293.

293. a friend to talk to
294. a friend to listen to
295. a husband with a healthy sense of humor
296. talking it out in a calm manner
297. the calm before the storm
298. sleep

285.

285.His mercies are new yet again this morning
286. words of encouraging scripture all over the internet
287. hearing "Prayer is our strategy to accomplish these unrealistic goals."
288.God's invitation to cast my cares on him, not because he is strong enough to take care of them, but rather because he cares for me.
289. a walk through a cemetary
290. a symphony concert at Bass Hall
291. catching up with friends
292. believing God loves me even if he didn't answer my prayer the way I wanted

275.

275.warmth on a chilly morning
276. cup of tea
277. beautiful skies
278. a new bird!
279. my life list is now 303
280. hope
281. "weeds" for dinner (aka baby salad greens)
282. M&Ms hidden in the underwear drawer
283. buying a fold-out turkey centerpiece to send to Isabella
284. my wrong online purchase worked instead for my friend

270.

270. his mercies are new every morning
271.unexpected lunch with my daughter
272. working hard to bless someone unexpectedly
273. being appreciated
274. remembering that even the prophet Elijah got discouraged.  More than once.

It has been hard today to be thankful, yet I acknowledge God's graciousness to me.

261.

261. Inca Doves
262. the biopsy was negative
263. no surgery needed
264. groups working together
265. a genuine thank-you from someone I've never met
266. Snopes
267. singing vegetables
268. Morty survived a cat fight
269. Christmas cards

251

I'm a quarter of the way to my goal of naming 1000 blessings, gifts, or other things I'm thankful for.  They are not rolling off the tongue/mind/fingertips as quickly now, though I acknowledge I have no shortage of good things in my life.

This week I'm still tempted to worry about things I have no control over, so this will be my goal for the week from Matthew 6:

25 "This is why I tell you: do not be worried about the food and drink you need in order to stay alive, or about clothes for your body. After all, isn't life worth more than food? And isn't the body worth more than clothes? 26 Look at the birds: they do not plant seeds, gather a harvest and put it in barns; yet your Father in heaven takes care of them! Aren't you worth much more than birds? 27 Can any of you live a bit longer by worrying about it? 28 "And why worry about clothes? Look how the wild flowers grow: they do not work or make clothes for themselves. 29 But I tell you that not even King Solomon with all his wealth had clothes as beautiful as one of these flowers.

30 It is God who clothes the wild grass - grass that is here today and gone tomorrow, burned up in the oven. Won't he be all the more sure to clothe you? What little faith you have! 31 "So do not start worrying: "Where will my food come from? or my drink? or my clothes?' 32 (These are the things the pagans are always concerned about.) Your Father in heaven knows that you need all these things. 33 Instead, be concerned above everything else with the Kingdom of God and with what he requires of you, and he will provide you with all these other things. 34 So do not worry about tomorrow; it will have enough worries of its own. There is no need to add to the troubles each day brings.

251. God's promise to take care of today for me

And speaking of the birds that God takes care of, today I'm starting the Feeder Watch thing at Cornell University.  It is a citizen science thing that folks once a week count the birds that come to their feeders, and do this all winter long.

252. warm, clear November morning
253. red trees outside my window
254. work to do
255. God's hand at work even when things look dark
256. a clean room
257. a place to exercise creativity
258. seeing progress on a project just because I encouraged someone
259. a hand-written thank you note (even if it did have a fleur de lis on it :-)
260. Gary going to Walmart with me

245.

245. this
246. prediction of 80 degrees today
247. God's word is true no matter how I feel
248. God's presence when I'm scatterbrained
249. my relatives making funeral plans on Facebook
250.someone's sense of humor to humor me

232.

232. His mercies are new every morning
233. safe arrival
234. warm cup of tea on a chilly morning
235. being fictive Aunt
236. a washing machine (not everyone has one)
237. people on the other side of the world who pray for me
238. people who trust God even in negative circumstance
239. safe return
240. videos of my grandson on FB
241. baby Micah dedicated by his parents to the Lord
242. getting to watch baby Micah's dedication over Skype
243. smores
244. chores done

219.

On one hand, I don't feel particularily thankful at just this moment.  That's because I'm troubled about something, and envision a week of uneasy unknowing ahead.  That said, if I put my sadness aside I can quite easily see that my life is full to overflowing with good things that God provides.  I will list a few more, regardless how I feel:

219. a concert of prayer
220. the privilege of working with people who pray
221. a local church opening up its facilities
222. being treated to lunch
223. a best friend who has enough history with me to know why I'm hurting
224. the confidence that God is in control
225. the belief that God will provide one way or another
226. the knowledge that God loves me
227. the knowledge that God loves those whom I love better and more than I do
228. preparing for Advent lessons
229. some time alone
230. breakfast for dinner
231. a text message from my husband (who hates cell phones)

207.

207. His mercies are new every morning
208. a beautiful fall day
209. breakfast
210. learning how someone spent hours to help someone without "needing" to
211. a walk with a friend
212. God's protection for my BF's grandbaby
213. catching up
214. homemade spaghetti sauce
215. caramel apples dipped in trail mix
216. laughter around the table
217. God's promise: I will never leave or forsake you
218. help with the dishwasher

197.

197. finishing a project
198. people who care about our ministry
199. God's grace in times of ugliness
200. an intentional thank you
201. homemade soup
202. birthday cake
203. birthday cupcakes
204. my friend traveling 8000+ miles to visit her dying mother, arriving 4 hours before she passed
205. on-demand greeting cards
206. handmade paper from Thailand

191.

191. rain last  night
192. more rain coming today
193. a tiny bit of fall color
194. dinner invitation so I don't have to cook
195. Ton's
196. a walk around the block with my daughter

180.

Well, I'm officially behind schedule with the number of gift/blessings/thanks I wanted to list each day.  I am finding the exercise is keeping my mind alert to naming the good things God does, but I guess I've picked off the easy ones!  I also keep wondering if I am repeating myself--entirely possible with my declining memory.  On the other hand, being thankful more than once for a good thing can't be a bad thing!

I finished reading the One Thousand Gifts book.  I hope I can cultivate a life of giving thanks well into the future, beyond this month and reading this book.  The main thing I got out of the book:  if your heart is filled with thanks, there is no room for all the negative things like worry, anger, fear, distrust, pride, and just general selfishness.

180.  the promise of a new day
181.  the promise of a little rain for our dry ground
182.  lunch with my daughter
183. news of drug addicts seeking the Lord
184. safe arrival
185. expressions of trust regardless of the circumstances
186. hearing "Lord, you give us prayer as an alternative to worry."
187. funerals turning into family reunions
188. the resources and opportunity for two trips last year
189. a place to write down all the passwords
190. enough leftover blueberry cobbler to share with a guest

165.

165. churches which send shoeboxes
166. the steadfast love of the Lord never changes
167. his mercies never come to an end
168. his mercies are new every morning
169. Great is his faithfulness
170. enough to give
171. redeeming the secular for God's purposes
172. there is no longer Jew nor Gentile
173. I actually heard a young man say these words today: I'm courting Suzie...
174. the last chapter
175. Gary sleeping through the football games
176. packed shoe boxes for giving
177. teaching Sunday School during Advent

178. God's promise of peace regardless of circumstances
179. a friend coming to visit

134.

134. sleeping in a little
135. participating in citizen science
136. cheap cat shots
137. the service of others
138. blueberries
139. friends of friends
140. a reprieve
141. Gary's willing help
142. freshly mowed lawn
143. seeing Micah and Isabella on Skype
144. flexibility
145. invitation to a dinner party
146. cupcakes for a birthday ending in 0
147. email from a long-lost friend
148. a meal with friends
149. stories that mold us
150. recipes from childhood
151. hope for rehabilitation
152. "Happy Birthday" sung to voice mail
153. an extra hour to sleep tonight
154. a new birdfeeder
155. a empty laundry basket
156. you, Lord, are enough
157. Sunday starts in Fiji and arms raise in praise to you around the globe
158. clocks that reset themselves
159. slow but steady healing
160. God's strength when we are weak
161. God's peace when we are upset
162. God's wisdom when we are stumped
163. God's grace when we are selfish
164. God's mercy when we are guilty

101.

101. digital camera ease
102. hot showers
103. warm clothes
104. payday just in time to pay the high deductible
105. faithful friends and churches who financial support us each month
106. and they pray for us too, not just send money
107. receiving a profuse note of thanks
108. payment for services rendered
109. colleagues who work in hard places
110. for young parents who love their health-challenged children
111. postponed surgery
112. tea and cookies
113. unexpected opportunity for a walk in the park
114. beautiful weather for a walk in the park
115. friends who take the time to call to rejoice with yo
116. adopted kids
117. clean windows
118. ancient words of present truth
119. a new identity
120. satisfaction from simple things
121. the cat's predictable behavior
122. small potatoes
123. God's promises stand true regardless of my feelings
124. God invites my trust as an alternative to my worry
125. when people are patient with me
126. a shared bowl of ice cream
127. a chance to serve
128. a chance to be served
129. that which was lost has now been found
130. news of a good deal
131. chosen
132. alive
133. loved

67.

67.  a warm cuddle on a chilly morning
68.  indoor plumbing
69. toast and eggs
70. a YouTube video of my grandbaby
71. crossing something off the to-do list
72. stories told by friends
73. expressions of thanks from others
74. text messages
75. $.37 dividend
76. a short work week
77. getting my desk cleaned off
78. ganache
79. extra space for visitors
80. a really good vacuum cleaner
81. second chances
82. people who care about me enough to read my printed newsletters
83. people who read my newsletters and then send a personal response
84. new recipes to try
85. meeting friends of friends
86. making something useful out of scraps
87. a phone call from David saying his interview went well
88. building a birdfeeder
89. birds immediately coming to new feeder
90. news of blessings others are experiencing
91. a walking stick that really looks like a stick
92. a second species of sparrow in my backyard
93. the furnace running the first time of the season
94. faithful pray-ers
95. paper letters with envelope and stamp
96. a picture blanket
97. greeting cards on demand
98. the first freeze of the season
99. God's command to trust
100.  God's promise to be trustworthy

35.

35. a morning walk
36. a safe neighborhood
37. clouds blowing by
38. memories of children's jokes
39. a best friend, even if we don't talk so often
40. bread and cheese
41. walking to work
42. wind in my hair
43. a bird I don't immediately recognize
44. people who forgive better than I do
45. coffee break with colleagues
46. house plants
47. chatting with friends
48. good news from afar
49. God's promise to do good
50. peace in my heart when I expect worry
51. young love blossoming (even if they aren't so young anymore)
52. old friends who support us
53.  handmade cards
54.  news of the safe arrive of a first child
55. news of God's work in Asia
56. a happy neighbor child
57. chocolate from Europe
58. safe arrival
59. a history of shared experiences
60. learning a new song
61. watching a foreigner enjoy Mexican food
62. unexpected gifts, even if not particularly wanted
63. singing harmony
64.  singing harmony between two women who sing better than me
65. hearing OT stories again for the first time
66. Mexican food

A Month of Thanksgiving

I'm reading a book I was recently given called "One Thousand Gifts" by Ann Voskamp. I'm not finding this book particularly easy to read due to its poetry-prose style. I have to slow down to read it, and maybe that's not such a bad thing.

And even if I don't like the writing style, I certainly am finding the point of the book to be meaningful. In a nutshell: giving thanks to God "solves" a lot of our spiritual, emotional, and social problems because thanks in one's heart means there's little room for anger, worry, fear, pride, etc.

I'm only half way through the book, but I'm determined to finish it soon. I've seen other bloggers do it and I will too: use this space to list 1000 gifts from God that I'm thankful for.*

1. a month to give thanks
2. a warm, safe, comfortable place to sleep
3. too much food in my freezer
4. fall sunshine--not too hot, not too cold
5. fall flowers reviving after a hot summer
6. a peaceful evening
7. the sparrows have returned
8. green grass after a dry summer
9. the internet
10. the world's two cutest grandbabies
11. a hot shower to ease away a headache
12. leftover pumpkin pie
13. the Bible in a language I can understand
14. toast and butter
15. technology to help Gary read
16. IRL friends
17. internet friends
18. green cat eyes
19. my commissioned portrait
20. the family who liked #19
21. people who like their job
22. afternoon sun through the bedroom window
23. fall birds finding my backyard feeders
24. being invited to a business dinner
25. high-speed internet
26. clean kitchen floor
27. half-time job
28. leftover zucchini cake
29. God's provision in so many ways
30. people who listen
31. people who care
32. picking up with old friends many years later
33. the crows' antics with pecans
34. a little time to read

 *Big and little, important and insignificant, immediate and eternal--there are no real rules on what can or cannot go on this list--just that I am thankful to God for them.

Wrong Person Again

I continue to get email for another person with my name. Our gmail addresses differ only by one repeated letter.

Today I responded to another one of these emails not meant for me and I got an autorepsonder message containing the phone number of the other Linda Simons. So I called it! I'm not sure anything will prevent me getting her email in the future, but at least we've discussed it.