STILL COUNTING....  God you are soooo good!!

182. Though the flood waters were all around, they did not enter our house or barn! 

183. Children so interested in their Bible/history lessons, that we read through the whole weeks' worth in one sitting.

184. "Cheap" swimming lessons available locally.

185. Bags of free groceries brought to my door.

186. A missing bin of clothes for AJ found!

187. Amazing friends to laugh with, cry with, and make memories with!  Ones who are around not just in the good times, but also the more challenging.

188. TIME today to get some extras accomplished!

189. That God directs my steps, and I don't.

190. God's name is a strong tower for me to run to and be safe.

191. God does not let me go.

192. According to Prov. 16:6, there is hope for my street friends to depart evil.

193. Opportunities to pray with several alcoholics today and trusting that God is working.

194. SUNSHINE!!!!

195. A healthy foal, a surprise that brought joy on a difficult day.

STILL COUNTING!

161. Seeds purchased, and ready for planting!

162. Children doing "school" without them realizing it's "school".

163. A clean kitchen and bathroom... for maybe a day!

164. Coffee, tea and smoothies.

165. Mangoes to put in my smoothies.

166. Double stuffed oreo cookies for part of my Mother's Day gift!

167. God being in control, and not me.

168. A missing book, found!

169. Homes for almost all the puppies.

170. Living life in a small town.

171. An occasional rainy day... or 3...

172. The gift of prayer.

173. Freedom from being a slave to sin.

174. My mom!

175. Newly planted herbs from the greenhouse.

176. Golden opportunities to train my 2 year old the past couple of days!

 

177. Snuggles from my six year old.

178. Aesop's Fables to enjoy with my children.

179. Fun times shared with like-minded friends!

180. Children who still love to play together in the sandbox.

181. An afternoon to take things easy while recovering from a cold.

MULTITUDE MONDAY

Some days I have more time.  Other days, it's quick off the top of my mind.  All days, it's important.  Taking the time to look at the blessings around us brings such joy to my spirit.  I am thankful...

151.  SUNSHINE!
152.  Fresh tulips on my table.
153. A beautiful day to have a picnic in the park yesterday.
154. Healthy puppies growing and getting new homes.
155. Laundry heading to the line.
156. A new journal.
157. "Justification & Regeneration" by Charles Leiter -- what an amazing, eye opening book!  I have learned so much.
158. A text from a person I hadn't heard from in a while that made me smile.
159. Good news about one of our street friends.
160. A pair of downy woodpeckers that brought joy to my children when they spotted them this morning.

IN THE DETAILS...

When I take the time to pay attention to the little things all around me, it places my focus on what matters, and brings joy to my life.  What a blessing this journey has been!

131. A thoughtful gift (see post below)

132. Friends who helped clean corrals and get my garden ready for planting this past weekend.

133. New moon sand for AJ (is their anything better?)

134. Children with creative minds!

135. A pond to watch wildlife, catch frogs and sail boats on.

136. Iris bulbs to plant from a very special person! 

137. An afternoon of great fellowship with amazing ladies, which put 5 meals in the freezer!

138. Trees that are leafing out!

139. A little girl learing to love reading! (finally!)

140. Less than 6 weeks till a summer break!

141. peanut butter and jelly

142. fresh raspberry herbal tea

143. a week of "normalcy" after a crazy week with a busy, busy daddy

144. Truth.

145.  My friend, Camille, who is a faithful commentor & a huge encouragement in my life!  :)

146. A creative idea for displaying some 8X10 prints that I haven't yet framed. (I'll try to take a picture when it's done.... it might be a while.)

147. A disaster of a house -- it means it is full of life! 

148. A gorgeous Saturday spent outside, resulting in lots of pink cheeks!

149. A finally finished dining table -- just waiting to bring it in the house!

150. Justification.

SO MUCH...

It's in recognizing the little things that joy can be found.  The details of life that we so often take for granted. Even on a "down" sort of day, taking time to notice, is a great pick-me-up!

**************************************************

111. Two kids who now do their own laundry, start to finish!

112. Healthy animals.

113. 2 Cor 12 spoke to my heart in preparation for what this day had in store. Love how God does that!

114. 8 healthy puppies getting fatter every day!

115. God's strength.

116. Evan didn't get furlowed this week.

117. Little boy boots sitting on the deck rail reminding me of the stage of life I'm at.

118. Buds on the trees.

119. A broken picture repaired.

120. A friend's prayer in time of needed encouragement.

121. An almost finished dining room table.

122. An almost-healed back for Evan! He's doing so much better!

123. Clean water to drink.

124. A place to dwell on our pilgrimage here.

125. Eggs coming out of our ears! (Egg salad, oven pancakes, sunshine cake... anything to use up eggs!)

126. Chocolate.

127. A dentist found who takes our insurance!

128. Birthdays -- a special one coming up!

129. A school year winding down.

130. Greatly improving eye sight for my son!

MULTITUDE MONDAY...


91.  Time for some fun projects.


92.  The gift of regeneration!


93.  A developing hunger for the Word in my children!


94.  The promise of spring -- more and more each day!


95.  Watching my family turn lemons into lemonaide.  They made the most of the flooding we had here by spending HOURS in a the little boat out back learning to row and exploring together.


96.  Children who love to laugh and be together.

97.  A nice heavy quilt.


98.  Technology to keep in touch with long distance loved-ones.


99.  Health.


100.  All that God is teaching me on a daily basis through His Word. 


101.  Love.


102.  Sunshine that brings warmth.


103.  Our new clear view of the mountains (the trailers have been torn down and cleared away!).


104.  Friends who are there for me, no matter what.


105.  Candlelight.


106.  The joy of dreaming of this year's garden with my family.


107.  Lessons learned from David and Saul these past couple of weeks with the kids.


108.  Puppies are coming!

109.  Contentment.

110.  Restored joy.

MULTITUDE MONDAY

81.  A beautiful snowy day, where the snow is really stacking up!

82.  A good school day with lots accomplished!

83.  Joel is ALMOST DONE with speech therapy!

84.  A plan for dinner -- stew and homemade bread!

85.  The Holy Spirit who guides me moment by moment.

86.  Being loved by my husband... and the fact that he constantly lets me know.

87.  Reeces Pieces -- for rewards AND enjoying!

88.  Miracles and a God who still performs them!

89.  A growing vision, and one that we don't have to fulfill on our own!

90.  My precious children, who are learning more everyday!

MULTITUDE MONDAY

71.  A text from my husband that turned my whole morning around early on after a sleepless night.  Starting a Monday with a good laugh is the best way to start!

72.  Herbs to make tinctures with.

73.  Medicine when necessary.

74.  Sunshine and melting snow!

75.  Friends who really care.

76.  Time in the Word with a friend.

77.  Godly teachers.

78.  An almost-free hand again. 

(Down to a finger splint with a promise to be careful!)

79.  A cheerful voice on the phone.

80.  Warm fuzzies!

MULTITUDE MONDAY

61.  Healing through the hand of intelligent & caring doctors.

62.  Romans chapter 6.  The topic of our study last night. 

What an amazing passage!

63.  Opportunities to share the Gospel. 

64.  Shrimp in the freezer for dinner with good friends tonight.  :) 

65.  Honey.  It makes all things better!

66.  Special kids for my kids to grow up with.

67.  A pantry full of food.

68.  A mud room. 

69.  Knowing that God protects those who honor Him.  (Ps. 5)

70.  Godly women that I can call at anytime for wisdom

(including an amazing mom!)

Multitude Monday

51.  Anticipation of a few days away.

52.  Open hearts praying about how to help with ministry.

53.  Hearing from God's Word today.

54.  Almost completed math lessons for the day!

55.  A "sort of" clean house to start a Monday.  (Which is much better than usual!)

56.  An old sewing project picked up and a good friend to sew with!

57.  Peace in my heart.

58.  Water and boats for 2 year old entertainment.

59.  Believers who hold me up!

60.  A husband who fears the Lord.

MULTITUDE MONDAY

31.  Sunshine on a "gloomy" day!

32.  A full house for Bible study last night.

33.  Seeing the JOY in a friend coming to real life in Christ!

34.  Life Journals for the kids.  A fresh way to do our morning quiet times, and they are LOVING them!

35.  My Carhart overalls for doing chores.

36.  Sledding through fluffy snow behind the 4-wheeler with a permanent GRIN on my face!

37.  Not getting hurt while sledding.

38.  Encouragement from a friend, who made my day with one simple comment.

39.  The ability to "walk with God" just like Noah.

40.  Seeing my children's faith become their own.

41.  The new method of reading Scripture that has come alive to me the past couple of weeks.

42.  Ladies, who are willing and excited to come to Bible study week after week!

43.  Growth.

44.  God's expiration and inspiration.

(Gen. 2:7, 2 Tim. 3:16)

45.  New trim in my bedroom.

46.  A barn roof almost complete, in spite of the snow.

47.  An endless stack of split firewood. 

(Thank you, Harvest Chapel!!!)

48.  Examples of both wise and foolish people learn from.

49.  Text messaging.  (What did I ever do without it???)

50.  Fuzzy blankets and a warm fire.

MULTITUDE MONDAY

Today, the things that come to mind that I am thankful for::


21.  Freedom to homeschool!  Even though we have our "days", I can't imagine doing school any other way!


22.  Pigs going to butcher today!

23.  Encouragement that always seems to come at just the right moment.  (Thank you, Lord!)


24.  "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousnes, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work." (2 Tim. 3:16-17)  It truly is all that we need.


25.  Legos, which have supplied more hours of indoor entertainment than any other thing!


26. A couple decent days to work hard on the barn roof, and available vacation time so Evan can take off to work on it.  It's getting close now!  I'll try to take some pictures tomorrow!

27.  Grace... from both God... and my children.

28.  Our wood stove, which keeps our house much warmer than I would be allowed to turn the furnace up to!

29.  The book "Morning and Evening" by Charles Spurgeon, and my friend Camille who sent it to me.  This book has been SUCH a blessing to me!  I often can't get enough and read ahead beyond the scheduled day!

30.  The upcoming holidays! 

MULTITUDE MONDAY

11.  The electric blanket on my bed for these chilly nights that are beginning!  Turn it on 1/2 hour before bedtime, and I feel completely spoiled!

12.  Children who are all currenlty S.I.L.E.N.T.  Two doing school work, one reading in bed, one falling asleep...  ahhh... peace. 

13.  A windy day to dry my load of blue jeans.

14.  A day away tomorrow from the normal daily grind.

15.  A fun, fall, family photo session this past weekend that brings hope of some amazing memories caught on camera to cherish forever!  (Thanks SO MUCH, Tif!)

16.  Calvary Chapel:  our "family" away from family for the past 8 1/2 years.

17.  God's sovereignty.

18.  Fresh, snow-capped mountains to open my blinds to this morning.

19.  A washer/dryer that have never failed me yet! 

20.  Music, to make every day brighter, and to worship the Lord with!

MULTITUDE MONDAY  (or Tuesday...)

I got this idea over at Camille's blog, and decided to join in!  My goal is to do this on Mondays, but I'm a few hours late this week.  :)  What a better thing than to take some time out each week to think about the things I'm thankful for.  God has blessed me with so much, and I want to give Him the praise and glory for all He is doing in my life!

1.  Peace in my heart of knowing I am forgiven and am a new creation!

"If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away;

behold, all things have become new."  2 Cor. 5:17

2. A husband who truly loves me the way Christ desires him to. 

3. Myah... Joel... Kiana... Josiah... Aden

My blessings from the Lord!

4.  The Word of God -- There is nothing greater!

5.  Changing Seasons

6.  Autumn:  My favorite season!

7.  A glorious autumn day that I was able to take a walk through the pasture and enjoy it!

8.  The body of Christ... all around the world!

9.  Shelter from the changing, cooler weather.  Thank you, Lord for my home, and my husband who has worked so hard to make it "home".

10.  Blueberry buttermilk pancakes made by my daughter for dinner tonight.