Week 11: Showers of Blessings!

They just keep coming!

395. A gift from a friend -- fresh picked cabbage, kale, watercress, onions, herbs, and a whole bunch of stuff.

396. Picking cucumbers and making a salad. Never realized how wonderful a fresh-picked cucumber was!

397. A sale on one of my favorite things: sun dried tomatoes -- the ones that are packed with herbs in the jar. The sale was buy one get one free. And that is great for me because they are a little expensive. I stocked up! I use them in everything from salads to casseroles.

398. Sharing the deepest corners of my heart.

399. The look of understanding that came from that sharing.

400. A really good, from-the-gut, laugh with my sister. Turkey vultures have invaded her yard and she has tried everything to get rid of them. She made a scarecrow out of her old clothing as a last resort. She sat it in the chair in the yard, hoping it would scare them off. Next morning, all the pieces were scattered across the yard. Now we know what will happen to us if we die out there!!!!! Or even stand in one place too long!!! Scarey thought!!!!!

401. Baby owls. How cute is this???!!!! I don’t know what we thought was going on in that birdhouse --- we always just called it “Mr. Owl” and never assumed there was a “Mrs. Owl”. Who knew major housekeeping and child rearing was going on in there???


402. Crab cakes. Sent as a gift to us from Maryland. Thank you, Jackie!

403. Learning deeper things about forgiveness. I’m so thankful for Craig’s blog over at Deep into Love: Just Corinthian Love. He has made me think and meditate, and pray -- and that’s a good thing. I need to go deeper.

404. That the Lord orchestrates things like this and brings others into the picture who say just the right things and push me a little further.

405. That my comfort zones aren’t comfortable anymore.

406. That “living victoriously” is an everyday, moment by moment thing. It’s seeing a mountain and deciding to climb it. It’s taking the first step and then another. It’s not that I fall down. It’s that I get up again. It’s going beyond what I thought I could do. It’s not giving up. It’s pressing on. It’s not being satisfied until I reach the top.

407. Buster flying through the yard like super dog in a cape trying to chase the vultures away. He means business. He’s on watch 24/7 at the window and let’s me know. . .

408. Hearing baby flycatchers in their birdhouse.

409. Apple pie!!!

410. Picking green beans every day this week. It’s those yard-long green beans. And they DO grow VERY long, believe me. Finally found something that likes to grow in Florida’s HOT weather!

411. A friend who looks me in the eye and asks, “Where is your heart now?” and causes me to think for days about where my heart is taking me.

412. Rain! We needed it so badly! I know that so many people are experiencing floods and the loss of everything in their lives right now. I feel guilty thanking God for rain. But it has been so dry here.

413. Pastor’s sermon this morning on Hebrews 12:1. I’ve always loved this verse so much. But it hit me today. The “laying aside the weights” thing. The things that hold me back. All week long I’ve struggled with whether “weights” are still there or gone. My resistance to an invitation and my backing up like a threatened dog gave me my answers. And this morning’s message was a confirmation that I need to revisit some things. Thank you, Pastor!

414. Sisters! Both of them. One close -- on far.

415. A surprise wedding as part of our evening service. The best service I’ve been to in ages!!!! A restoration, a re-marriage, a new beginning, and a church full of support, signed promises of prayers for them, and God’s presence. It was just toooo good!

I'm linking up with Ann VonKamp, author of 1000 Gifts, and the many others who are counting all the blessings and gifts that the Lord sends their way. You can find them here: