Thankful Thursday - 15

Since beginning my own list of One Thousand Gifts I have noticed a few things about myself.  After three months I still have less than 100 things written down.  I realize that my life is actually pretty repetitious so I find myself thanking God for the same things over and over.  I also have to take the time to be purposeful in noticing the little as well as the big blessings. Otherwise, I miss them.  Here are a few things I noticed this week.

1.  I hosted my book club this week.  Our book for the month was Soul Print by Mark Batterson.  What a wonderful discussion we had as we shared our insights into the unique experiences God has given to each of us so that we may become all he has designed us to be.  How blessed I am to be a part of this group of women who have become my friends.

2.  The summer fruit season is just beginning and one of the wonderful treats I served to my friends this week was this lovely bowl of fresh red strawberries.  They were so perfectly ripe and lusciously sweet that I had to thank God for the gift of taste.

3.  One of the things I love about living in my home is all the wildlife we see in the area.  It's not unusual to see a couple of deer eating apples from the trees in the fall, or a pair of eagles sitting in a tree nearby.  This week I stepped outside to the sound of quacking in my front yard.  As I went out to investigate I noticed a female mallard duck sitting on the roof of my neighbor's shed.  She soon stopped over to check out our front courtyard. 

It wasn't long before her beau showed on the roof of our garage.  

No doubt they were courting and probably looking for a place to nest. They hung around for about twenty minutes before flying back down to the lake.  Once again I am thankful for God's creation.

4.  Over the winter months my husband was busy redoing our dining room which was sadly in need of a fresh look.  We changed it from the 90's look of red and gold walls to a nice neutral brown.  Then we tore up the old carpet and laid a new wood floor.  Isn't it beautiful?  I am constantly thanking God for my husband's talent and hard work.

5. We moved this bookcase from the living room into the dining room.  As you can see, I keep forgetting that I forgot to put these Christmas bulbs away!

  We are often given the advice to surround ourselves only with those things which are useful or we find beautiful.   All beauty is a gift from the Lord.  This lovely hand painted chocolate set is not really very useful in today's day and age but it is certainly very pretty and I treasure it because it was a gift from my mother.

And of course there are few things that bring more joy to my heart than pictures of my family.  Both my older son and my daughter have been married for three years and I am thankful not only for each of them but for their wonderful spouses as well.  We are indeed very blessed.
 

It's always so good to take the time to remember the blessings of each day.  I hope that you too have seen and felt the Lord's hand of blessing upon your life this week.