One Thousand Gifts (Continued)

"You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God" (2 Corinthians 9:11).

There are so many good causes asking for donations. Many people may feel exhausted from continually donating things, but this was not evident this past Saturday. We collected used soccer equipment at our son's soccer championship/picnic day and we were overwhelmed with the generosity of the community. We are truly thankful for the positive feedback and the great response to our request to help those in need in Zambia, Africa.

SO much to give thanks for...
#1888-#1914

-a very generous soccer community
-a wonderful project and the many volunteers who help with this project

http://crossroads.ca/missions/development/zambia/lazarus-project

-upside down books

-a love for books at a young age

-independence; feeding herself

-balloons and hours of entertainment

-siblings playing together

-bright eyes and beautiful smiles

-Deborah's responsible big brother/buddy

-being content with a small pool

-a new, fun idea to keep siblings entertained (thanks, Elsie)

-soccer champion (always a champion in my heart)

-trying his best even in the hot weather

-becoming more adventurous

-Paul coaching his daughter's soccer team and Nicole loving it

-getting together with adoptive mommies

-a large backyard for children to run and play

-excited cousins seeing each other after holidays

-celebrating a 50th wedding anniversary

-50 years of being a live witness of God's faithfulness and love

-lovely children publicly honouring their parents

-Deborah's increasing vocabulary

-positive examples for Deborah to imitate

-monopoly junior

-a good clean bill of health after Mom's procedure

-friends excited to see each other after the holidays

-pastors reminding us of the hope we have in Christ

One Thousand Gifts (Continued)

"Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience...And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity...and whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him" (Colossians 3:12,14,17).

This was one of the passages that the pastor read at our nephew's wedding. 17 years ago, those words were read at our wedding. I am thankful for those words from the book of Colossians and the reminder to put on love even when I don't feel like it. How often I fall short of that, which makes me oh so grateful for having such a loving and forgiving God.

It was a beautiful wedding and my list of gratitude stems out of the wonderful weekend that I had.
Continuing to give thanks....
#1 855-#1 887

-a lovely new member of the family

-a beautiful, Christian couple

-lots of love and affection toward their cousins

-wonderful, fun loving in-laws

-witty MC's and a fun loving couple

-sense of humour

-my supportive, loving hubby

-sharing similar interests with his father

-the Pauls in my life

-the goofy side of the groom (showing his infamous hockey move/dance)

-family (I really missed Deborah at that point- she stayed a my sister's)

-knowing my baby girl was in excellent care at my sister's house

-getting dressed up

-my snazzy boys

-Jesse wanting to wear a tie!

-feeling like a princess

-celebrating their marriage ceremony with ice cream!!

-the groom's many smiles

-being so proud to be Laura's husband

-a ring bearer taking his job very seriously (I tried making goofy faces at him, but that didn't work)!

-a moment so beautiful

-the thunder, passing by during the ceremony

-a beautiful wedding and a beautiful couple

-safe travels

-a fixed van

-Deborah had fun with her cousins and aunt and uncle for her first sleep over

-texting (to get updates on my baby girl)!

-Nicole making new friends so easily

-a very successful week of Vacation Bible School

-Jesse being a great help in the nursery at VBS

-Curtis loving all the stations at VBS (especially the crafts)

-the immense generosity during our VBS week as we collected over $500 for Africa's drought and famine relief and lots of food for the local food bank

-children singing their hearts out for God during our closing program (always brings tears to my eyes)!

One Thousand Gifts (Continued)

"May the LORD Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father, who loved us and by His grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word" (2 Thessalonians 2:16-17).

Continuing to give thanks....
#1832-1854

-an encouraging phone call early this morning from my in laws
-such thoughtful in laws
-God's grace and eternal encouragement
-a very successful first day of VBS
-dedicated, reliable, flexible volunteers for Vacation Bible School
-Jesse- Deborah's official care taker for the week
-Curtis' excitement for EVERYTHING about Vacation Bible School
-Nicole's willingness to help with VBS preparations
-a wonderful co- coordinator
-outdoor camp fires

-snacking outside by the fire

-fun, monster sized marshmallows




-Nicole's willingness to roast the marshmallows for others

-a hard working hubby, taking time to sit and relax (for a short time, anyway)

-Deborah learning new things every day

-her new pose when saying "cheese" for the camera

-wanting to be like her big brother

-no injuries so far this summer!

-new life
-our trees that provide a home for birds' nests

-sleeping in the van after a long day of fun at Canada's Wonderland

-playing games and having such supportive cheer leaders

-another fun summer day!

One Picture- Many Thoughts

'"My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,' declares the LORD" (Isaiah 55:8).

This picture now hangs on our wall.

We took this picture last fall while in Ethiopia. We recently ordered a canvas enlargement of this picture which is now hanging in a very visible spot in our house.
I never would have thought that this one picture could evoke so many million thoughts in my mind.
Every time I look at this picture on our wall, various thoughts run through my mind such as...

-meeting our baby girl for the first time
-holding our baby for the first time
-her birth mother who probably doesn't go a day without thinking about her beautiful baby
-our unforgettable trip to bring home our baby girl
-our incredible trip to visit our sponsor child
-the dust
-the very dry ground
-the poverty
-the women walking on bare feet collecting water
-the drought and the famine right now in the horn of Africa
-the death of thousands of children because of malnourishment
-how blessed we are and how we can help others
http://www.crcna.org/pages/crwrc_idr_eadrought.cfm
-the beauty of God's creation and the beautiful trees

This great picture of our daughter's beautiful birth country is a reminder of an amazing trip with memories that I pray I may never forget. The Lord is good and His faithfulness continues through all generations.

One Thousand Gifts (Continued)

"This is what the LORD Almighty says, 'I will refresh the weary and satisfy the faint'"
(Jeremiah 31:25).

It all started with my sister saying, "I don't have to work on Friday, lets take Mom out." That sounded good to me. So after some research on the web, I found a nice place to go to for one night with my mom and my sister. It was a fun, relaxing, and refreshing night away. I am so hankful for my mom and my sister/my best friend (and a supportive, loving husband)!
Continuing to give thanks...

#1815- #1831

-the opportunity to have a fun, relaxing night away with my sister and my mom

-Mom's health

-Mom's deep appreciation for flowers

-a peaceful get away

-always having a good time with my sister

-Paul being so supportive with my get away (he didn't think it would actually happen!)

-knowing that the children were in such good care with their daddy

-knowing that the childern were having lots of fun with their daddy (as always!)

-rest and relaxation

-God's beautiful flowers and water

-Deborah sitting so nicely with her brother on the couch and/or lazy boy chair

-miracle baby twins' baptism and a reminder of God's promises to us and our children

-God's faithfulness

-the gift of life

-a long awaited piece of paper work being finalized for friends who are now in their final steps of bringing their baby girl home!

-an afternoon out with my hubby

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