Be Strong and Courageous

Dear Sweet Ann over at A Holy Experience has challenged us to see the Joy in our every day.It is being called the Joy Dare and I am going to try to keep up with the prompts of finding the beauty and grace in my day. Starting today with a new number 1 and continueing on in my other journal with my #670+ here we go.

Monday seem to be rolling around here at lightening speed. Here we are again telling of His grace and blessings that grow in number and seem to be easier to spot at the days go by. Go Here.... To see a wonderful community of  people listing the grace of the days that He has given us. God is so AWESOME!! Double full arch rainbow, that I could not capture half it's brightness of; our sight being so greater than any camera. The skies turning hazy yellow, pink, and blue before the misting of rain. Baby showers for a miracle baby due to arrive any day... of course all babies are miracles, but this couple  thought it was impossible, unless God stepped in, and He did just that. Cannot wait to meet the miracle! Cherries from a friend's orchard... so sweet and a blessing for sure. Visits from the Scott family on their way to Alaska to serve with Cadence International .

The blessing just keep coming, counting them always and more often. Finding the JOY in all things, of course god has been so gracious to bless with the easy as of late and I am thankful. Today's post by Ann is such a rich blessing, to see so many will have the opportunity to take in her story and begin their own journey of gifts. Every day that I come to blog land and read the eloquent words of many  of you, I am blessed beyond measure with the grace and mercy of our LORD.  Our days are filled with the mundane so much, the dishes, the laundry, gathering of things. But to daily seek the joys and grace that our Lord has to offer readily to us is more than blessings for this one soul. I love this community of believers who wants to take it in and then pass it along to help others see the deepness and richness of His blessing pouring out, not just in the Pollyanna sunshine of the days, but in the darkness of the sorrows of ones spirit. He is there, walking along side, ...

Wow ~~~~ the Lord is so gracious! I have missed reading and participating in such a great community of believer's and counting the grace, the good and the 'not how I planned it' but God knew what He was doing days. Jeremiah 29:11-14 11 For I know the plans I have for you,” says the L ord . “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. 12 In those days when you pray, I will listen. 13 If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me. 14 I will be found by you,” says the L ord . I have taken a pretty long break since posting last in this catagory and the passed month  and 1/2 since I last posted gift 465, I have written just uner 100 gifts of grace and life from my LORD. I will not take time write all of them today just a few ...... 469. Bounty of rain 470. Strawberry buds  473. Being told I am an asset to someone 478. Teenagers cooking dinner for family  483. (written in  my daughter's handwriting) A beautiful and joy...

I have been listing my gifts for a few months now and have passed the 500 mark. I have found that I seek to find the beauty in all things with greater ease as  I continue on this journey. There is just a broader presence of God in my days. Of course not every day is 'beautiful' in the moment but I have now learned that every day is a gift. It is in the breath that fills our lungs that even in the dark of night or turmoil we can see that God's hand is holding us together. One night after dropping Keith to work I was greeted with this sunset and had to stop. The Shekinah Glory that streamed down was amazing to behold. I googled Shekinah and came HERE  and loved what it to say about His Glory. The word shekinah does not appear in the Bible, but the concept clearly does. The Jewish rabbis coined this extra-biblical expression, a form of a Hebrew word that literally means "he caused to dwell," signifying that it was a divine visitation of the presence or dwellin...

I continue to be so amazed at the gifts God lays out before me daily. I am daily convicted that my whole attitude has everything to do with the start of my day in His Word and in prayer about the 'first things' in my life. The last few days I have hit the off button and not started my day in the solitude of just the Lord and I meeting for a few minutes and it has not been pretty. I am grateful for the newness of every morning and a new chance to connect with him first. Have a blessed day, thanks for stopping by to glance at my list almost half way to the first 1000 beautiful gifts from God. 429.The Love of My Man 430. rest 431. Watering new seedlings 432. Smores 433. Addysen ~ being such a big girl 434. Growing teenage boy 435. Rainbow squares in the sky 436.Beauty seen in wet rocks - more rainbows of grey and pink and white 437. Days blessing 438. 1 thing said 2 heard 439. blogging 440. an old friend on facebook 441. Life - Breath - Love 442. Desire to clean an...

Psalm 62:11 One thing God has spoken, two things I have heard: I have been really enjoying the Psalms over the past few weeks and this verse from PS 62 really resonated with me. I have also been working on memorizing the book of Colossians and it is going so well. My mind is not as dull as I sometimes think it is. 392.Daisies on the roadside cliffs - yellow polka dots! 393. "Momma are cows mammals too?" "Yes, they lay their babies live in the grass, not like chickens in an egg." "Those would be some really big eggs, Momma!" (said with hands stretched wide) 394. Morning coffee w/Katia and Tracey 395.Rain showers that lasted through the night, cleaned the air and soaked the ready soil. 396. BSF leader Helen Solem, military wife and blessing to be sure. 397.Mother's Birthday 67 years old 398.Seeing Emma run a race, and track season closing 399.Andrew's win of his last tennis match 400. Safety to 60+kids at spring JROTC camp 401. My amazing husb...

So here we are 2 month into the dare to search the daily Eucharisteo and find the Joy god has set before us. the journey waivers at times with my stubbornness and doubt that all things can be for Good. I have been rereading Ann's book and every time finding new bits of Joy that just jump off the page to encourage my walk of faith. so here we are the Monday before Easter and my thoughts today have been all over the place, husband to work, kids to school, time with a friend and now onto the tasks of the day to sew some more and begin the planning of our first Reenactment trip. But for now just now in the moment I have Pandora playing Rita Springer radio and Jadon Lavik's rendition of Come Thou Fount, we sang it yesterday in church as well. Just soaking in the words of blessing, as I type. 329. Great teachers for my kids - mostly. 330. School's back in session, safety. 331. From scratch Banana Bread. 332. Good nights rest. 333. Family of prairie dogs greeting the risin...

In Ann Voskamp's book   A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are - One thousand gifts ; she writes the following verses ( I share 2 translations for you) 1 Corinthians 11:26 (The Message) 23-26 Let me go over with you again exactly what goes on in the Lord's Supper and why it is so centrally important. I received my instructions from the Master himself and passed them on to you. The Master, Jesus, on the night of his betrayal, took bread. Having given thanks, he broke it and said, This is my body, broken for you. Do this to remember me. After supper, he did the same thing with the cup: This cup is my blood, my new covenant with you. Each time you drink this cup, remember me. What you must solemnly realize is that every time you eat this bread and every time you drink this cup, you reenact in your words and actions the death of the Master. You will be drawn back to this meal again and again until the Master returns. You must never let familiarity breed contempt....

The days of winter seem to be coming to an end, and I thank the Lord for His goodness to warm the air and grow the grass, and show the suns rays in my windows. I have been so blessed by this journey  to write these thanks out  and to be reading through the Psalms again. I read 50- 60 this week and was struck by the common thread that forgiveness and mercy are ours and "He is the Lord of salvation" Psalms 51:14, 52:8,53:6, 54:1, 55:16, 56:1, 57:1,59:10 -- they all speak to God's mercy and salvation for us! 300. Staying present in the moment with God - as my stable thought - a choice to just do it. 301. Jillane (28 months) signing uncle Keith and saying it ( my sister's little girl on a visit to our home) 302. Communion service at church being given with such purpose and clarity - such an important thing - to give Thanks!! 303. Fog strewn valley breaking clear at sunrise to show the power of  the Son's sun. 304. Lessons (hopefully) being learned in discipl...

I cannot express the freedom that I have been feeling in journaling my 1000 gifts.  In the reading of Ann Voskamp's  a Dare To Live Fully Right Where You Are - One Thousand Gifts. Here are just a few tidbits that keep me going on this journey, from the book- on page she makes the distinction - "Gift List. I begin the list. Not of gifts I want but of gifts I already have."  There you have it, it is not about asking but about giving thanks for what GOD has already given us. In today's post Ann is offering a down loadable   Free Weekly Gratitude Journal  for your entire family to be able to join you in this journey. It is funny because a few weeks ago I downloaded "5 good things" over here @ Whisker Graphics . I gave the to the kids last night and Addysen and I filled hers out together. the spaces are small, I may print her one out super sized so she can write them herself next week. So here is my dare, even if you have not ...

As I approach the writing of #300 in my gifts journal, I wanted to share a few photos from the journey. I have been able to capture some of the beautiful grace filled moments and the little glimpses of gifts just for my enjoyment.  I wrote this in my journal on March 2, 2011; just over 3 weeks ago : As I have reached gift #214 in this short month and half of journaling my gits, what I realize is I do long for the better thing (Mary living in a Martha world - to sit with the Lord is the better thing), the grateful heart the joyful soul. I want my children to know the Lord's blessings personally. I desire to be intent in my day. I want the every day to be intentional in searching out the Grace of God. Thanking the Lord for Love bestowed, by my helpmeet, my children and my closest friends. For the health of those who surround me, for those whose struggle  is with such things as cancer and disease, and those born with greater challenges to overcome than I can imagine...