Multitudes on Mondays: 58–86

Three weeks.  No posts.  But countless blessings.  Here are just a few.

0058.  For a 5-year-old remembering what to do in an emergency, even if the "emergency" really wasn't an emergency after all.  :)

0059.  For eating dinner with the windows up.  In an instant, I was 9 years old and visiting my MawMaw and PawPaw's house.

0060.  For an understanding friend and the way a great conversation with my oldest didn't have to come to a screeching halt in order to be there on time.

0061.  For playtime with friends when we did finally get there.  And a "maybe someday" picture.  :)

0062.  For libraries:  free buffets for the mind!

0063.  For beautiful days that draw you out of the comfort of your home to experience His creation.

0064.  For exceeding a goal, setting a new one, then exceeding it.  "I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made" (Psalm 139:14).

0065.  For a sudden burst of energy and a sprint at the end.

0066.  For an abundance of food and a large table so our friends could just stay for dinner.

0067.  For Millie's excitement over being able to read.  Everyone who passes through our door gets to hear a story.

0068.  For a flexible schedule and being able to go help when the phone rang.

0069.  For a great time of dissecting Scripture with the ladies at church to try to determine what that passage really means.

0070.  For four little girls filled with excitement over their first camp experience.  (Millie went for drop-off, but she's too young to stay!)

0071.  That Hannah loved it so much she cried when I came to pick her up.  She is eager to return this summer!

0072.  For a visit to Grandma and Grandpa's without Mom and Dad.  These are some of my favorite childhood memories, and I want my kids to have a chance to make those memories for themselves.

0073.  For time.  Time for me to just be a wife and for him to just be a husband.  And time to tackle those projects that are simply too complicated to tackle with children underfoot.

0074.  For hard work and hours of training and an amazing friend, all of which helped me to actually be ready on race day this year!


Fawn (my running partner who refuses to let me get out of training, despite my various excuses), me, and my friend Cyndy (who is a real runner and has lost over 100 pounds in the past 4 years).  Don't you love that Greg had us stand in front of the ambulance—just in case!

 0075.  For making it to the finish line and knowing I ran the entire thing!!

0076.  That my friend chose to have a slower time so she could stay with me and encourage me the entire way. 

0077.  For a new way of organizing our school day that has helped us achieve more in less time.  Yes!!!

0078.  For new signs of growth!  We're not gardeners by any stretch of the imagination, but we're giving it an honest effort and learning a little more every year.

0079.  For a God so powerful that He defeated death!  And that by so doing, He defeated death for me!

0080.  For a tradition that we "accidentally" started.  The kids ask for them every Easter.  :)

0081.  For an honest conversation with a daughter last night, and for my amazing husband who handled it exactly the way I hope I would have if I had been there alone.  (Yet I know myself well enough to know I would never have managed to stay even half as calm and understanding and encouraging as he did.)  Soooo thankful he was there!!

0082.  That God loves us and draws us to Himself and is faithful to reveal Himself to us even when we aren't so faithful in exchange.

0083.  For a smile that now has an extra-wide gap!

0084.  For a new middle digit in my weight.  One number smaller than the old middle digit.  It's not a big enough loss for anyone else to notice, but I know it, and it makes me happy.

0085.  For my husband, who listens and is willing to work at marriage.  There aren't words to describe how I feel about this man.  I am blessed beyond measure to be his wife and thankful to be partnered with him for the rest of my life.

0086.  For God's provision for our family all the time.  I went to the dentist today to pay a $94 bill and was told not to worry about it, that they would just remove the charge from my account.  Who does that??! 

Head over to Ann's A Holy Experience to read about the blessings He has poured into others' lives this week.

Multitudes on Mondays: 27–57

I'm sure I've only noticed a small drop in an ocean of gifts He has poured into my life this week.  Even so, my list continues to grow, and I am thankful.

0027. For being pushed beyond what I think my body can handle.

0028. For the friend who gently pushes.

0029. For the same friend who in some ways anchors me, reminding me that a heart full of wisdom is far better than a head full of knowledge.

0030. For the other friend who I can so fully trust. Who I know prays without ceasing. Whose daily walk points me to Him without fail. "Less of me, more of Him."

0031. For his peace for those times when I abide in the Spirit.

0032. For his grace for those times when my flesh overcomes.

0033. For the honesty of one little girl after a poor decision was made.

0034. For the opportunity to train the heart of the other, who tried to conceal it with a lie.

0035.  For purchasing a book on my wish list at a price that seemed too good to be true!

0036.  For authors like Hillyer who can take a geography book and turn it into a story book of far-away lands, with just the right touch of science and history added to the mix.

0037.  And for this gem, also on my wish list, found on the bookshelf at MeeMaw and Kimpaw's.

0038.  For their generosity in giving it to me ... even before I asked.  :)

0039.  For a daughter who asked if she could "add one" to my list.

0040.  For the fact that the one she wanted to add was the love between our family.

0041.  For little girls' hearts being so receptive that they put His words into action.

0042.  For the desk getting cleaned off and the bills getting paid.  :)

0043.  For his provision in faithfully stretching our meager income.  Truly, the numbers don't make sense.  He is our Jehovah-Jireh.

0044.  For hearing Greg share a new thought with me from a book he read on his  flight last week:  Our "messy house" is okay because we have a "pretty neat home."

0045.  For waking up to find that he had cleaned the kitchen after I went to bed.

0046. For three extra bodies for a few hours one evening, and the laughter and joy and memories they added to our home.

0047.  For the warmer days and the new life that is springing up everywhere I look.

0048.  For children who love to play outside.

0049.  For a husband who took the initiative to get our project going while my thoughts were consumed with next year's school.

0050.  For a place right here in our small town for the girls to share some afternoon fun with their AWANA friends.

0051.  For learning that there is an appropriate time to hit your sister.  ;)

0052.  For rejoicing in that knowledge!

0053.  That "Coach Daddy" got to go with us and teach the girls a new game.

0054.  That we have been blessed with good health and sharp minds and bodies that move, although we rarely give it a moment's thought.

0055.  For this child, full of new ideas and boundless energy, who has been entrusted to my care.

0056.  And for this one, tender and affectionate and full of compassion.

0057.  For creative minds and never knowing what they'll come up with next, but always being amazed at whatever it is.

How about you?  What gifts are you most thankful for this week?

Multitudes on Mondays: 1–26

Today I'm embarking on a new journey.  Destination:  Gratitude.  I know this is a lifelong journey and I'll never fully "arrive," but I'm confident that my Guide will show me my world in a completely new way as we travel together.  All I'm bringing with me is a heart that longs to praise Him, a mind that wants to be made new, and a body designed to see, hear, taste, smell, touch, feel, and reflect on—to truly experience—whatever He desires to show me along the way.

So here are my first steps toward 1000 Gifts.  May the journey continue long after Mile Marker 1000 is reached!

0001 - Good friends and long car rides and the uplifting conversation that always results when the two come together.

0002 - Beautiful weather every. single. day. during Spring Break.

0003 - Doctors who catch mistakes that keep Kimpaws on earth a little longer so sweet memories can be made.

0004 - The excitement in my girls' eyes at the Boardwalk in Kemah.

0005 - Seeing my adventurous girl in her element as she darted from one big ride to another and my reserved girl slowly building her confidence as she gradually worked her way up.

0006 - Little girls getting to fish at Grandma and Grandpa's house.

0007 - Seeing that patience pays off.

0008 - Catching a catfish with a cane pole.

0009 - Spring in full bloom!

0010- Freshly squeezed OJ with breakfast.

0011 - A little girl's first stitches on a sewing machine.

0012 - My "hurry up and get it done" girl slowing down enough to make it neat.

0013 - The joy that comes from seeing the fruit of your labor.  (Every single stitch was hers!)

0014 - A mom who taught me to sew so I could be there when it got to be too much for little hands to work with.

0015 - A mom who is still needed for all those things I don't know how to do!

0016 - Safe flights there.

0017 - Laughing until your sides ache.

0018 - Hearing that, after 16 years, he still misses me when we're not together.

0019 - My church family.

0020 - The God I worship with them.

0021 - Being made aware of gaps in my prayer life.

0022 - Hearing a new thought:  "It's not death we fear, but what it might take to get there."

0023 - Safe flights home.

0024 - The smile on his face when he walked through the door.

0025 - Claps of joy when sweet Millie realized that what she was doing was spelling words!

0026 - Home.  Agreeing with Dorothy that there's no place like it.  And we got to be here all. day. long.  Ahhhhh.

To read about the multitude of blessings others experienced in their lives this week, visit A Holy Experience.