives for liberty.
Bonus Blessings: I live in a safe country, where justice prevails most of the time, and children are not usually forced into slavery, or prostitution.
Shared Blessings:
A dear friend, Louise, told me she is thankful for a forgiving God.
Scripture for the day:
"The Lord is my strength and my
shield;
my heart trusts in him, and I am
helped.
My heart leaps for joy
and I will give thanks to him in
song."
Psalm 28:7
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Blessed by my Daughter's Birthday, 365 Days of Blessings - Day 60
365 Days of Blessings, Day 60
Yesterday we celebrated my youngest daughter's ninth birthday with our family, and today she celebrates again with 10 friends, so these blessings are all about birthday moments and my daughter.
1. God has honored me with many precious gifts. When each of my children were born, I felt awed by the precious gift of life, and the honor given to me as a mom by the Creator of life himself. Today I thank him especially for my youngest daughter.
2. Spelling my daughter’s name in gluten-free pancake batter, and then making the rest of the pancakes into lopsided hearts. It is an awesome birthday tradition, even when we burn the pancakes.
3. A little present at breakfast on my daughter’s birthday, plus the “big one” later.
4. My daughter’s smiling face. When she’s happy she smiles with every fiber of her being. When she’s frustrated, there is still a small smile on her lips. She has inner joy.
5. My daughter’s bright sky blue eyes.
6. My daughter’s tap-dancing feet. She practices everywhere, in the kitchen, in the grocery store, at the library (shh), while brushing her hair, in tap shoes, hiking shoes, sandals, and bare feet. She’s tap-danced all around Washington State, in Florida, California, Canada, and Washington D.C. – because she taps all the time.
7. My daughter’s wonderful relationship with her sister. Yes, there are moments when I have to make them apologize, and make them say “I forgive you.” But 99% of the time, they love to talk together, tap together, read together, put together “beautiful outfits”, read together, and laugh together.
8. My daughter’s squeezy hugs, and her love of cuddling while watching movies at home.
9. My daughter’s love of cats, and dolphins. She is ok with wanting to do some of the same things her sister wants to do, but differently. Her sister wants to work with/research/protect river dolphins, while she wants to work at the Dolphin Research Center in Florida as a dolphin trainer. Oh, and she wants to tap dance too. She has big dreams, and I love that.
10. My daughter’s love of beading, being creative with crafts, and writing poetry.
Shared Blessings:
Trisha is thankful for her birthday. :-)
Website/Internet Blessing for the day:
Dolphin Research Center
Scripture for the Day:
"If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up." Daniel 3:17-18 (from one of my favorite stories from Daniel)
And as an extra bonus, I thought I would share a poem my daughter wrote last September.
Dolphins
By Trisha Martinson
I saw two dolphins jump
I saw two dolphins jump
Twirling beautifully through the air,
Curving smoothly pair by pair
And they land without a splash
And they land without a splash
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
New Stuff Coming Soon- 365 Days of Blessings - Day 59
New Stuff Coming Soon!!!
Thinking carefully over these last few months, I realized that I need to make some changes to my 365 Days of Blessings project. I fully intend to continue to honor the call that I feel to count up, and be thankful for the blessings in my life, and share them, but I hope to encourage others to do the same. So, I'm going to make some minor changes.
Each day I will share a blessing that someone else has shared with me, for example, if someone who reads my blog says - "hey, I'm thankful for indoor plumbing today" I'll include that in my list. Or if one of my family members or off-line friends shares a blessing with me, I'll put that on my list.
I also plan to highlight blogs, websites, and organizations that have blessed my life, and will be giving out a "Blessed Blog" award each week on Friday.
These may not be the only changes I make, but these are the start of new stuff coming soon.
365 Days of Blessings, Day 59
These are just some of the many blessings that I am thankful for today:
1. God is the author and revealer of mysteries and wonders.
2. The book of Daniel in the Bible. Some of my favorite Sunday School Bible stories are in this book.
3. My cat Emily honored me with her presence on my lap this morning as I read my Bible.
4. The cross necklace I made at the Creation Fest Kids' Grove. I lost my last cross several months ago, and even if this one is a wood cross with plastic beads on a string, it has just as much meaning.
5. Visiting with my parents yesterday when they finally arrived home from their long trip to the Holy Land. They had delayed flights from New York to Seattle. They had, and still have, many stories to tell.
6. My mom's generous, giving heart. She loves to give gifts, and gave each of us something from her trip.
7. I am surrounded by various shades of green, and I love green.
8. My daughter's determination to work with dolphins someday. When looking at handouts from a Christian university at the Creation Festival, she wanted to know if they had a Marine Biology program. She has wanted to be a marine biologist since she turned six or seven. Of course, she has also wanted to be a dancer or a dance instructor since she turned five. So far, she's living part of one dream (dancing) and researching the other.
9. I'm thankful that my oldest daughter's interest in sharks and shark research has waned, and her interest in river dolphins has grown. I'm a wimp, and I didn't really want to see her swimming with sharks someday.
10. My youngest daughter's birthday is today. I am blessed by her life, her creativity, and the priveledge God gave me in raising her. (more about how much she has blessed my life coming tomorrow)
Shared Blessings
My youngest daughter shared with me yesterday that she is thankful that Grandma and Grandpa are home.
Do you have a blessing that you want to share? Just post it in the comment section, and I'll post it tomorrow in my Shared Blessings section.
"He (God) reveals deep and hidden things;
he knows what lies in darkness,
and light dwells with him."
Daniel 2:22
Earlier I forgot to add my website for the day. This awesome site, like many others, has blessed me with great recipes for my allergy free cooking endeavors. For awesome chocolate cake that's egg free, and dairy free, just use the recipe as it is. For gluten free cake, just substitute your favorite flour mix, add 2 teaspoons guar gum, and again, you have an awesome cake.
Egg Free, Dairy Free Moist Chocolate Cake
Thinking carefully over these last few months, I realized that I need to make some changes to my 365 Days of Blessings project. I fully intend to continue to honor the call that I feel to count up, and be thankful for the blessings in my life, and share them, but I hope to encourage others to do the same. So, I'm going to make some minor changes.
Each day I will share a blessing that someone else has shared with me, for example, if someone who reads my blog says - "hey, I'm thankful for indoor plumbing today" I'll include that in my list. Or if one of my family members or off-line friends shares a blessing with me, I'll put that on my list.
I also plan to highlight blogs, websites, and organizations that have blessed my life, and will be giving out a "Blessed Blog" award each week on Friday.
These may not be the only changes I make, but these are the start of new stuff coming soon.
365 Days of Blessings, Day 59
These are just some of the many blessings that I am thankful for today:
1. God is the author and revealer of mysteries and wonders.
2. The book of Daniel in the Bible. Some of my favorite Sunday School Bible stories are in this book.
3. My cat Emily honored me with her presence on my lap this morning as I read my Bible.
4. The cross necklace I made at the Creation Fest Kids' Grove. I lost my last cross several months ago, and even if this one is a wood cross with plastic beads on a string, it has just as much meaning.
5. Visiting with my parents yesterday when they finally arrived home from their long trip to the Holy Land. They had delayed flights from New York to Seattle. They had, and still have, many stories to tell.
6. My mom's generous, giving heart. She loves to give gifts, and gave each of us something from her trip.
7. I am surrounded by various shades of green, and I love green.
8. My daughter's determination to work with dolphins someday. When looking at handouts from a Christian university at the Creation Festival, she wanted to know if they had a Marine Biology program. She has wanted to be a marine biologist since she turned six or seven. Of course, she has also wanted to be a dancer or a dance instructor since she turned five. So far, she's living part of one dream (dancing) and researching the other.
9. I'm thankful that my oldest daughter's interest in sharks and shark research has waned, and her interest in river dolphins has grown. I'm a wimp, and I didn't really want to see her swimming with sharks someday.
10. My youngest daughter's birthday is today. I am blessed by her life, her creativity, and the priveledge God gave me in raising her. (more about how much she has blessed my life coming tomorrow)
Shared Blessings
My youngest daughter shared with me yesterday that she is thankful that Grandma and Grandpa are home.
Do you have a blessing that you want to share? Just post it in the comment section, and I'll post it tomorrow in my Shared Blessings section.
"He (God) reveals deep and hidden things;
he knows what lies in darkness,
and light dwells with him."
Daniel 2:22
Earlier I forgot to add my website for the day. This awesome site, like many others, has blessed me with great recipes for my allergy free cooking endeavors. For awesome chocolate cake that's egg free, and dairy free, just use the recipe as it is. For gluten free cake, just substitute your favorite flour mix, add 2 teaspoons guar gum, and again, you have an awesome cake.
Egg Free, Dairy Free Moist Chocolate Cake
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