(Posted a day late, thanks to stubborn Blogger!)
I've been remiss in continuing my journey with The Gratitude Community of A Holy Experience over the last few months. Earlier this year, I passed the halfway mark to the goal of chronicling One Thousand Gifts as I learn to walk in prayerful thanks.
I have much to be thankful for, and the five hundred plus items on my list (which I hope to recopy into a special gratitude journal) testify to God's goodness. And jotting down these thanks has increased my faith, strengthened my joy.
From the Book of Common Prayer 2011:
Thanksgiving for All God's Mercies
Almighty God, Father of all mercies;
We humbly give you heartfelt thanks
for all your goodness and loving-kindness
to us and all mankind.
We bless you for creating us and sustaining us,
and for all the blessings of this life;
But, most of all, for your immeasurable love--
the redemption of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ;
For your ways of grace and for our hope of glory.
And give us such an awareness of your mercies,
that our hearts may overflow with thanks,
and that we make known your praise,
not only with our lips, but also in our lives,
by giving up ourselves to your service,
and by walking before you
in holiness and righteousness all our days.
Through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with you and the Holy Spirit,
belong all honor and glory, now and always. Amen.
(2 Corinthians 1.3; Isaiah 63.7; Revelation 4.11; Romans 12.1)
So I journey forward, trying to push through the pain, recognizing the little glories that pepper my days...if only we take the time to truly see as God sees....
Thanking Him this day for:
511. ...the wonder of holding in my hand a book that I helped to edit, the Book of Common Prayer 2011.
512. ...the safety of an old friend and his family who live in Joplin, Missouri, after the F5 tornado that struck Sunday afternoon.
513. ...the blessing of having my girl back home, full-time, finished with her first year of college.
514. ...knowing that we have fewer than 13 days of homeschooling left...then...V-A-C-A-TION!
515. ...the joy of picking up a pen, ignoring the ache, and letting words spill across a page.
516. ...the satisfaction of pulling my head out of the sand, pushing through the pain, and returning to blogging, Facebook, etc., to connect and reconnect with friends old and new.
517. ...the pure white of lilacs blooming in our garden.
518. ...the grace of rain and cool weather despite summer heat looming
519. ...the mercy of God's Word, especially His Psalms.
520. ...the way hours slip past unheeded as my mind melds words into phrase, sentence, page...cutting and shaping the heft of words into poignancy and, I hope, power. The bliss of writing!!!
Giving thanks for His good gifts, now and always!
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