64, 65, 66

A gift wrinkled, smoothed, unfolded:

A newborn baby. (thinking about Gracie, and how the time flies!)

Laela's fur as I pet her.

A letter from a friend.

61, 62, 63

A gift in sky, water, memory:

The enchanting variety of birds flying about.

My little fishy swimming round.

My grandma and great-grandma.

58, 59, 60

3 gifts only seen close up:

The textured color of someone's eyes.

The details of a chickens feathers.

The intricacy of emotion.

34 thru 57 or: Catching Up

Something above, below, beside:

The glow of the moon.

My cozy bed.

My dog, Laela

3 things about yourself you are grateful for:

Understanding, compassion, blue eyes.

3 startling graces of God:

His forgiveness and grace,

This life of opportunities,

The miracle of life. I am always amazed at how things grow from practically nothing. 

A gift worn, given away, shared:

A 'prayer bracelet', a book, friendship and a meal.

3 witnessed blessings:

My mother preparing meals for the family, my step-dad working hard out in the cold after working all night, a woman surrounded by family as she passed away.

A gift bringing laughter, prayer, quiet:

A story of silly events, a difficult friendship, the night.

3 gifts from God's word:

Hope, guidance and encouragement.

3 gifts that might never have been:

My friendship with Liz (I mean really, we were meant to be friends, that is the only way we both happened to have been in the right place to meet), the closeness and friendship between my family, the healing and restoration I have (and continue to have) in my life.

31, 32, 33

Three yellow gifts of fresh mercy:

Daffodils poking up through the hard cold of early spring, I love daffodils!

Juicy flesh of mango. (I know, it is a little orange)

Sunny flash of goldfinch flying.

28, 29, 30

A gift sweet, sour, just right:

The scent of lilacs in spring (I closed my eyes to contemplate sweet, and this just flooded my mind :) )

Mom's home made pickles (They are the best! Yummy!)

Settling into bed at the end of the day (This is where I am going now...goodnight!)

25, 26, 27

A gift held, passed by, sat with:

Beautiful memories

A shelf of tokens, reminders of friendship

Family

22, 23, 24

Dusky light, surprising reflection, lovely shadow:

Dusky light of heaven shining through my tears as I hold the hand of a dying woman.

Surprising reflection of youth in two old ladies visiting.

Sun shining brightly casting lovely shadows across the room through the lace curtains.

19, 20, 21

Three graces from people you love:

Hearing Samuel pray (Dear Father God...)

GPC (Genuine Personal Correspondence) from a freind

Hearing "I am proud of you", "You are special", and "I love you" (even though I usually do not feel worth it)

Ambitious

I am going to attempt to accomplish a challenging for me Bible memory project this year: The Romans Project.

Check it out here: http://www.aholyexperience.com/2013/01/the-1-habit-god-really-wants-for-your-new-year/

Download your own copy (free) here: https://s3.amazonaws.com/a.voskamp/BlogFiles/RomansOneEightTwelve.pdf

I pray that this project will draw me deeper into the Word and closer to the Lord. Will you join me?

16, 17, 18

One thing in you bag, your fridge, your heart:

Kindle

Bonbons (with this deliciously easy recipe:http://www.deeprootsathome.com/best-ever-homemade-chocolate-bonbons-actually-good-for-you/)

Hope

13, 14, 15

Something you're reading, making, seeing:

I am reading The Dog Who Talked to God

I am making plans for fun crafts

I am seeing my family around me

10,11,12

A gift old, new and blue:

My great new owl hat, my Grandfather,

The clear, blue sky today

7,8,9

Three graces overheard:

Toddlers reading to eachother.

Tiny snores as I snuggle with Gracie.

A mother praying for her son.

What beautiful things did YOU hear today?

4,5,6

A gift outside, inside, and on a plate:

The beauty of our homestead. 

Warmth and family.

Bountiful provisions. also known as 'stir-fry' tonight!

What are YOUR gifts today?

1,2,3

I am going to try to follow Ann Voskamps 1000 gifts Joy Dare. http://www.aholyexperience.com/joy-dares/
I think it will be helpful to have a list to follow for days I do not feel blessed or thankful...

Three things heard:

The voice of a loved one.

Bare trees creaking as they sway in the breeze.

Whispers of book pages turning.

Changing

Changing is an interesting thing. There are so many things that can be changed, so few elements of life are fixed. Some things just take a little more stick-to-it-iveness. Like the difference between changing your mind and changing your habits. I have made some decisions to change a few things in my life (oddly enough, these are not inspired by the new year. The timing is merely coincidence.), but now I need to effectively implement these changes. Often I become mired in my shortcomings and failures. It is crippling. Very. So, I think one of the things to actively change first is my view. I am going to try something, thanks to the inspiration of Ann Voskamp. (another odd fact is that I was reading her book One Thousand Gifts quite some time ago, and did not even realize she was, like, famous, or at least very well known... I tend to do that...) I am going to record my blessings. I am going to try her 1,000. To help me gain perspective. I am greatly blessed. And always have been. I was reminded of this earlier this day as I flipped through photo albums before putting them back where they live throughout the year, except for Christmas, when we rearrange everything to accommodate the decorations. 

Here it goes! This will be more for me than anything, especially since I am sure I have lost my miniscule following due to lack of posts...

What are YOU trying to change?

Self Worth: A View of Others

The difficulty I face is that I do not have an 'across the board' sort of standard. I rate others in a very different manner than myself. I have no questions about the worth of others. I find value in all people. I really cannot bring to mind a time that I thought "That person is worthless." I have met many struggling, hurting, lost, and confused people. People with undesirable traits, people who have made wrong choices, people who are so mired in their own mess that hope has been abandoned. I know them, because I have been there with them. Even so, I see potential. I feel their pain, know they have a soul, understand they are searching (many in the dark with no light to speak of). Every person has worth. They are worthy of time, help, consideration, and above all love. Seeing people who are scorned and mocked gives me great sadness. I feel pain for people who fight themselves, who inflict pain on their own selves.

We are living in an incredibly shallow time, particularly in this nation. The worth of an individual is often determined and rated according to their job, the total in their bank account, the clothing they wear, the pastimes they participate in, past actions, or simply the way they walk, talk and interact. This is so sad. Many people are written off, given very little interest or time, or even mocked and incorrectly judged due to these insignificant characteristics. Many first hand scenarios jump to mind.

My motivation is not to be able to accurately identify all the ways and reasons a person's self worth may be warped, skewed or destroyed. I simply wish to encourage everyone to look upon others with kindness and compassion, and seek out ways to edify the people in your life. We all have the opportunity to live lives of love, grace, and dignity, and to stand up for those who are over looked and forgotten. I pray that I will have strength and the courage of my convictions to reach out to the people I meet. Will you?

I apologize for the randomness present in this post, I had an overflow of things to say, but a desire to be concise.

Self Worth: A Theme

I have encountered a theme in my life as of late. The theme: the search to understand and grasp the true meaning and realization of self worth. This is confusing and difficult for me.

A while back I was penning my ruminations on the topic. I initially posed the question: What gives a person worth? I wonder how people are rated, if you will. What process does the average person go through to determine the value of any other given individual? Or their own self?

More recently I felt led to relisten to Malcolm Smith teaching about The Search for Self Worth. This is an incredible seminar recording that I obtained during a program called The Journey.

Then this morning the sermon at church was entitled: The Worth of a Person.

I think Someone may be trying to tell me something. Praying to keep an open heart and vigilant mind.

To Everything...

Seasons are changing. Seasons around me. Seasons within me. With varied paces the seasons pass by, bringing opportunities and challenges alike. With renewed anticipation I plan to prepare for the floods of blessings, be they blatant or in disguise, that await on the horizon.