On Living Freely and Lightly

Birthday cupcakes for my nephew!

Our Teaching Pastor at church continues to teach us on the topic "Why Did Jesus Die?". Yesterday was Part 4 in this teaching series... and he talked about Jesus shutting down religion... so that we can have rest, freedom and life!

Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me — watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly.

~ Jesus (from Matthew 11:28-30, The Message).

Religion - that is, any system of salvation - is done away with through Jesus. When this truth sinks in, we will experience transforming freedom, peace, and rest.

Christ-followers are forgiven, cleansed, and equipped for spiritual growth. There is nothing more we can do to be made spiritually alive, beyond trusting Christ. Nothing. Got it? Nothing.

~ Bruxy Cavey.

That's the reality of grace... God's grace... for which I offer up unending thanks!

As I continue to count grace-gifts, these are the things I am thankful for this week... #1373 - #1381:

:: Great basketball season at school for my boy.
:: My girl's awesome interim report card.
:: Baking cupcakes for my nephew's birthday!
:: Good dental care.
:: A day at a Robotics Tournament with my boy and seven of his schoolmates.
:: Collecting baby clothes to send with my friend to an orphanage in Haiti.
:: Keeping my focus on God when people disappoint...
:: Sunday lunch with hubby's extended family.
:: A Sunday afternoon nap.

Happy Monday, friends!

May arrives this week! I am looking forward to a less busy month for our family... and, learning to draw on God's unforced rhythms of grace... in order to live freely and lightly!

It's not the gifts that fulfill. But the holiness of the space. The God in it... This is supreme gift, time, God Himself framed in moment.

~ Ann Voskamp, One Thousand Gifts.

Let's soar into this new week together, friends... let's do justice, love mercy and walk humbly!

Click on the banner below for more Multitudes on Mondays posts...

Jump in... I promise you will be blessed!

Unwrapping more of His love in this world.

Act justly.  Love mercy.  Walk humbly with God!

The Practice of Gospel

Our current teaching series at church is called Why Did Jesus Die? and it's been an awesome, yet humbling, reminder of just how deep God's love is for each and every one of us!

This past week, our Teaching Pastor talked about how {to those of us who are Christ-followers} the Gospel must be more than just salvation. As Christ-followers, we must bring kindness where there is hostility, be a blessing where there is cursing, offer prayer where there is persecution, and show love to our enemies. We must be bearers of a message of peace and embrace a ministry of reconciliation.

This Kingdom is advancing into the world, not through the love of power, but through the power of love. ~ Bruxy Cavey.

What a powerful truth... it has inspired me to live out this counter-cultural way of life that Jesus teaches about even more.

Calling the crowd to join his disciples, he (Jesus) said, "Anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead. You're not in the driver's seat; I am. Don't run from suffering; embrace it. Follow me and I'll show you how. Self-help is no help at all. Self-sacrifice is the way, my way, to saving yourself, your true self. What good would it do to get everything you want and lose you, the real you? What could you ever trade your soul for?" ~ Mark 8:34-37, The Message.

Click on the banner below to read more Walk With Him posts every Wednesday...

I promise you will be blessed!

Unwrapping more of His love in this world.

Act justly.  Love mercy.  Walk humbly with God!

What A Week!

Busy to the core, but so amazingly awesome! 
That's how I would describe the week that had just gone by...

Last Monday, I wrote:

Looking at my calendar, this week is shaping up to be yet another busy one! I am thankful for God's sustaining grace... for He gives "strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow... blessings all mine with ten thousand beside!" How great is His faithfulness!!!

Looking back at everything that transpired this week, words can't adequately express how very true the above words are... how much they meant to me as the week progressed!

Truly "blessings all mine with ten thousand beside!" As I continue to count grace-gifts, let me tell you about my week! With unending thanks, for grace-gifts that know no end... #1360 - #1372:

:: The privilege to tag along as our church's Lead Pastor toured three of our site's eight Home Churches this week... Monday night, Tuesday night and Wednesday night. I am thankful to have had the opportunity to share about "Local Compassion at Uptown"... to encourage people more towards living our their thanks... towards living simply and giving generously!

:: It was play-offs week for my boy's school basketball team. Hubby assisted with coaching and we chauffeured the team around town! They played a total of six games this week!!! They've advanced to the round of 24 and will be playing an elimination game tonight... a must-win or they're out for the season.

:: Volunteer teaching the LEGO Mindstorm teams at my boy's school... thankful that they are progressing well towards Tournament Day, which is this Friday!

:: Catching up with a girlfriend over coffee on Tuesday morning... and sharing God-stories! ♥

:: Meeting with our church's Youth Pastor to discuss "Local Compassion" that the youth can be regularly involved in! I am very excited about this "brewing" idea!

:: Our front garden makeover is finally almost complete!

I am very happy with how my planter/bench turned out...
hubby is quite the handyman, I must say! :-)

:: Leading a team of 25 from our church on a Group Day Build with Habitat Toronto! What an awesome experience!!! We got to work on 6 homes... doing all sorts of tasks like installing insulation, building door frames, building attic entrances, moving a wall! A piece of 2x4 wood stud that was autographed by most everyone at our church got built into one of the home's door frame! So cool!!! Plus, my team had a lot of fun teasing me about my "very chic" steel-toe shoes... evident by the sticker that one of them stuck to the back of my hard hat! {See photo at the top of this blog post. :-)}

:: Saturday dinner with my family celebrating my nephew turning 4 years old!

:: Great Sunday morning at church! Awesome opportunity to introduce to our faith community an opportunity for us to raise funds for the Pregnancy Care Centre during their First Response Relay event on May 12.

:: Relaxing Sunday afternoon working on my boy's costume for the Spring Concert at school.

:: Sunday night dinner with hubby's family celebrating his nephew turning 16!!!

:: Time to meet all my deadlines at work, in-spite of the busy-ness of this week.

:: God's sustaining grace on this very, very, very busy week! Sooooo thankful for blessings all mine with ten thousand beside!!! He truly, truly, truly is always good!

Happy Monday, friends!

This week will be less busy for our family, but still quite full! May you be looking forward, as I am... to seeing God's goodness in the midst of the busy-ness of this thing called life!

I speak it to God: I don't want more time. I want just enough time. Time to breathe deep and time to see real and time to laugh long, time to give You glory and rest deep and sing joy and just enough time in a day not to feel hounded, pressed, driven or wild to get it all done...

And blind eyes see: It's this sleuthing for the glory that slows a life gloriously. It's plain, bubble straight through: Giving thanks for 1000 things is ultimately an invitation to slow time down with weight of full attention. In this space of time and sphere, I am attentive, aware, accepting the whole of the moment, weighing it down with me all here.

~ Ann Voskamp, One Thousand Gifts.

Let's soar into this new week together, friends... let's do justice, love mercy and walk humbly!

Click on the banner below for more Multitudes on Mondays posts...

Jump in... I promise you will be blessed!

Unwrapping more of His love in this world.

Act justly.  Love mercy.  Walk humbly with God!

Spring!

Spring has sprung, friends! 
And... it's beautiful!

One of the things I anticipate most in the garden during early Spring is the flowering of my forsythia bush. The flaming yellow flowers that bloom in abundance add so much beauty and colour to the garden at a time when all the other plants are just getting started to come back!

As has become our usual this season, we had an incredibly busy week... but we did enjoy the gift of a relaxing weekend. Our kids were away at the Spring Youth Retreat with our church, so we didn't have to go to their basketball games. Hubby and I ate out all weekend long and also started working on a wooden bench/planter for our front-yard garden!

Looking at my calendar, this week is shaping up to be yet another busy one! I am thankful for God's sustaining grace... for He gives "strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow... blessings all mine with ten thousand beside!" How great is His faithfulness!!!

As I continue to count grace-gifts! These are the things I am thankful for this week... #1349 - #1359:

:: Easter Monday dinner with family at my sister's house.
:: Watching and cheering for my boy as he played basketball!
:: God's protection on my boy as he slammed into the unpadded portion of the concrete gym wall in an attempt to keep the ball in play... my heart truly skipped a beat as I witnessed the fall.
:: My girl volunteering to ref the games... giving back to the school she graduated from.
:: Both kids' excitement as they prepare and pack for a weekend away with their Youth Group.
:: My girl playing keys on the band at the retreat. ♥
:: Volunteering at the Compassion Canada booth during MissionFest Toronto.
:: Hearing Compassion Canada's President and CEO, Barry Slauenwhite speak about The 4/14 Window... eye-opening and very inspiring!
:: Awesome pastors and leaders at our church who believe in the importance of investing in youth.
:: Both kids being reminded about giving God control {the topic taught at the retreat}.
:: Great momentum in fundraising for our church's Group Build Day with Habitat!

Happy Monday, friends!

May you be looking forward, as I am... to slowing down in spite of a busy week... to stop and smell the roses... to intentionally look for and see the goodness of our God!

If I want the fullest life, I need to find fullest time. I wipe a water spot off tap, there in reflection of cheek and, oh yes, I know you, the busyness of your life leaving little room for the source of your life. I'm the face grieving.

God gives us time. And who has time for God? 

~ Ann Voskamp, One Thousand Gifts.

Let's soar into this new week together, friends... let's do justice, love mercy and walk humbly!

Click on the banner below for more Multitudes on Mondays posts...

Jump in... I promise you will be blessed!

Unwrapping more of His love in this world.

Act justly.  Love mercy.  Walk humbly with God!

How We Should Pray...

I posted part of the following verses from Luke 11:1-13 as my Facebook status this morning.

Once Jesus was in a certain place praying. As he finished, one of his disciples came to him and said, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.”

Jesus said, “This is how you should pray:

Father, may your name be kept holy.
May your Kingdom come soon.
Give us each day the food we need,
        and forgive us our sins,
        as we forgive those who sin against us.
And don’t let us yield to temptation.”

Then, teaching them more about prayer, he used this story: “Suppose you went to a friend’s house at midnight, wanting to borrow three loaves of bread. You say to him, ‘A friend of mine has just arrived for a visit, and I have nothing for him to eat.’ And suppose he calls out from his bedroom, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is locked for the night, and my family and I are all in bed. I can’t help you.’ But I tell you this — though he won’t do it for friendship’s sake, if you keep knocking long enough, he will get up and give you whatever you need because of your shameless persistence.

And so I tell you, keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.

You fathers — if your children ask for a fish, do you give them a snake instead? Or if they ask for an egg, do you give them a scorpion? Of course not! So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him.”

When I was a child, I loved these verses! In my childish mind I thought, "If I just ask hard enough, God will give me anything I ask for and everything that my heart desires!" Just like a no-limit shopping spree. Jackpot!

Right? Ummm.... no!

Recently, our Teaching Pastor at church taught on these very verses. He said if you shamelessly persist in asking {just like the man asking his neighbour for the loaves of bread}, God will give you what you are asking for! Here's the kicker though... what is that "good gift" that He's going to so generously give us? It's not "good gifts" as the world defines them to be... not luxuries, not things for our own enjoyment, not stuff so that we can self-indulge some more.

He's going to "give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him"... 

"... the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control." (Galatians 5:22-23).

For material things, he teaches us to ask just enough for ourselves, just our daily bread. The loaves of bread that the man in the story above is asking his neighbour for isn't for himself, but for another person who was passing through in the night and was hungry. This was an eye-opener for me!

So often, I find myself praying and asking God to bless me with more... when I should be asking Him to provide me with just enough... and to bless others, especially those who don't have enough! What I should be asking more of from God... is to fill me with more of His Spirit!

I am learning each day to pray in the way that Jesus taught... and appropriating grace on days when selfishness creeps in. Thankful, thankful, thankful for grace!

Click on the banner below to read more Walk With Him posts every Wednesday...

I promise you will be blessed!

Unwrapping more of His love in this world.

Act justly.  Love mercy.  Walk humbly with God!

Resurrection People

Spring has sprung in my garden!

Friends, my Redeemer lives! 
And... I am so grateful!

Our family had an awesome Easter Sunday which started with a great morning at church... thought-provoking message, my girl playing keys on the worship band and also sharing with our community about her March Break Compassion trip, plus I had an opportunity to raise awareness and more funds for a Habitat Group Build that our faith community is taking part in.

I also had some time to work in my garden over the Easter weekend... bliss! ♥ An impromptu Easter Sunday dinner with good friends was a bonus too... capped with some karaoke! Lots of fun!

Now it's Easter Monday... and I love that fact that we get an additional day off! As all the festivities of the weekend die down, I find myself in a reflective mood... reflecting on how we should live, as a Resurrection people. This quote by N.T. Wright sums it up for me:

Our task in the present is to live as resurrection people in between Easter and the final day.

And I love these verses from 1 Corinthians 15:55-58 (NCV):

"Death is destroyed forever in victory.
Death, where is your victory?
Death, where is your pain?"

Death's power to hurt is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But we thank God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

So my dear brothers and sisters, stand strong. Do not let anything move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your work in the Lord is never wasted.

As I seek to live each day as a child of the Resurrection, I will continue to count grace-gifts! These are the things I am thankful for this week... #1336 - #1348:

:: Great experience for hubby substitute-coaching our boy's school basketball team... two amazing wins and an opportunity to extend grace to an upset parent. :-)
:: Great night getting together with fellow parents from The Underground.
:: God's sustaining grace on a particularly busy day this past week.
:: My anxious heart, calmed.
:: Delivering 888 pounds of food to the food bank at Yonge Street Mission! ♥
:: Digging in the dirt... building plant boxes... laying out a new front-yard garden!
:: Inspiring Good Friday message.
:: My turn to cook a meal for my sister and her family... and no allergic reactions in her kids!
:: My boy learning to be gracious and playing with little cousins.
:: The end of Lent... and lessons learned.
:: My girl spending time with a childhood friend.
:: Hanging out with good friends.
:: Easter Sunday... the ultimate grace-gift!

Happy Easter Monday, friends!

May you be looking forward, as I am... to living anew as a child of the Resurrection, fully devoted to the work of the Lord!

This gift list is thinking about His goodness - and this, this pleases Him most! And most profits our own soul and I am beginning, only beginning to know it.

~ Ann Voskamp, One Thousand Gifts.

Let's soar into this new week together, friends... let's do justice, love mercy and walk humbly!

Click on the banner below for more Multitudes on Mondays posts...

Jump in... I promise you will be blessed!

Unwrapping more of His love in this world.

Act justly.  Love mercy.  Walk humbly with God!

Easter Eve, Last Day of Lent

This is what it says in Acts 2:45 (NLV):

As anyone had need, they sold what they owned and shared with everyone.

We truly live with so much excess... sometimes we don't even realize it as we start to categorize certain wants into needs. I know I am guilty of doing that many times... truly thankful for grace... for God's relentless love that never lets go! He continues to grow me and teach me each day... changing me, molding me into one whose life reflects Him!

I need a new purse. I deserve to eat out after a busy and tiring day. I need a vacation. I need a new car, new furniture, new appliances, a new home! And the list goes on and on... sound familiar?

Last night was the simulcast for Secret Church with David Platt. I was blessed to follow along with Ann Voskamp as she live tweeted the event! This particular tweet gripped me:

"You do not present a suffering Christ to the world through a luxurious life" @plattdavid #sc12 #1000gifts

Beautiful! Simple, yet profound. Convicting.

We had a great Good Friday service at church. Our teaching pastor delivered a message that was relevant to our whole family. From the youngest to the oldest, each person learned something! What a gift, what a blessing!

He said that Jesus' sacrifice on the cross should make us want to say {and I paraphrase}, "I want to take your sacrifice into my life. I want to partner with what you are doing to bring good to those around me." We are to be ambassadors of this Good News, letting the Gospel be known to others!

As our whole family partook of the Eucharist, my thoughts went to these words penned by Ann Voskamp in her book One Thousand Gifts:

I receive grace. And through me, grace could flow on.

I am blessed. I can bless. A life contemplating the blessings of Christ becomes a life acting the love of Christ.

Eucharisteo is giving thanks for grace. But in the breaking and giving of bread, in the washing of feet, Jesus makes it clear that eucharisteo is, yes, more: it is giving grace away. Eucharisteo is the hand that opens to receive grace, then, with thanks, breaks the bread; that moves out into the larger circle of life and washes the feet of the world with that grace. Without the breaking and giving, without the washing of feet, eucharisteo isn't complete.

God calls me to do thanks. To give the thanks away. That thanks-giving might literally become thanks-living. That our lives become the very blessings we have received.

Friends, are you holding on to excess?

Let's distribute wealth today. Let's allocate well what we have been blessed with. Let's learn to live with just enough. Let's live simply and give generously!

Happy Easter, friends!
Sunday's a-coming! "Love so amazing, so divine... demands my soul, my life, my all."

Unwrapping more of His love in this world.

Act justly.  Love mercy.  Walk humbly with God!

Good Friday

I read this on Twitter this morning:

Today is GOOD. It's good because today death died. And when death dies ALL things live.

Beautiful, isn't it? Yet... how should we, as Christ-followers, live? This prayer sums it up...

Father God, You bless. It is the essence of who You are, the God who so love, He gave... And You bless with all manner of goodness and happiness, when we follow Your counter-culture, radical ways. Before His crucifixion, Your Son answered the interrogating Pilate, "My Kingdom is not of this world." Jesus' sermon on the Mount not only testifies to this truth, but invites us into His Kingdom too. Father, we gather around You and ask You to teach us how to live as Your citizens. Citizens of the upside-down kingdom.

~ Ann Voskamp, Trail To The Tree {Day 11: Upside Down Kingdom}.

Blessings to you, friends... on this Good Friday!
This is my prayer... that our family may live as those who are poor, as those who mourn, as those who are humble, who hunger and thirst for justice, who are merciful, whose hearts are pure, who work for peace, who are persecuted for doing right... for God blesses this counter-cultural, radical way of living.

Unwrapping more of His love in this world.

Act justly.  Love mercy.  Walk humbly with God!

Holy Week's Arrival

April already? And, Holy Week already?!? Wow, this year is just zooming by for our family. It's been a busy few weeks for us and it will stay busy for at least another month or so as we tackle the many things that seem to have collided and landed in our schedules at this moment in time.

Through it all, I see the goodness of my God... as He continues to sustain, encourage, nourish, love! He truly, truly, truly is always good!

And speaking of Holy Week already upon us... I have been reflecting on how observing Lent has been for me this year. Well, friends... it's been a fasting in a Lent that is failing fast. I have often been frustrated these past weeks at how my observance of Lent has been... yet, in all of its failure, I've uncovered this one truth about myself: My weaknesses and selfish cravings are very real! I've realized even more of my minute-to-minute need to rely on the Holy Spirit for the strength to do God's will and to follow Christ's example.

I love what I read in Chris Seay's book A Place At The Table this past Sunday {the Feast Day between Day 34 and Day 35 of Lent}:

Have you come to your wit's end a few times during this fast? I hope so. Have you failed to keep your fast at any point by either mere forgetfulness, willful rebellion, or utter apathy? I have. The last 34 days are not a testament to our power, strength of character, or self-control. Remember: it is the journey to surrender our struggles, to gain insight into our cravings, and renewed reliance on God that is transforming.

Beautiful, isn't it? Lent is all about God transforming me... and in this case, I am being transformed into realizing that minute-by-minute, I need God! I'll take that any day... even if it means failure in my observance of Lent... because in the end, in the form of lessons learned and insights gained, it's a win-win situation for me!

What will a life magnify? The world's stress cracks, the grubbiness of a day, all that is wholly wrong and terribly busted? Or God? Never is God omnipotent and omniscient diminutive, God in need of magnifying by us so small, but reverse. It's our lives that are little and we've falsely inflated self and in thanks we decrease and the world returns right.

~ Ann Voskamp, One Thousand Gifts.

As I continue counting grace-gifts, these are the things I am thankful for this week... #1328 - #1335:

:: Great breakfast meeting with our Lead Pastor.
:: Visiting a friend and we talk about gardening and parenting!
:: A quiet Tuesday night at home alone.
:: Being the chauffeur for my boy's basketball team.
:: To Starbucks with my girl.
:: Getting more informed about the Kony 2012 movement.
:: Great lunch meeting with fellow leaders at church.
:: Heading up the Easter Food Drive at our church which resulted in 864 pounds of food to bless the food bank at Yonge Street Mission! ♥

This is what 864 pounds of food looks like!
Our family is blessed to be part of a faith community that
lives simply and gives generously!!!

Holy Week is here, friends!

May you be looking forward, as I am... to a special week of reflecting on, remembering and being grateful for how deep God's love is for us!

To move into His presence and listen to His love unending and know the grace uncontainable. This is the vault of the miracles. The only thing that can change us, the world, is this; all His love.

~ Ann Voskamp, One Thousand Gifts.

Let's soar into this new week together, friends... let's do justice, love mercy and walk humbly!

Click on the banner below for more Multitudes on Mondays posts...

Jump in... I promise you will be blessed!

Unwrapping more of His love in this world.

Act justly.  Love mercy.  Walk humbly with God!

March's Joy Dare

I am taking the Joy Dare and counting to {an extra} 1,000 Gifts in 2012! Will you join me?

#181 - #273... March's grace-gifts... from the Giver of good gifts, the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.

3 gifts at 3pm:
:: A full and productive work day.
:: Hubby doing school pick-up, so I don't have to!
:: Looking out the window and seeing a beautiful, picturesque wintry landscape.

3 gifts green:
:: My warm, green wool socks.
:: Spruce needles so green against the white snow.
:: A mug of Japanese green tea.

3 gifts wore:
:: My Birks... love 'em!
:: Blue jeans... they're the greatest invention. :-)
:: The armour of God! ♥

3 gifts hard to give thanks for:
:: Difficult people... a time to exercise grace.
:: Growing pains... a chance to practice perseverance.
:: Dealing with apathy... a call to get on my knees and pray.

3 gifts found:
:: A new dishwasher... the right model, the right price!
:: This song... Grace by Laura Story... just what I needed. ♥
:: His sustaining grace... when I feel like giving up.

a gift bent, a gift broken, a gift beautiful:
:: Bare winter tree branches bending and dancing in the wind.
:: A heart broken for the things that break God's heart.
:: A musical rendition of Revelation 21.

3 gifts in the kitchen:

:: A new dishwasher! Did I already say that?!? :-)

:: The gurgling of boiling water in the kettle... the promise of a warm cup of coffee very soon.

:: Taco night!

a gift loud:

:: My boy playing his trombone.
:: My girl practicing piano.
:: Praise music blasting while I make dinner.

3 gifts carved:
:: Time carved out to intentionally stop and listen.
:: Time carved out to serve the marginalized.
:: Time carved out to just enjoy people's company.

3 gifts in Christ:
:: In Christ alone, my hope is found! ♥
:: Abundant life!
:: Life's purpose...

3 gifts read:
:: A Place at the Table, by Chris Seay.
:: Just A Minute, by Wess Stafford.
:: New Testament in a Year!

a gift in wind, in water, in white:
:: A breeze that feels like Spring air.
:: Spring rains...
:: Snow-covered garden in early March.

3 gifts round:
:: A perfectly round mini watermelon!
:: Our round BBQ grill... fired up for the first time this year.
:: Round plates to serve up a simple dinner.

a gift found in silence:
:: Quiet late nights spent reading in bed.
:: Silence coming from my girl's room... she's away this week... *doing* thanks!
:: A quiet evening to overcome writer's block.

3 gifts given away:

:: My girl's March Break at UrbanPromise Wilmington.

:: My boy pitching in to buy muffins for UrbanPromise Toronto's March Break camp instead of buying a new LEGO set for himself. ♥

:: Time... taking a break from work to spend some time with my boy!

3 hard eucharisteos:
:: When bad things happen to good people...
:: The dry seasons in life...
:: Certain memories from my childhood...

a gift turned, a gift folded, a gift hung:
:: Pages in a good book.
:: Memories of grandma's hands folded in prayer.

:: My *eucharisteo* banner! ♥

3 gifts red:
:: Spray-painting letters J O Y in red.

:: Joy Dare! J O Y letters in red hung near window! ♥
:: Red velvet covered photo albums... containing memories!

3 gifts eaten:

:: Green curry chicken with chick peas.
:: Kale chips! Yum!

:: BBQ Korean kalbi beef.

3 gifts that made you laugh:

:: My boy's jokes!
:: My little nephew's antics!
:: Myself... it's good medicine to laugh at one's self! :-)

a gift salty, a gift sweet, a gift just right:
:: Kale chips... did I already say that?!?
:: Chocolate cupcakes with Easter eggs on frosting!
:: The shade of turquoise blue frosting...

3 gifts found in His word:
:: Comfort.
:: Encouragement.
:: Joy!

3 gifts found in women today:

:: My boss... can't ask for a better one!
:: Sisters... through thick and thin, still sisters.
:: True girlfriend... can pick up where we left off anytime, even after a long time.

3 gifts spoken:
:: Teachers' praises for my girl at parent/teacher interviews.
:: Truth spoken in love...
:: Love shown in words and action.

a gift sung, a gift written, a gift painted:
:: Birds singing their song... bright and early in the morning!
:: My girl's reflection... of her compassion trip to Wilmington, Delaware.
:: A basketball free throw line on our driveway! :-)

3 gifts almost gone:
:: Ginger honey tea we bought last Summer at a bee farm in the Philippines.
:: Easter-themed cupcakes baked earlier... time to bake more?
:: Honey crisp apples... 'til next season!

3 gifts redeemed:
:: My broken childhood.
:: My fractured soul.
:: My life.

3 gifts entwined:
:: Arms in a tight hug.
:: Braiding my girl's beautiful jet-black hair.
:: Relieving others' misery and relieving our own.

3 gifts of His promises:
:: His sufficient grace! ♥
:: He will never leave me or forsake me.
:: He loves me with an everlasting love.

3 gifts uncovered:
:: Crocuses... Spring is here!
:: A few more samosas in the freezer.
:: A stack of old photos.

a gift heard, a gift held, a gift hoped for:
:: A Thousand Little Things by Point of Grace.
:: My Bible.
:: The end of extreme poverty!

Click on the banners below to learn more about counting to 1,000 Gifts...
Jump in... I promise you will be blessed!

Unwrapping more of His love in this world.

Act justly.  Love mercy.  Walk humbly with God!