One Thousand Gifts (Continued)

"You open the hand and satisfy the desires of every living thing"

(Psalm 145:16).

How do I expect my children to have joy when I am grumpy? How do I expect my children to have satisfaction when I myself have an extensive wish list of things? GRATITUDE...I hope and pray that our new habit of filling out our gratitude booklets http://www.aholyexperience.com/page/2/ before dinner will instill joy and satisfaction for life in all of our lives. I hope and pray that we as a family will be able to see God in everything, to be grateful for all things and to experience His grace as we practice gratitude in our daily lives.

My gratitude continues... #1533-#1554

-GEMS- Girls Everywhere Meeting our Saviour

-dedicated GEMS counselors and mentors to the girls

-Nicole doing a great job with her singing debut on GEMS Sunday

-a day with just Deborah and Curtis

-Curtis playing with Deborah at the Early Years Center (and loving it)! -annual, early phone calls on our birthdays with Opa playing his trumpet

-celebrating Jesse's 11th birthday!

-the fine, young man he is becoming!

-Jesse's hockey debut

-fundraiser tournament for Haiti

-patience as he searches for just the right piece -peas growing in my window sill -painted clay pots

-laughing hysterically as Curtis tells me that he wore his pyjama shirt to school today (good thing it was a pretty ordinary T-shirt)!

-Paul and I giggling as we hear Curtis yell from the fields, "AGH, a worm!"

-bringing out the patio furniture

-wearing capris

-baking with Nicole

-more children sponsored for Compassion http://www.compassion.ca/child_list.asp at a Jeremy Camp concert

-Jesse sharing his birthday money with our sponsored child in Ethiopia

-enjoying beautiful music, fellowship, and a delicious meal at a Gleaner's http://www.ontariogleaners.org/ fundraising event

-everyone writing in their gratitude booklets before dinner

Eleven

"You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honour and power, for you created all things and by your will they were created and have their being" (Revelation 4:9-11).

I give praise and thanks to God for creating our children and entrusting them into our care. Today our oldest turned 11. He is truly a gift from God. He's a great oldest child as he is responsible and a caring brother who is willing to share and take care of his siblings. He is learning gratitude and he helps willingly when asked. He loves the outdoors and any kind of sport! He has a great sense of humour and he's a pleasure to be with.

We had a great day this afternoon as his cousins came off the bus with him and went across the road to meet up with more family for a pizza/soccer party (upon his request). Thankfully the weather was nice! Last night, Paul took him and two friends to a basketball game which was a lot of fun too!

One Thousand Gifts (Continued)

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ" (Ephesians 1:3).

Praising God for my continual blessings...

#1516-#1532

-a time to be silly

-a borrowed baby chair which works great to do Deborah's hair

-spring flowers with a creative flare

-the opportunity and humbling experience to teach at our church's marriage conference

-a successful marriage conference

-the teachings of the goal of marriage

-a break in the morning from the rain

-an excited boy because of an upcoming birthday this week

-Curtis finally getting a play date and having lots of fun!

-nice visit with friends and hanging out at the park

-celebrating my sister's birthday

-my super keen 6 year old French student

-sharing tears over a movie with my daughter

-inpsiring songs (Laura Story- "Blessings") -the reminder that He hears each spoken need

-the healing that comes through tears

-blessing through raindrops

-God's mercies in disguise

One Thousand Gifts (Continued)

"Just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in Him, rooted and built up in Him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness"

(Colossians 2:6-7).

Continuing to give thanks...

#1504-1515

-ice melting

-taking down the ice rink (getting ready for spring!) -a big helper -siblings playing games together

-testimony of faith and hope through his concert (Steven Curtis Chapman)

-night out with hubby

-more than 150 children being sponsored at the concert through Compassion

-birds singing

-bunny infront of Nicole's window (that helped get her out of bed this morning)!

-friends holding their beautiful daughter for the first time and forever

-baby shower and the announcement of a miracle pregnancy

-being fully known AND yet still loved by our heavenly Father

Unexpected Surprises

"The LORD says, 'Those who hope in me will not be disappointed'"

(Isaiah 49:23).

The unexpected timing of an answered prayer.

The gentle nudge of guidance.

The stirring from the Holy Spirit.

The pictures of friends holding their long awaited little girl.http://www.orangeville.nl/?p=1006

The whispers in the heart.

The gentle hug.

The waking to birds singing.

The white blanket outside our window. That was our surprise this morning.



This is how some of their snow day was spent:

One Thousand Gifts (Continued)

'"You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands,' declares the LORD" (Isaiah 55:12).

What a privilege it was this week to learn about the trees of the field and God's mighty works.

We had a fun March Break this past week!
So much to be thankful for.
#1 487-1 503

-learning about God's amazing creation and the making of maple syrup

-my first "real" completed sewing project

-my willing model (thinking she's going to bed) (it's not for her-it's a gift)


-an early hockey game (allowing for a few spectators!)

-eating freezies in shorts and on the ice rink!

-the newest greenhouse employee
-eager (and not so eager) greenhouse workers

-room tidying

-continuing purging with my "bag a day"

-jogging without the jogging stroller -thanks, Mom
-sharing a blanket while sipping tea and growing in faith with a dear friend

-getting ready for the first day back to school - the snacks are packed!

-a fun March Break

-lots of play time with cousins

-breakfast outing to celebrate my sister-in-law's birthday (thanks, Diane)

-fun basketball party with friends

-Nicole's excited announcement to EVERY song that plays on the Message (Christian Satellite station), "I LOVE that song!"

Sweetness

"Pleasant words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones"

(Proverbs 16:24).

During our March Break, we had the privilege of enjoying and learning about the yummy, sweet maple syrup at the Maple Syrup Festival. It was a great opportunity to appreciate one of the many unfathomable aspects of God's creation.

The sweet maple syrup made me think about a dear friend who confessed to me after I told her that she was sweet, that she was praying to be viewed as someone who is sweet. Well, anyone who knows her would agree with me that she is indeed sweet! http://heathershomewardjourney.blogspot.com)

The Bible says that pleasant words are sweet to the soul and healing to the bones. Sweet words are pleasant, agreeable, hopeful, thankful, and joyful. (for more information see: http://bible.org/seriespage/sweet-honey) They can attribute to our physical well being. They can minister to our lives as well as others' lives. My friends' words definitely minister to me and to so many others. It is my prayer that my words will be "pleasant as honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones".