Light, Gladness and Thanks

"Light is sown like seed for the righteous and gladness for the
upright in heart. Be glad in the LORD, you righteous ones,
and give thanks to His holy name."
Psalms 97:11-12

Attribution

Sitting in our backyard today the light came through the trees much like this photo shows.

As I looked up through the towering trees, I was at once caught up by the goodness of that light and how it spread across not only our yard but our neighbors' yards, and in fact all over our small neighborhood.

Just as the Psalmist says in these verses, the "light is sown like seed" -- the light's beams are thrown down from above to the earth below.  As I garden and plant seeds, often they are tossed down into the row with the hope that the seed will flourish.

God's light is sent down with the hope that it will plant a seed in a heart and flourish there too.  How can we not be glad in our hearts and give thanks to Him for all His goodness to us?

Continuing to count with the group over at A Holy Experience:

505.  Ordinary time at home.

506.  Successful shoulder surgery for our son.

507.  Our daughter-in-law's care for our son.

508.  Healing for a friend.

509.  Continued adjustments happening for family with nursing home situation.

510.  A warm sunny day to work outside.

511.  Study by Marlene Bagnull for Christian writers, Writing His Answer.
512.  A breakthrough in writing my memoir.
513.  Seeing God at work in our youth program.
514.  Our youth pastor's leadership.
515.  New children's ministries director.

Won't you join us in counting the gifts God has bestowed during the last week?

Linking up with the community at A Holy Experience 

and with Laura at 

and with L.L. Barkat at

Heart Full of Thanks -- Counting One Thousand Gifts (#443-461)

Returning home from ten days in Washington State, we drove along I-84 headed into Portland.  The drive, once we cross the Columbia River from Washington into Oregon, takes us along the dividing line between the two states -- the middle of the Columbia River itself and on either side of the river, the beautiful gorge created by the Master Artist.

On our return, this image looks exactly as the gorge looked last week.  Blue skies, high clouds, a light haze with massive walls of rock, trees, wildflowers, birds and off in the distance waterfalls and mountains.

My favorite spot along the gorge is Multnomah Falls, the place where my husband made sure 29 years ago that I fell in love with the idea of living in the Pacific Northwest, 2000+ miles away from my home in Tennessee.  I still remember how small I felt as we drove through the gorge, and how much smaller I felt as I stood at the base of the falls and looked up at the water from spring runoff pouring over the walls of the canyon to a clear pool below.

And then in the distance, the centerpiece of our drive, Mt. Hood.

Every time I see all the handiworks God created in our world, and especially here at home in the Pacific Northwest, I cannot help but be thankful for the goodness and beauty he has provided for my eyes to gaze upon.

And so today, I continue counting to 1000 gifts with Ann Voskamp and others at A Holy Experience.

I invite you to join us or to at least visit and see what we each find to be thankful for each and every week.

443.  The beauty of the earth around me.
444.  Shades of green so evident in spring.
445.  Gift of time with fading family members.
446.  Joy of being there when needed and answering the call to service.
447.  God's Word to support us.
448.  My mother's faith which keeps me strong beyond her lifetime.
449.  My father's courage and strength through adversity.
450.  The delights of springtime growth in our yard and beyond.
451.  The lovely children at church yesterday who gathered to listen to His story.
452.  New members in our church family.
453.  One more MOPS meeting to enjoy this year.
454.  Blue jay sighted on this morning's walk.
455.  Beauty of music and the comfort it brings.
456.  Friends never met face-to-face but loved via the Internet.
457.  Compassion and caring of friends.
458.  Power of prayers lifted on behalf of our family.
459.  Safety in travel.
460.  Critters and birds coming back from winter hibernations.
461.  Gift of healing for friends.

Photo credits:
Top:  Walking
Middle:  Visual Photo
Bottom:  Trails NW

A Heart Overflowing: Counting One Thousand Gifts (#252-260)

Grace Magazine

Grace isn't easy.  And during this last year, I've worked hard to be more gracious in many ways.  Grace is not a stranger to me -- God has blessed me with His grace a thousand times over.  Grace is sensual, warm, intoxicating, diaphanous -- you know it when you feel it wash over you.  But physical limitations aside, and they could be used as excuses for not being gracious, this wasn't my most gracious year.

So, in 2012, my desire is to grow closer to God not only to experience more of His grace in my life but also to experiment with touching others with that grace in ways I've never tried before.  I read just yesterday of a man who decided one year to resolve to write thank you's, not emails, not text messages, but handwritten notes to people who'd done something nice for him -- the barista in his coffee shop, the teller at the bank, the person who straightened out a discrepancy on a bill -- you get the idea.  For each of the 365 notes he gave out, he most always received a very positive response in return.

What does this tell us?  Grace given is grace returned.  Fairly simple, but often hard to put into action.  What are you doing to extend grace to those around you?  Do you need to experience more of God's grace to you?  Then draw closer -- God will provide.  Come with me, won't you, on this journey to Grace.

www.aholyexperience.com

252.  Sounds of rain and wind
253.  Beginning signs of tiny green shoots and buds
254.  Progress in recovery
255.  Connecting with two high school friends I've not seen since 1964
256.  God's incredible goodness in 2011
257.  Frost painting patterns on the ground
258.  Sunny Sunday to begin 2012
259.  Sweet little girl at the Children's Sermon, the only girl among all those boys
260.  Dappled sunlight to begin the day, telling me it's working hard to wake up too