One Thousand Gifts: Day 18, 19, 20, & 21, January 26, 27, 28, & 29, 2012

I am getting sooo behind on my blogging. Goodness gracious, I just realized how many days I've missed. This past weekend was a little chaotic because we had another kiddo in our home for respite care, so I was pretty beat by the end of every day. So, now I'm going to try and catch up. Maybe I can stay on top of this Joy Dare after this. We shall see.

January 26th: a gift before 9am, a gift before noon, and a gift after dark.
1. Before 9am = getting my kiddo to the bus stop on time. Mornings are rough with our kiddo, so it's always a blessing to actually make it to the bus stop on time.
2. Before noon = A good therapy session for my kiddo.
3. After dark = amazing stars. Here's a pic:

January 27, 2012 = 3 gifts that might never have been

1. My son. For so many reason my son might never have been. For one, I didn't really want to have kids until God allowed me to get pregnant and then have a miscarriage. I didn't realize how much I desired to mother a child until then. God used my broken heart for good. He changed me. Two, God broke my heart for foster care, when I couldn't ever see myself doing something like this. And three, my boy was saved from abuse and neglect, and there is no telling what could have happened to him. I am so blessed to have a 7 year old son, even though most days I feel like I have no idea what I'm doing.

2. Exercise. I say this because it takes alot of motivation and discipline to consistently exercise. I used to exercise religiously, 6 days a week, sometimes several times a day. Then after my miscarriage, I went into somewhat of a depression, and I quit caring. I quit exercising and eating healthy, and I put on 50lbs in 2 years. Yeah, hardcore. A month after my kiddo moved in with us, I decided I needed to make a change. I need to be a healthy example for him. I started doing Weight Watchers, and I have gotten back into exercising. I've lost 35 of those 50 pounds. Only 15 more to go. I'm working hard to get rid of it. So here's a pic of me after I finished my work-out. Not too pretty, but I got it done!

3. My marriage. Seriously, in high school, my husband was a bit geeky. I didn't like him in a romantic way at all even though he liked me the whole time we were friends. Everyone would tease us saying we were going to get married one day, but I was set on the fact that we would not. I didn't like him like that, and I only wanted to be friends with him. Well, he went off to college, got a little cuter, and he started to pursue me. To my surprise, he won my heart. I adore him, and I say this quite often, but I can't imagine doing life with anyone else. Here is a picture of my husband and me when I was still in high school. We had maybe been dating a year at this point.

January 28, 2012 = 3 graces found in your friends

1. Acceptance

2. Encouragement

3. Accountability

January 29, 2012 = a song heard, a soft word, where you saw light

1. A song heard was "Beautiful Things" by Gungor. My husband and I sang this song together at church tonight. It has been a song that has encouraged me so much in my mess of a life. It's such a blessing to know that God can make beautiful things out of my mess. Here is a link to listen to the song: Beautiful Things

This is my husband and Sunday morning. He was looking super handsome.

2. A soft word, my husband telling me to just cry and let it out. This morning was awful! Our kiddo had one of the worst tantrums, and the little boy we had for respite care had a couple of tantrums at church. It just was not our morning. My husband and I were both to the point of tears. My husband is the most calm and even tempered person I know, and it takes so much to get him so upset, but today was one of those days. He was still such a comfort to me when we were both having such a hard time.

3.Where I saw light, in the eyes of my little boy as he was singing praises to Jesus tonight. He's so precious, and loves Jesus and music. It's funny how we can have such a horrible morning, but then our kid can be so incredibly sweet later that night.

One Thousand Gifts: Day 16 & 17, January 24 & 25, 2012

Okay, so yesterday's gifts were 3 things blue and today's gifts were one grace borrowed, one grace found, and one grace inherited.

3 things blue:

BLUE SKY! We've had so much rain here lately, but the last two days we've had beautiful blue skies, and the temperatures have been in the 60s. We've gotten a little taste of spring, and it's been nice. I would love to have one good snow, but warm temperatures always make me happy.

A Blue Bird: I didn't get a picture of this one, but I went for a run in Lake Lure, and there was the most vibrant and beautiful blue bird that flew over my head. It was so gorgeous, and I was thankful to have witnessed it.

My Blue Car: What a welcomed sight this was after I finished up my run. :) I'm so thankful God provided this vehicle for us. It was given to us by my grandmother during our first year of marriage. We've put over 100,000 miles on it in 5 years, but we love it. She's been good to us minus having a cracked head gasket earlier this year that caused us to have to put a new motor in her. :)

So now on to today, and I'll be caught up! YAY! So, one grace borrowed, one grace found, and one grace inherited.

One grace borrowed: My mom's advice/experience. She's one of the best mentors/counselors, and she was able to give me so wonderful marriage advice that has really helped Eric and me.

One grace found: A new love for my husband

One grace inherited: So these little bowls were given to me by my Granny Jo. I love them! They are even more special to me now that she's gone on to be with the Lord.

One Thousand Gifts: Day 14 & 15, January 22 & 23, 2012

So, I'm like 4 days behind on my blogging. I'm sorry. Life just happens sometimes. I've been trying to keep track of my gifts, some of the days are running together though. So here are my gifts from 4 days ago that I was to look for: one grace wrinkled, one grace smoothed, one grace unfolded.

Just so you know, this photo is edited a little with some skin smoothing. It doesn't show my wrinkles too well, but I promise they are there under my eyes and around my mouth. :)

One grace wrinkled: My face. I know, my face isn't super wrinkled, but I do have some. They are smile lines though, which I think is a gift. It means I smile and laugh alot. I have a hilarious husband, so that means I laugh all the more. Laughing, especially with my husband, is my favorite thing to do, and I think the fact that I'm getting smile lines/wrinkles at only 25 years old is a gift from God. Even though I wouldn't mind having them smoothed out a little. :)

One grace unfolded: So I'm going a little out of order, and this wasn't from 4 days ago, but it was still a grace unfolded. This one was a letter I'd written to my husband. Marriage is hard work, and we don't always get it right, especially me. It's about to get real here. I wrote my husband a letter the other day because I've really been struggling in our marriage. I've been battling my own personal sins, and I had to own up to that and ask my husband to help me. I had to ask him to lead me and pursue me. We've both been kinda slack here recently, and we just had things we needed to deal with. I'm not going to get into the details here, but my husband took my letter, unfolded it, read, and received it with so much grace. Our marriage is stronger for it, and I'm so looking forward to how God is going to continue to grow us closer to Him and closer to each other.

One grace smoothed: This relates to the last one, but my marriage. It was a little bumpy, but it's beginning to smooth out. Anyone who makes you think marriage doesn't take work is a liar. I'm constantly reminding myself that God uses marriage to make us holy. I don't have to be happy in my marriage all the time, but I always have to keep my focus on the Lord. It's not always easy to love my husband, and I know it's not always easy for him to love me (trust me, I'm not the easiest person to live with). That's why marriage can be a wonderful representation of Christ and His church. It's about agape love (unconditional). My husband and I have to choose to love each other through the ugly stuff that sometimes gets in the way. How thankful I am that I have a gracious husband who loves me with all of his heart. I'm one blessed girl.

Okay, now onto January 23rd. This day I was supposed to write about 3 gifts found in Christ. This one I'll keep simple, but that doesn't mean I'm any less thankful for these gifts. I'm overwhelmed when I think of these gifts from my Lord.

1. Grace
2. Forgiveness
3. Reconciliation

One Thousand Gifts: Day 13, January 21, 2012

Today my gifts to look for were: one gift in the sky, one thing from your memory, one thing that's ugly-beautiful.

One gift in the sky: the sun and blue skies that came out at the end of the day. It was so rainy alllll day, but right around sunset the sun came out. It was beautiful. I think my favorite part though was on our drive home from a birthday party. I took a picture using the side mirrors on our car. Here is the picture:

The reason I love it so much is because you see the sun shining and the words "Objects in mirror are closer than they appear." That made me think of the Son of God, Jesus because He is closer than He appears quite often. It was a nice little unexpected blessing today.

One thing from my memory: This one I've struggled with today. There are so many thoughts racing through my brain all the time. It's hard to piece something together into one cohesive memory. I guess the memory I'm most thankful for today is the memory of my wedding day. It's one of the sweetest memories I have. My husband and I didn't kiss each other until that day, so after 3 years, 8 months, and 6 days of dating, we finally shared our first kiss in front of God and all of our friends and family. The innocence of our wedding day/night always brings me joy. It always causes me to smile a little and sometimes even laugh. Thankful that God gave Eric and I the grace to stay pure for each other.

One thing that's ugly-beautiful: I can't take a picture of this one, but I would have to say my scars. One of my scars in particular. I have a massive scar that goes from hip bone to hip bone. It's been a part of me since I was 4 years old. Not many people have ever seen it because it's in a place that not many people can see, and for that I am thankful. I don't like it. I think it's ugly, but it's also beautiful because it reminds me of how God has spared my life. I had a kidney/bladder condition that I was born with that required surgery when I was 4. I am thankful for the surgery because it saved my kidneys thus saving my life. My husband is the only man other than doctors and my dad that have seen this scar. It's one of those things I was self-conscious about on the wedding night. :) Who knows what I was worried about because I have an adoring husband. He loves me and thinks I'm the most beautiful woman in the world even with this huge scar. So my ugly-beautiful that I'm thankful for today has to be my scar. Not many people have a reminder like that every day showing them just how fragile life can be and how thankful I should be that I'm alive.

One Thousand Gifts: Day 12, January 20, 2012

So I got a day behind again. Life just happens sometimes. So yesterday I was to look for 3 gifts I only saw when I got close-up. I really enjoyed looking for these. It sparked the photographer in me, and I found numerous gifts that you really had to look hard for. So here they are. I'll try to narrow them down to 3.

3 red berries. I took my puppy for a walk, and these were on a very big bush, but I just happened to bend down for something, and I saw these 3 bright little guys. It was a nice burst of color on this bush. 

Pink flowers blooming in the middle of winter. These were tiny, but they were pretty. Our weather has been pretty bi-polar, so this poor bush doesn't know if it's spring or winter.

I almost missed these patches of bright green. The green moss was on a small tree stump almost covered by leaves. I love finding patches of bright color in the winter if you haven't noticed. It just helps brighten the day a little bit.

A rain drop on a branch, and the reflection is an upside down view of our house. I love seeing reflections through rain drops. You have to look really close to see them, but it gives you a very cool perspective on things.

One Thousand Gifts: Day 11, January 19, 2012

Today has been a wonderful day. The gifts I was to look for today were: a grace in the kitchen, a grace in the weather, a grace that might never have been.

A grace in the kitchen: Pizza. My husband was really sweet and stopped and got pizza on the way home so I wouldn't have to cook night. I love pizza so much! I know it's not good for you, but everything in moderation.

A grace in the weather: So I didn't get a picture of this, but it was sunny today. Very cold, but sunny. We haven't had much sun here recently, so it was great to see the sun peaking up bright over the mountains this morning. It was really a blessing.

A grace that might never have been: So this year, I've made some business goals. One of those goals is to step out of my comfort zone. One of the ways I wanted to do that was learn more about business. I have a friend who also owns his own business, and he told me about a small business conference in Hendersonville, NC that was going on today. My husband couldn't go with me, so I really didn't want to go, but I decided to get over my fears and just do it. My friend also went, and he let me hang out with him all day. I had such a great time, and I feel like I've learned some helpful new things. I'm really motivated to work on my photography business now. Thankful my friend thought of me and told me about today or this motivation may never have been.

One Thousand Gifts: Day 10, January 18, 2012

Yesterday's post was supposed to be 3 gifts from God's word. I didn't have time to blog them last night, so here they are from yesterday.

Hebrews 4:14-16, "Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need." So thankful I have a God who sympathizes with me weakness, who knows me so deeply.

Hebrews 5:7-8, "In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to him who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence. Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered." Thankful for a perfect example in Jesus Christ. 

1 Corinthians 1:20 "Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?" Thankful for God's wisdom and that He freely gives it to those who seek it.

One Thousand Gifts: Day 8 & 9, January 17, 2012

So, I didn't get to blog yesterday. My kiddo was out of school for MLK Jr. Day, so we spent the whole day with him. Yesterday I was to write about 3 ways I witnessed happiness. So here is day 8:

I witnessed happiness in myself being able to sleep in. Oh my, how nice that is. I loved sleeping til 9:30am, then getting up and having some quiet time and my kid still being asleep. I definitely woke up a happy girl.

The second way I witnessed happiness was when I told my kiddo that we could go to Waffle House for breakfast if he'd get dressed really fast and brush his teeth. He was so excited! It was great getting to go as a family. He ate a chocolate chip waffle and bacon. He was so content, and he just talked away to the waitresses as long as they'd listen. That's my boy.

The third way I witnessed happiness was in a power outage at our house. We lost power for 2 hours from about 5:30pm-7:30pm. It caused us to slow down, and it was really nice. We lit candles and just sat around as a family. It's nice to have moments like that sometimes.

So today, is my day 9. Today my gifts are: one gift that made me laugh, one gift that made me pray, and one gift that made me quiet.

One gift that made me laugh: My husband...hehe..I laugh just thinking about this. Today I wore red lipstick, and I mean red! My husband doesn't mind it, but he doesn't like for me to kiss him when I'm wearing it. I tried to sneak in kisses on his cheek all day, but he was always able to stop me. We basically wrestled, and he finally let me give him one peck on the lips. He looked so pretty with red lips...hehehe.

One gift that made me pray: Oh my kiddo. Yesterday we had such a wonderful day, and he was just so good. Then today he was back to school and we had about 3 tantrums today. I did a devotion this morning about the Holy Spirit and listening to his leading in my life, so during my kiddo's second tantrum today, I really prayed. I prayed for the Holy Spirit to give me wisdom on how to deal with my kiddo, and He did. I was able to be empathetic, and I got my kiddo in a warm bath and he was able to cool it down. It was one of those moments where I felt like maybe I do know something about being a mom.

One gift that made me silent: Quiet time. This is my time when I read the Bible and write out my prayers. It's always my favorite time of the day. It's such a precious gift from God, and I'm so thankful for it.

Well, I'm caught up now. Thanks for taking the time to check in! Feel free to leave comments and tell me what you were/are thankful for today.

One Thousand Gifts: Day 7, January 15, 2012

Today the gifts I was to look for were: one thing you wore, one thing you gave away, one thing you shared. Today was easy to find God's gifts in. There were just so many I was thankful for, and I could make this post very long, but it's very late and I'm super sleepy, so I'll just stick to the ones I'm supposed to write about today.

One thing I wore today: My Granny Jo's locket. She passed away on July 2, 2011, and it was such a shock to us all. Life is so incredibly fragile, but I am so thankful for the hope I have in Christ. My Granny Jo was such a godly woman, she loved the Lord with her whole heart, and I know she is with Him now. What better place to be in. I was given this locket of my Granny Jo's after she passed, and I really cherish it. It's so beautiful, and I wear it quite often. It always makes me think of her and smile.


One thing I gave away: This weekend we've had a teenager foster child with us for respite care. Today at church, she prayed for God to forgive her sins and for Christ to become Lord of her life. She was so broken, and we had a good time talking after church. Our associate pastor gave her a Bible, so this afternoon I spent a little bit of time writing notes in the back of her Bible to encourage her and giving her different Bible verses to look up and several books of the Bible to start reading. I also gave her 3 Christian books/devotionals that I used when I was in high school. I really pray that she'll use these all now that she's back with her foster mom. I hope she'll grow in the Lord and listen to His guiding in her life. I'm excited to see where she'll go.

My friend Amy and her kiddos.
One thing I shared: A sweet moment with my best friend, Amy, after church. My friend Amy came and sat with me and really encouraged me tonight, and we shared a hug together after. I won't share what she said here, but it was such a blessing to me tonight, and I'm so thankful that she said what she did. I love you Amy!

One Thousand Gifts: Day 6, January 14, 2012

So, I'm super sleepy as I write this, but I really wanted to share the gifts I've experienced today with all of you. Today the 3 gifts I am to write about are 3 ways I glimpsed the startling grace of God. At first I was having a hard time with this, but I've been reading the book One Thousand Gifts, and in the chapter I read today it expressed the thought that everything is grace. "God is always good, and I am always loved....All is grace only because all can transfigure." This thought seems simple, but it is so profound. Even the ugliest things in this world are God's grace. We just have to look at everything with the right perspective, with the right lens.

So the first way I glimpsed the startling grace of God today was through my child sleeping in this morning. My kiddo is usually a very early riser, like before the sun comes up riser. Today though, God allowed me to be awake for an hour before everyone in my house, and it was such a blessed time. I spent the whole hour in communion with the Lord. I did some Bible study and spent alot of time in prayer. This time alone with the Lord set the whole tone for my day. It was a great start to my Saturday, and I'm so thankful for it.

The second way I glimpsed the startling grace of God was through some of the scripture I read this morning. Two of the verses I read this morning really stood out as grace to me. The verses are 1 Timothy 4:4-5. They say, "For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, for it is made holy by the word of God and prayer." This is exactly what I read tonight in 1000 Gifts. Everything created by God is good, and nothing should be rejected. I should be thankful for everything that God allows in my life because He is making me holy through it.

The third way I glimpsed the startling grace of God is going to seem a little trivial, but like I've already said, everything is grace. For those who don't know, I'm a huge New Orleans Saints fan. My husband and I used to live in New Orleans, and we love that city! It has a part of our hearts, and it will forever. We spent our first year of marriage there living in a FEMA trailer serving the Lord by helping the victims of Hurricane Katrina. It was one of the best years I've ever had. We had so little, but we were so content. We saw God work in mighty ways, and well, I fell in love with a football team. The Saints team was somewhat of a light in the darkness of Katrina. The team gave the city hope, and I still remember the first night back in the Superdome after Katrina. It was so special and emotional, and I just love that place and that team. The Saints are kind of a way I can stay connected to the city of New Orleans. Anyway, they were in the play-offs for the Superbowl today, but it wasn't pretty. We almost won, but at the last minute we lost. I was seriously heart-broken, but I'm still thankful for the game and the loss. For one, I'm thankful God allowed me to watch the game, and second I'm thankful the season is over for awhile because these games have been stressing me out! :) I already have some minor heart issues, and they seriously flare up in close games like tonight, so this is a grace from God in its own way.

So there are my 3 gifts from today. Sorry only one picture tonight. Here is me and my sweet puppy, Nola, before the Saints game started. I was so excited, but I still love my team anyway!

One Thousand Gifts: Day 5, January 13, 2012

Today has been sooo much better than yesterday, and I've found so much joy and happiness in it. Today's gifts are 3 sounds you hear.

So the first sound, the sound of my husband agreeing to let me stay in bed and rest and him saying he'd get our son ready for school. You see, my husband was off today, and he couldn't have taken it as a chance to sleep in and rest, but he didn't. He knows I haven't been sleeping well at all this week, and last night I actually did with the help of melatonin. He let me catch up on my rest, and I woke up feeling so much better. What a gift that was! Yeah, my hubster is the best.

The second sound was the sound of a little girl telling her sister that it's okay to throw up. Hehe...I know this one seems weird. Let me explain, today my husband not only let me sleep in, but he took me to two of my favorite places to eat, Hot Dog World for lunch and Yogurt World for dessert. Well, while we were at Yogurt World a daddy with his two little girls came in (one may have been 2 years old and the other one maybe 4). They were so excited about getting frozen yogurt, but out of nowhere the youngest one began to throw up. She threw up several times, and one of the owners got her a bucket while the dad cleaned up the floor. The big sister stood by her little sister, and put a hand on her little sister's back. She leaned into her sister and in such a reassuring and encouraging voice she said, "It's okay to throw-up." It was just so sweet to see such love between little sisters. It brought joy to my heart, and we were all laughing at how adorable they were. So a weird place to find joy, but still joy none the less.

The third sound was probably my favorite sound all day that brought me the most joy. Tonight my husband took out his new Macbook and pulled up photobooth. For those that don't know what that is, you can choose different settings and it distorts your face in all sorts of funny ways. Well, Eric showed it to our son, and our son thought it was the funniest thing ever. He made all sorts of silly faces, and I don't think I've ever heard my son laugh so hard, which in turn made my husband and I laugh to the point of almost crying. It was so precious and so sweet. Laughter does a heart good, especially laughter shared with your spouse and child. :)

Our headless child. He thought this was so funny. This is the closest thing you guys can get of a photo of him until he's adopted.

My husband doing the Jay Leno chin and me with a crazy eye, and  our kid's forehead. You see why we were laughing so hard?

One Thousand Gifts: Day 4, January 12, 2012

It's gonna get real in this post. Today has been one of those days where I haven't felt very joyful, but I was still trying to find joy and gifts of mercy even in the ugliness of the day. You see I had bad dreams last night, so I didn't sleep much, for like the 4th night this week. Sleep deprived Mandy = emotionally distraught Mandy. My kiddo apparently didn't wake up on the right side of the bed either because he gave us a fit this morning and even me and my sweet hubby got into a bit of a spat today. All is well in our world now, and we've all made up and we all like each other again. :) There's a mercy and joy all in itself. So in the midst of all my sadness and feelings of failure today, I was still able to find my 3 joys/gifts for the day. Today my gifts to look for were: something above you, something below you, something beside you.

Something above you = the blue sky today. I didn't get a picture of it today, but it's been a grey and dreary week, but today we had bright blue skies. They were a welcome change. The above picture was sunrise a couple of mornings ago, and then it turned grey again.

Something below you = my miniature schnauzer, Killer. When I was at my lowest point today (aka sobbing in self-pity and feelings of failure), my sweet Killer came right up to me and nudged me on my knee while I was leaning over with my head in my hands sobbing in prayer. It's as if he was saying, "are you okay? I love you, and I'll listen." Yeah, I love my dogs. Killer is my oldest, 5 years old. He's my only boy dog, and he's just too sweet. He's my little old man. He's such a lover.

Something beside you = my phone. Yeah that sounds weird and trivial, but I'm so glad I had my phone beside me today so I could call my parents and talk to them. They were such an encouragement and joy to my heart. I don't know what I'd do without my godly parents. They are two of the most giving and loving people I know.

One Thousand Gifts: Day 3, January 11, 2012

Today is 3 yellow things that strike you as fresh mercy.

1. Ripe bananas. This were just perfect for the banana bread I wanted to make today. Thankful these were just right, and the banana bread turned out so delicious.

2. The coupon on the top of my coffee. My coffee that I love is expensive, so this is definitely a fresh mercy to have a coupon to save money on it. I know it seems trivial, but I'm thankful to save money on one of my luxuries.

3. My Granny Jo's coffee cup filled with hot peppermint mocha coffee. My Granny Jo passed away so very unexpectedly back in July, and I was given this cup of hers after she passed. Everytime I drink from this cup I think of her. She was one of the godliest women I've known. I think the memories we have of loved ones are such mercies. This cup describes my Granny Jo, "serving with a heart like Jesus." She was always willing to help anyone in need, and everyone could call her Granny Jo even if they weren't a biological part of our family. So thankful I have this fresh mercy to remember her by.

One Thousand Gifts: Day 2, January 10, 2012

My gifts/graces to look for today were: a gift that's sour, a gift that's sweet, and a gift that's just right.

1. a gift that's sour: I think this would have to be my little boy. Man we had a rough morning. He was in a sour mood, and I even cried after he got on the bus stop because of how bad our morning was. Even though he was in a sour mood, I'm still incredibly grateful for the gift God has given me in my son. For those who don't know, we've only had our son for 6.5 months. He's 7 years old, and he's our foster son right now, but we're in the process of adopting him. I did some research late last night on his name, Shaun. His name means God is gracious. I posted on facebook last night about how much that meaning overwhelmed me. My husband and I have experienced the pain and loss of our first child through miscarriage, and we've just really struggled in the conceiving department. We felt God calling us to let go and become foster parents, and that's what we've done, and we've been so blessed. So I guess that's another sour gift I'm thankful for, my miscarriage. I didn't really want kids until we were pregnant, and then we lost our first child. God completely broke me and changed my heart, and now I have a sour and sweet boy. :) Unfortunately, I can't post photos of my boy until he's adopted. You just wait though, you'll be overwhelmed with photos of his gorgeousness. Wait til you see his eyes!

2. a gift that's sweet: So a little more light-hearted. I do weight watchers, and today I was really good with my points, so I allowed myself to get a Hershey's Sundae Pie at Burger King. One of my favorite things ever. It's perfectly sweet and delicious, and I'm so thankful God allows me to taste such deliciousness.

3. a gift that's just right: My husband's embrace. I could probably write about him everyday! He's so incredibly supportive of me. When I was in tears this morning, he just held me and it comforted me so much. He's so protective of me and he loves me with a love I've never known from another human being. He makes me feel so adored. He is just. right.

One Thousand Gifts: Day 1, January 9, 2012

So I'm reading a book called One Thousand Gifts right now, and it is rocking my world. I'm trying to learn to be joyful in all things, so I'm going to take the Joy Dare. I'm starting a little late for the year, but that's okay. Everyday, I'm to write down or take photos of 3 things that bring me joy, that I'm thankful for. Today the three things are: a gift in your hand, a gift you walked by, a gift you sat with.

1. A gift in my hand: our new puppy, Nola. She is a boxer/lab mix. She's so sweet and funny. She makes me laugh, and I love cuddling her in my two hands and holding her. Her puppy kisses are so sweet.

2. A gift I walked by: Tonight I was walking Nola, and the clouds from today's rain were beginning to part. The moon was shining so bright, and it began to illuminate the trees, fog, and mountains. I was able to walk by such a beautiful view and thank God that He blesses me with the eyesight to see such beautiful things. Here was a little bit of my view tonight.

3. A gift I sat with: My husband. This morning, well more like afternoon, my husband and I went on a date. We just went to Waffle House, but we were able to sit next to each other and talk and just enjoy a meal together. I adore my husband, and I love it when we have time together like this.