I choose thanks...

The week has zoomed by in a blur.  "What happened this week?", I ask myself, trying to remember the days and what I did.  Then I sit down and open up my gratitude journal. It reminds me of the past seven days and this blessed life I'm living.  It may have sped by, one seemingly ordinary day running into the next, if I hadn't stopped for a few minutes and written down my blessings. Reading it, I realized that there's really no such thing as an ordinary day if you have your eyes trained to see the extraordinary in the midst of it all.

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Since 2009 I've been counting my blessings thanks to the prompting of Ann Voskamp.

 I continue to count my thanks

piling up gratitude day by day

in my journal.

(and capturing some of my blessings via my camera or iPhone)

#7034-#7063

1-18-16-

-a really good night's sleep

-a wonderful prayer time on my walk/run, God's presence so near on the path with me

-healthy, but yummy, dinner

1-19-16-

-God giving me a creative solution for something I needed for the house, when I prayed about it

-my youngest grandson, (20 months), came up to me and gave me a big kiss and hug, 

then later he said "I love you" to me, as clear as a bell!

(Papa got a bit carried away with the bubbles)

-my six year old granddaughter telling her mom, "God doesn't have ideas, because He already knows everything"

-more stuff given to the Salvation Army, lightening the load!

1-20-16-

-God doing more clean up work in my heart

-texting with my daughters

-crockpot meals

1-21-16-

-a new day

-our oldest grands wanting Papa to pick them up for school so they can hang out with us

-finding my watercolor paintings after asking God where I put them when we moved

-waiting, listening, then knowing what I should write

1-22-16-

-a huge hawk standing by the side of the freeway, watching the traffic go by

(He was beautiful, I wish i could have photographed him.)

-comfy, cozy cotton sweaters

-medium rare steak topped with mushrooms and a side of broccolini for our date day healthy dinner

-the huge moon

1-23-16-

-another carload of stuff for Salvation Army-YaY!

-my youngest grandson and his dog

-our youngest granddaughter crying about some developers cutting down the trees in the lot behind their house, while her big sister quipped, "at least our yard will get more sunlight!"

-loving texts from my hubs

-Saturday chores around the house

-a beautiful break in the rainy weather, just when I left to go on my walk/run

1-24-16-

-beautiful worship

-a challenging and encouraging word

-a thoughtful remark from a friend

-lunch and laughter

-our beautiful Columbia River

-picking our friends up from the airport after they were on vacation for two weeks and getting to visit with them

still following,