Things that bring me joy...

We all have this longing for beauty, for acceptance, for joy, for all the good things we perceive and understand God to be. And we all fall short. In my constant need for God I battle with thoughts of self-worth and discontent. I forget so easily the beauty He has given me and the blessings He bestows so graciously on me every day. I forget to be thankful.

The other day I was reading in my bible and the verse popped out at me with such clarity; And be ye thankful! It’s a command. It’s God’s admonition to me for this daily battle of tired mommy-brain, a houseful of men and the constant demands of busing school children/youth leader agendas/meal making/housecleaning, etc. Be ye thankful!

So today, I write another list… a thankful list.

1. 1.       My happy home.
2. 2.       A wonderful husband.
3. 3.       Three healthy children.
4. 4.       A Christian home.
5. 5.       My lovely house.
6. 6.       Warm weather.
7. 7.       Spring winds.
8. 8.       Budding trees.
9. 9.       Birds singing.
10. 10.   Swan pairs on the little lakes.
11. 11.   Pat’s parents.
12. 12.   Chai tea.
13. 13.   Fruit pizza.
14. 14.   Bren.
15. 15.   Coffee company.
16. 16.   Good friends and good gabbing.
17. 17.   Jodi.
18. 18.   Texas caviar and chips.
19. 19.   My big new pantry, in coral. :)
20. 20.   Rocking Wyatt.
21. 21.   Singing with Wyatt.
22. 22.   The boys all jumping on the tramp together.
23. 23.   Rhubarb growing.
24. 24.   Frogs croaking.
25. 25.   Planning a homemade ice-cream party for the youth.
26. 26.   Folding laundry on my big cutting table in my laundry room.
27. 27.   Marble-look counter tops.
28. 28.   Quilts.
29. 29.   Googling Caramel Praline Sauce and finding a good recipe.
30. 30.   Misty and the look on her face when I brought her a set of tiny little owl erasers.
31. 31.   Fresh bread.
32. 32.   Candles.
33. 33.   Green grass.
34. 34.   Boys that smell like woodsy shower gel and deodorant.
35. 35.   Ice water in a big clear glass.
36. 36.   Fresh strawberry jam.
37. 37.   Baseballs and bats, guns and ammunition, fishing rods and tackle.
38. 38.   Lockers.
39. 39.   Little camouflage rubber boots.
40. 40.   Boys, little and big, playing in the dirt in the garden.
41. 41.   Vanilla Biscotti Coffee, compliments of the Keurig.
42. 42.   Dark floors that hide a multitude of sins dirt.
43. 43.   Wade and Wyatt, playing together.
44. 44.   Seeds for the garden.
45. 45.   The safety of the church.
46. 46.   Books from the library.
47. 47.   My treadmill.
48. 48.   Pert Plus Shampoo.
49. 49.   Shirts to iron and jeans to patch.
50. 50.   Water for cleaning and washing and showering.
51. 51.   Hot water.
52. 52.   Zach setting the table, totally of his own accord.
53. 53.   Colby laughing almost ‘til he cries over Wyatt’s wise words.
54. 54.   Pat holding Wyatt during church.
55. 55.   Raspberry sauce (and cleaning all the raspberries outta my freezer.)
56. 56.   Crystal Kearnan staying for lunch.
57. 57.   Talking to my mom on the phone while I walk.
58. 58.   Blue summer sky with white fluffy clouds.
59. 59.   My string-of-pearls houseplant.
60. 60.   Tractors and seeders gearing up for planting.
61. 61.   Hope.
62. 62.   Joy in the journey