Monday, June 29, 2009

Crank up the volume and do the Gratitude Dance

What do you know, I have pondered and procrastinated long enough that another anniversary is upon me, a couple actually.

There are some in the blog-o-sphere who mark 100th blog post by listing one hundred somethings. This note marks my 100th post as well as the 4th anniversary of my youngest daughter Laurens homegoing.

4 years ago today was the last time I hugged my girl, said 'goodbye', 'be safe' and 'I love you'. If someone had told me 4 years ago those would be some of the very things I would be most grateful for, well I am guessing I would have argued the point. If you understand nothing else, know this: God heals us-time doesn't. I for one am so glad He did.

“You say, ‘If I had a little more, I should be very satisfied.’ You make a mistake. If you are not content with what you have, you would not be satisfied if it were doubled.”– Charles Haddon Spurgeon
Below is the top 100 things I am most grateful for today. These are not in order or particularly profound, they are just my current 100 pulled from my life long gratitude list. At the end (if you make it that far) please share something you are most grateful for. I am not asking you for 100, but everyone should be able to share at least one thing, right?.


One Hundred Things I am Grateful For Today
  1. Saying "I love you" as Lauren left that last evening.
  2. Being forced by circumstances into confronting my daughter about the state of her relationship with God, a horrid yet wonderful experience.

  3. My Heavenly Father's ever present love and comfort whether I always feel it or not I know He is with me.

  4. That my God is not finished with me yet - He loves me too much to leave me as I am.

  5. My renaissance man husband who's favorite date includes the two of us completing a home project together, all by way of several trips to Loews, Home Depot and a hot dog stand.

  6. Gods amazing grace

  7. Baby grands: old, new and on the way!

  8. Color, and eyes to see it's many hues

  9. My family, ALL of them: In laws, Outlaws, nuts and bolts!

  10. Hugging my girl the last time I was with her

  11. The power of prayer and the warriors who are faithful to pray.

  12. Star filled skies

  13. Shore lunch

  14. Laurens unemployment during those weeks leading up to her death, time and experiences we would have missed were she gainfully employed like the last 8 years of her life.

  15. My mother, without whom I would be a much different person.

  16. Forgiveness

  17. Learning to play golf at 50
  18. My church family.

  19. Extended family and friends that live lives filled with Jesus.

  20. Grandparents, aunts and uncles that gave me unconditional love and a glimpse of my Fathers love for me.

  21. Bible Study -I just love Bible Study!

  22. Music. All kinds of music.

  23. Lessons learned on the field trips of my life.

  24. Pretend picnics with the grands

  25. Real picnics with the grands

  26. My returned sense of smell and the scent of those I love. - who knew?

  27. My husband singing any time any where - the best!!!

  28. My children by birth and marriage - a most blessed woman am I

  29. The tunes my grandmother whistled

  30. The sound of my son singing and playing guitar

  31. Family Holidays and Reunions
  32. Technology that connects and reunites almost anywhere, I just love it - well except for the parts where it breaks down or gobbles up these communications!

  33. The way God brings things around full circle until we 'get it' and can use what we've learned to help someone else.

  34. The delight catching fireflies brings

  35. The sound of children's laughter - Can there be too much of such a good thing?
  36. Wiffle ball games in the backyard

  37. The Word and the many love letters my Heavenly Father has written me.

  38. Air conditioning on these Hotlanta days and toasty fires when it cools down.

  39. Memory and memorization! My brain has been an especially big mess these last 4 years, but alas, it's all seems to be coming back to me now.

  40. The guilty pleasure of a good book and a hot cup of coffee

  41. Saying bedtime prayers with the grands

  42. Libraries - the sanctuary of my youth - back when it was Encyclopedia Britannica instead of Internet search engines!

  43. All the good a little fleece can do

  44. Photographs, without which I would be relying on memory alone (see #39)

  45. This country where I can live, pray, worship and blog freely.

  46. The men and women who serve, have been maimed and died to protect such freedom

  47. Reverend Frank Rodgers and some of the most valuable things he brought into my life

  48. Revelations and simple truths revealed through a child

  49. Harmony- singing and living it
  50. Tears

  51. Joy in my sorrow

  52. Angels seen and unseen

  53. Many amazing and gifted teachers throughout the years

  54. The wonders and glories of nature that call out to God with every sunrise and thunderstorm.

  55. Our home sweet home

  56. Waking to a chorus of birds singing out our window

  57. The endless opportunities to bring help to someone in need

  58. Bible Gateway Online

  59. Answered prayer

  60. Having my grand babies tell me a bedtime story

  61. Poetry, like music-a gift from God that helps me speak when simple words are not enough
  62. Road trips

  63. Holding hands while we pray

  64. Mountains and rolling hills
  65. Breakfast of little boxes of cereal with the grands
  66. My brothers, all six of them

  67. Dancing with my sweetie

  68. Car seats and child safety laws - how did our kids survive childhood?

  69. Saved boxes of notes, cards and letters given to me by my children and grandchildren
  70. Living in the now even as the past and future try and run me over
  71. Spell chick check, 'nough said

  72. A cool dip in the pool on a hot day

  73. Illness- it reminds me to be grateful for my health

  74. The plenty we have financially

  75. A roof over our heads, food in our belly and clothes on our back

  76. Snowfall: any time, any where

  77. Playing games with my baby grands

  78. Cozy, soft beds with freshly laundered sheets
  79. Walks on the beach - the sand between my toes

  80. Spring in full bloom

  81. Trips to amusement parks and water parks with the grands

  82. Watching hummingbirds fight over the feeder

  83. Laughing with friends until my stomach hurts and my face aches
  84. Holding the hand of those dearest to me

  85. Blooming Red Bud trees in Spring

  86. Laugh lines

  87. Peace in a storm

  88. Hot showers on cold mornings
  89. The rippling sound from the creek after it rains

  90. Mulligan's

  91. The Siesta's, you girls are the real deal

  92. My baby grands singing and praising God in the back seat

  93. A drawer full of warm socks for my forever cold feet

  94. Carrying sleeping children to bed

  95. The warmth of the sun on a chilly day

  96. My sweetie reading to me - especially at bedtime
  97. Smiles on the grands faces after an evening of swimming in the 'hot pool' followed by chocolate cake - 'This was the best day of my entire life' as one put it.
  98. Praying myself to sleep

  99. For the most dear friends a gal could have. These folks make me laugh, cry and praise God all in the same moment. They are there for me on all occasions: listening, sharing and praying. Whether they have walked in my shoes are not, makes no difference - God only knows how grateful I am for you all.

  100. And lastly, in honor of these anniversaries please watch this video, crank up the volume and where ever you are...Do the Gratitude Dance!!




Care to share something you are grateful for?


Monday, June 8, 2009

Banana, Bologna and Peanuts

Back in the old days when I was a girl, summers and other holidays were often spent with my cousins - usually by way of some very patient and loving grandparents, aunts and uncles. These visits were often planned far in advance but just as many times, they were not.

A favorite 'stay over' maneuver was to wait until all the adults were clustered together hugging and saying good byes. We children used this time to stowaway, curling up on various car floor boards, our cousins topping us with their coats or feet in hopes no one would be missed us until we had traveled too far down the road to turn back. Since there were so many in my family we had an advantage over our cousins as one or two of us could make a break for it and often go unnoticed.

Bare in mind, this was long before car seats and seat belt laws - when kids rode wherever there was room or their parents allowed them to. There were 7 kids in our tribe and we sat just about everywhere but the luggage rack.
Often times, when we encountered passing cars gawking and counting heads, nothing tickled us more than to bob and weave enough to throw off any accurate tally. Understand this was before portable DVD players, we took our entertainment where we could get it.

While our stowaway schemes often failed, more often than not the attempt opened the door for family members to invite my brothers and I to stay with them a few days or in some cases weeks.

I remember these visits fondly as some of the richest and best of times of my childhood.

This summer our blond baby grand from St. Louis has come for a visit, a 3 week visit to be exact. Her stay coincides with Mr B's annual Canadian fishing trip and we could not be more thrilled. We are a little more than a week in and the girls and I have been having a blast!

As a rule, there are not many rules...well except maybe the one about not using the words banana, bologna and peanuts and truth be told, that rule is being broken every 6 hours or so.

Anyway, we have put away most of our 'to-do' lists, letting many household chores slide while meeting our primary daily goal: Fun, fun and more fun!
According to my girls...


So far, so good.