On Wednesday, Lord willing, Rob and I will have been married for nine years. That may seem unbelievably long for some; it's unbelievably short for us. We have been blessed with many things and frustrated by a number, too. In retrospect (all we have, really), none of our storms have been huge though at the time some seemed insurmountable. I was reminded of this earlier this week when we had a huge thunderstorm come through. It went on for hours and even after I couldn't hear the thunder anymore the lightning continued to flash. It was beautiful if a little frightening. Our marriage is something like that. Huge storms come through, frightening and beautiful in the growth they bring. Sometimes the flashes of those storms remain for years. By God's grace we have weathered our storms and by his grace we'll weather more. This week I'm grateful to God for many things. I'm also grateful to my husband for the many years of love and faithful service to me. What a treasure you are! (And yes, everyone, I'll tell him in person, too! I just want him to know that I want everyone to know!)
Thank you Lord, for: 371. Thunderstorms 372. The morning after a thunderstorm 373. Children's clipped fingernails 374. Children sitting still for said clipping 375. Pancakes 376. Family portraits 377. Village-wide yard sale 378. Great finds! 379. A neighbour going home to be with the Lord 380. Being able to apologize. Again. 381. Volleyball with church friends 382. Marriage 383. My husband
Headed for bed, but not before giving thanks for the many blessings of this week: 355. It's the last week of softball. 356. Parents visiting 357. 6 still-alive chickens, now living outside 358. Pentecost 359. The Holy Spirit 360. Sewing time 361. Renewed prayer 362. Spiders, even big ones 363. Last weeks of school 364. Not being unmarried (I'm so over highschool.) 365. Independent bookstores 366. Conscience pricks 367. Coaching 368. New playset for the kids 369. Playing with those same kids!! 370. No new cavities at the dentist!
There is much to be grateful for. =)
Monday, May 17, 2010
"In everything give thanks In every situation Lift your voice and sing And praise Him from your heart" ~ Psalty Song
Life here in the garden has not been all roses. People are hard, or rather, relationships are hard. We've been separated for quite some time for travel reasons, then returned to extended family visiting (which we love!), and finally we've been struggling through some tough issues in our church home. All of these require relational work. Much growth is happening through that work, but it sometimes seems harder to give thanks in this time. To that end, I'm up early this morning to just do it!
341. Ladies improving in softball 342. Dance parties 343. Church unity 344. Family visits 345. Flying kites 346. Highschoolers coming to play with the kids - just because 347. The local creamery 348. Ralph and Larry stories 349. Sleep 350. A new fabric store 351. The circus 352. Garden beds full of dirt 353. Frogs 354. A brother willing to help
