Five Blessings Friday

" Let all the joys of the godly well up in praise to the Lord, for it is right to praise Him!" Psalm 33:1, The Living Bible


61. The joy of taking a train ride pulled by a real steam engine with 4-year-old Nicolas, train fanatic. High points would be going on "The Big Train" AND over bridges.

62. Liquid life falling from above, watering our parched ground, helping turn our green tomatoes red. Thank you Lord for rain. For cooler breezes and mist on bare arms, for the pitter-patter slapping of the rain on summer leaves.

63. Family time together riding on little trains, seeing steam engines, diesel engines, touring the Zephyr and bounce houses and finally getting soaked at the Spray ground at The Great Train Festival. How wonderful to see life through the eyes of grandchildren. And for WOC, the radio station where I won the tickets.

64. Yellow rudbeckia peeking up over the window sill, their faces greeting the sun.

65. 41 years of marriage to my best friend. (This picture is of us & the rudbeckia.)

Five Blessings Friday

"Because I have a happy heart, so I have continual JOY in Your presence, Lord.
Proverbs 15:15 KJV, "...he that is of a merry heart has a continual feast."


Here are Five Merry Making Moments I've experienced lately.


56. Eavesdropping on my dear sons-in-law, Craig and John, discussing the merits of a kids' PBS show, "Martha Speaks" and how the letters of the alphabet soup Martha ate wound up in her doggy brain instead of elsewhere. (Craig, John, a Martha fan and a future Martha fan.)


57. A very special God moment came last week when my 5-year-old grandson Ethan was visiting us. As we were chatting, I asked him, "Ethan who do you love MOST in the whole world?" I expected him to say his mother, but he emphatically said, "JESUS!"
I found myself taken aback, both thrilled, surprised and a little embarrassed at my shortsightedness. He further told me that we were all supposed to love Jesus the most and I gave him a BIG hug and agreed.
How blessed am I that my dear daughter(in-love) and son are teaching their children to love Jesus most of all and to remind their dear Grammy when she forgets!
To God be the glory for the blessings from the mouths of babes!

58. Re-connecting with old friends, Mike and Jan, Diane, Mary & Steve. Thank You Lord, for forever friends.

59. Reading 2 Chronicles this week I was caught up in the awe of Solomon building a magnificent Temple for God. Even so, Solomon was well aware that it was not good enough to contain our awesome God and His glory.
How incredibly humbling to realize that today, God chooses to make His home in us, simple, dusty, fragile, often unlovely jars of clay. Blessing beyond my comprehension.

60. My pastor's shirt tail. That man will do anything to reach unbelievers. He wears his shirt tail out b/c he cares more about relating to the lost, looking like a real person leading a real life than about pleasing the eyes of men. Whenever I see that shirt tail, I am challenged anew "...to meet people wherever they are on their spiritual journey and lead them into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ in order to change the world."

Five Blessings on a Monday Morning

Happy Monday! Here are five great blessings to start the week, even if you are sitting there at a messy desk!

My "blessed" desk is littered this morning with:

51. A "Miffy" book read over Skype to a granddaughter last night.

52. A brochure from Indiana dunes where we had a wonderful vacation last month.

53. A heart made of Lego blocks that my grandson Ethan and I are sharing.

54. My cell phone making all those I love just a few beeps away (for those of us who lived before the age of cell phones, that is a wonder.)

55. My Daily Walk Bible, where today I read this wonderful prayer of David:

"Yours is the mighty power and glory and victory and majesty.

Everything in the heavens and earth is yours, O Lord, and this is your kingdom.

We adore you as being in control of everything." I Chron. 29:11

What blessings does God have in store for you today? Ask Him to open your eyes to see through the messes all the way to the "blesses"!

May God grant you a blessed Monday and may you rejoice in the knowledge that He IS in control of everything!