Grace upon Grace...

"The discipline of thanks only comes with practice. When we practice giving thanks, we practice the presence of God, stay present to His presence, and it is always a practice of the eyes.

We don’t have to change what we see. Only the way we see.” 

{1000 Gifts}

It's well into the morning and by all accounts, 

I should be dressed and accomplishing something tangible...

but I'm here in my pajamas

wrapped in my favorite blanket

coffee in hand

sun streaming in on me

I've come to regroup, 

to start the week out right...

before me lay The Word

and beside me...and all around,

is Him.

In the deep places of my heart, 

where doubts fester 

and longing lays quiet

I open up access and present them as a morning sacrifice...

Who am I to wonder the thoughts and ways of the Mysterious One?

Who am I to dwell on things that have no audible answers?

He beckons and calls today, like every day...

some days I imagine He is disappointed-

 my rejection

my busyness

my choices

Today, Mercies are new 

and I am here....

The only sound in the house is 

the fury of the wind outside-

the stirring of the neighbor's chimes

Outside, birds feast on the feeder

In the stillness of this moment,

I am thankful...

I am thankful for eyes to see beyond this place

and I am reminded to keep looking and seeing 

and counting my blessings continually...

"Out of his fullness we have all received 

Grace, in place of Grace already given." 

John 1:16

Last week my parents took off on a cruise.

As the token door prize, we got to keep their dog.

I'm in the process of making t-shirts for the whole family

"My parents went on a cruise and all I got was this

STUPID

DOG

{Just kidding, mom and dad...he's a JOY.  Really}

The other day I found him lying on the stairs all sad and depressed;

Probably thinking he had been permanently placed in a very neutral-to-dogs-environment

and wondering how this fate befell him.

So I grabbed my camera and in an attempt to cheer him up

told him to smile for a photoshoot.

Not five minutes later I followed loud music into Alex's room...

We chatted for about ten minutes.

I told him his room was a pigsty

he told me about some more important things in his life.

Smiling, I left him to his 

heavy

 metal 

bass 

beating

On my way back upstairs I encountered THIS:

 And right at the top of the stairs I found THIS:

....next to THIS:

 Stomach juices/Stink Bug

And in the sunroom I found THIS:

About 2 1/2 minutes after I finished gagging scrubbing the floors 

I sanitized my hands and set out to make chicken salad....

At which time the animal reappeared asking to have a bite.

Seriously?  

You just yacked all over my house-

even after I tried to play nice and take pictures of you to cheer you up...

I'm pretty sure you will not be having people food.

For some unapparent reason all of this time

Josh Groban has been singing on my ipod.

Something about Angels being heard on high.

Not sure why there is still Christmas music on my ipod.

And only because I'm in the middle of doing THIS did it strike me funny.

Heavy metal music is playing loudly downstairs

canine is emptying the contents of his stomach upstairs

Christmas tunes are playing mindlessly 

canine begs to be filled again...

and laughter happens.

Counting...

#89 Spontaneous laughter because it's better than frustration

#90 Two full baskets of laundry...children are home

#91 Music that takes my heart to worship

#92 Turning the heat off!

#93 Being barefoot

#94 Hearing my children talk about their own God gifts

One Thousand Gifts...

What if

Instead of consuming our minds with what is not good in our lives

We began to see that the small trinkets of blessings in our lives
added up together 

are BIG gifts from the 

heart of God?

What if

Instead of dwelling on the pain that is ever present

or the loved one who is NOT ever present

the loneliness

the illness

or the money that never stretches far enough

We began to see that all around us, 

just past all of these things that stop us cold

there is a storehouse of good things

and treasures of plenty

that are ours already...

but what if 

we miss them.

What if

 we stopped dwelling on the huge inconveniences that overwhelm our lives

and push them aside so we can see these

 tiny 

but

IMMENSE 

moments 

that God places in front of us all day long.

And what if 

we began today to practice being THANKFUL for those things.

We would probably have to 

slow life down

We would probably have to 

open our eyes

And then we would probably have to 

CHOOSE

to give THANKS to God 

for the immeasurable ways He lavishes His

LOVE

on us

And in this process

we might start to see a new heart emerging from inside of us

A thank-filled heart

We might also begin to see the difficult things in a new light

I told you about this book before

and I'll tell you again,

  if you haven't read it

you should

The author has not come up with a new concept

she's not someone to be idolized

She is you

and me

{albeit with an incredible "OTHER world" perspective that is simply not found everyday}

She shares her story of discovery

The discovery of the small and simple

That is really the VAST and MIGHTY

The challenge 

is to lift the chin and gaze 

to what is right in front of you

today

this moment

And find the blessings of God 

right there beside you

It is a challenge to name 1000 Gifts 

that are found in the 

ordinary...

EXTRAordinary

 all around you

To find God's eye is on you 

To live a THANKFUL life

A JOYFUL life

A NEW life

So, here's my plan.  I'm on this journey too.  And in some Bi-Polar-ish way, I have been for some time... yet with an unfocused heart of thankfulnesss.  But, this concept of always looking and intentionally SEEing and WRITING down what I see in the form of a list,this is a new challenge.  

I'm not a consistent list-maker, but I'm up for it. 

 I'll share some, and keep some...just for me.

Here we go...

One Thousand God Gifts

{"The naming of Grace moments"}

1. The first breath of the morning

2.  Children sleeping down the hallway

3. Sun streaming in the window of a quiet house

4. A hot cup of coffee

5. The sound of my washing machine running...

water coming from somewhere outside -soap, cleaning

6. Chapstick found at the bottom of the washer

 that may or may not have put greasy stains on the whole load

a reminder of a young woman emerging 

7. The sound of the wind, the breathe of God, 

blowing outside my window

8. Handmade pottery

9. Healthy hands of the boy who shaped the clay

10. Food on our table 

every

single

day

11. The Bread of Life that we share at our table

12. The reminder of the cross around every corner 

of our home today

13. Words whispered quietly for the one who is absent

"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?"

Ann Voskamp

"In every thing give thanks"
I Thess. 5:18

Beauty...

I've set up camp on my back porch this afternoon. 

 And, who wouldn't? 

 The mercury reads 63*...

The busyness of my day almost kept me inside. 

 I almost missed it....the beauty.

At first glance,
everywhere I look

is Brown

and Empty

and Drab...

Maybe because I am sitting here reading this...

Reading of  another's discovery of the true meaning of this life we live-

seeing from her eyes the moment in time that it all kicked in...

that choice she made to no longer live out of her feelings

and 

began to live out of a heart of 

Grace

Thankfulness

Joy

Maybe because I am being reminded of the time when I, too, began to uncover this mystery

 JOY instead of DESPAIR...

The mystery that must be chosen daily.

Maybe because of all of this; 

a heightened re-awareness of my surroundings,

maybe because of all of this, 

instead of seeing just 

empty branches

patches of mud

piles of debris

death...

My senses are aware of something else..

Beauty

There is still GREEN out there

LIFE

and GREEN out this way 

{the Christmas tree that is faintly holding its' color doesn't count}

Leaning in closer, 

what looked dead actually has visible signs of rallying

Closer still..

Tiny pockets of new life being nurtured at each fingertip

Down there,

 beyond all of the barren limbs

the Creek ripples softly.

At first it goes unnoticed,

but in the stillness of the air

I hear it.

And it's loud.

I almost missed how loud it was...

I almost tuned it out.

Farther out there is a flock of geese honking their way through the skies.

And at all corners of the woods there are birds,

 communicating with one another.

Calling out.

There's a freshness in the air.

It's palpable.

But I almost missed it.

OUT THERE

there's still a lot of 

death 

and 

decaying

At least that is all it appears to be at first glance...

But I am ever aware that out of 

death

comes

 life.

But I must 

CHOOSE

this
LIFE

daily.

I must
CHOOSE

JOY
daily.

CHOOSE
THANKFULNESS
daily.

CHOOSE 
GRACE

daily.

HOLY JOY...

It comes from a heart of thankfulness.

It starts with seeing this life of mine 

is God's story.

Not mine.

And it ends with a new perspective on life.

CONTENTMENT

"... when I do this, give thanks for the seemingly microscopic, I make a place for God to grow within me. This,this, makes me full. I “magnify him with thanksgiving” (Psalm 69:30 KJV), and God enters the world.

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?..."    Ann Voskamp

There's always beauty where we look. 

 We miss it sometimes in the busyness of life

 or in refusal.

But it's still there...waiting to be noticed.

{Word-less Wednesday} Turkeys and Thankfulness...

{sorry...a little graphic, but if you really think about it....}

"Enter into His gates with thanksgiving 

and a thank offering and into His courts with praise! 

Be thankful and say so to Him, 

bless and affectionately praise His name!"

Psalm 100:4