Quotation of the Week...and The Joy Dare

On Saturday I spoke at the Pine Valley Bible Conference Center's Spring Women's Conference, and I'll be speaking there for the second weekend this Saturday as well. My first workshop on journaling went very well; I rarely used my notes, and everyone laughed in the right places. My daughter, who works at the "Bible Camp," as we locals all call the PVBCC, said today that her boss informed her that several women had given testimonies at the end of the weekend retreat about the value of the journaling workshop, so thanks be to God for answered prayer!! I had prayed for Him to speak through me, and I could feel it. The talk was effortless in building rapport and friendships with the women, so, as my e-mail signature states, Soli Deo Gloria..."to God alone be the glory."

So as I consider the value of journaling, of slowing down my busy life with the comforting and all-too-familiar scrip-scrape of brass nib against dry paper, I pulled out this quotation from my battered and nearly-filled Quotation Journal that I've been keeping since August 4, 2001.

Over the years I have collected many--nay, a multitude of quotations on many subjects--and I'd like to share this one with you:

"A thankful heart is not only the greatest virtue, but the parent of all other virtues."
--Cicero

I have also been taking part in the Joy Dare 2012 at A Holy Experience, jotting three gifts (blessings) each day to read a thousand by the end of 2012. Here are a few that I've written in my Joy Dare Gratitude Journal in the past week:

168. my hair graying, a reluctant honor
170. memories of Lake Cuyamaca all a-glimmer
173. wisdom lined in beginnings of crow's feet
174. experience gained with each white hair
178. slide of pencil across paper
183. Hershey's Kisses melting on birthday-tongue
184. gift of ink, green and bright
187. widow's mite around my neck, 2000 years of history worn lightly
189. faith, worn deep and wrinkled with age
195. shells from the sea

So may we all walk with thanksgiving, and, as the Scriptures state, being "watchful and thankful." For when we watch, when we see, we can't help but to thank the One Who grants us these often-unseen gifts.

Walking in gratitude this day, and, I pray, always,