Week 10 of Counting God's Gifts

Isaiah 49:16 says, "Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of [my] hands; thy walls [are] continually before me." About a week ago, someone reminded me of this verse and how he always thought of it when he saw initials carved within hearts on a tree trunk. I remember as a kid seeing them all over the place when we went camping in state forests or public camping grounds. Those initials were there forever -- or at least as long as the tree lived! The thought that MY name has been carved into the hands of Christ. . . well, it's just awesome! I'm a child of the King. I'm not sure anyone ever carved my initials into a tree, or into wet cement, etc. But knowing that my name is on His hand forever . . . that is my greatest gratitude of the week!!!

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This is my 10th week of counting the blessings that the Lord sends my way. Every moment is loaded with them. I don't always see. Sometimes I don't write them down and I forget. And sometimes, my heart is just not right, I'm focussed on other stuff, and I miss them altogether. I've found that I'M the loser when that happens. The gift was given, and I missed it. It has been life-changing for me to write them down. I realize I am so blessed. My eyes have been opened. I have learned to trust more. And. . . through this community of people who are also counting their gratitudes, I have made many new friends. How great is THAT????!!!! You can find them all gathered here:

373. Chopping up the biggest zuchinni I’ve ever seen. I just had to have it. When my sister and I went picking, I discovered this HUGE one under a HUGE leaf. I know --- the seeds are big, skin is a little tough, but still ---- I wanted the biggest in the world. So today, I needed six cups of chopped zuchinni for the recipe. I cut this world class thing in half, cut out the seedy stuff, chopped up the rest, and still had more than six cups, and still had HALF the zuchinni left. Chickens are VERY happy pecking at those seeds!

374. Tasty, fresh cucumbers in my salad.

375. Finding tomatoes hanging on my plants --- those plants that came up in the compost amongst my green beans .

376. Watching a baby cardinal grow so fast ---- when he popped his head out of the nest today, he looked like ET. All beak and eyes!!!!

377. Early morning raking in the yard --- until the rake handle broke. Good excuse to quit.

378. Watching a wren take a “mud bath” as she rubbed her belly all through a freshly watered planter. Just too cute!

379. Stories. Stories of people’s lives, where they came from, how they became who they are today and why, how they met the Lord.

380. Looking into someone’s eyes, now knowing his “story” and him appreciating my thank you.

381. Listening to the stillness at dusk.

382. Hearing scary footsteps in the darkness shuffling through the leaves in the woods ---- only to see a gopher turtle heading across the yard.

383. Six perfect green peppers and some other kind of light green peppers --- picked, admired, cut up, and frozen.

384. Cutting up yellow squash and zuchinni and freezing it. We’ll see. If it’s too mushy, I’ll make a casserole. But I had to do something with it as I picked too many.

385. Having to cut the lower limbs off my sycamore tree. They were so heavy this year that they were dragging on the ground. NOT a good thing to get slapped with when riding on the mower. It gave me a good feeling to cut those branches --- it now looks like the perfect shade tree. All I need is a chair, a glass of ice tea, and a good book!

386. Blackberries gone. At least it made me smile, and that’s a good thing! Birds just running through those bushes and picking ALL the black ones! At first, I wanted to shoot them. But then I thought, they probably have little ones in their nests just waiting for dinner. So, okay!!! They went to good homes.

387. Left-over casserole for dinner. No cooking. No pots to scrub. No mess. No fuss. Just good eatin’!

388. Ice cold, juicy grapes. I love the way they just squirt sweetness in my mouth!!!!

389. The song of crickets at sunset.

390. Buster’s big, heavy sighs as sleeps on my feet.

391. News that a package I thought was lost finally reached its destination.

392. Knowing that The Potter will put me back on the wheel and remake me. . . Again and again and again. . . Until I am a vessel, fit for the Master’s use.

393. Simple suppers.

394. Already picking enough yard-long beans to eat and freeze. They grow like weeds!

Join with others who are continually counting their gifts and sharing them with us all. You can find them here: