With grateful recognition of His blessing...

She was model beautiful, right there in that "bag your own" no frills grocery store.  She was straightening the items on the shelves, and she looked up from her humble job and smiled genuinely at me.  I saw contentment in her eyes and pride in a job well done.

She drove past me in the grocery store parking lot, driving her large SUV. I surmised she was older than me, but what I noticed most was the large waffle cone in her hand, sticky and drippy with a huge scoop of ice cream. She licked it up with joie de vivre and no regrets, shame, and apparently no calorie counting.

On the way home I drove by a ramshackle apartment complex and looked over just in time to see her.  She was maybe ten to twelve years old.  Her kinky, curly hair was pulled back into a pony tail.  She was blowing kisses towards an old gold mini-van that was pulling into the apartment parking lot.  She skipped along beside the van as it pulled in.  Who wouldn't want to be greeted with that kind of love?

I'm not always that observant, but on this ordinary Wednesday, God highlighted each one of these people to me and I couldn't forget them, or what I saw in them that I admired.  Joy, contentment, pride in a job well done, savoring the moment, unabashed love.  Each brief glimpse touched my heart, each one I gratefully recognized as being God sent.

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

Since 2009 I've been counting my blessings thanks to the prompting of Ann Voskamp.

 I continue to count my thanks

piling up gratitude day by day

in my journal.

(and capturing some of my blessings via my camera or iPhone)

#8017-#8048

2-8-16-

-a cup of tea and a good visit with one of the young gals from church

-a hospital visit and prayer

-walking around Ft. Vancouver with my husband 

2-9-16-

-getting to an early morning appointment on time in spite of the traffic

-a medical procedure that went well

-a great afternoon with my granddaughter helping with her homeschool

2-10-16-

-praying with my sister on the phone for someone who's struggling

-the book Fervent and how it's blessed me

-this home God provided for us, more conveniently located to have people over

-God helping me to see, really see, people that came across my path today, and each one teaching me something

-a chorus of frogs

-funny texts from my daughter

-going to check on our youngest grandson who's been sick

-writing

-a yummy and healthy dinner

2-11-16-

-homemade bread, soup and salad shared with others

-a good run in spite of the rain

-oldest granddaughter coming over after school

-seeing her lift her hands in worship at prayer service

2-12-16-

-a slow, lazy start to our day off

-an early Valentine's date since our weekend is busy

-a sweet evening together

2-13-16-

-perfect love that casts out fear

-enjoying home

-Psalms 51, what it reveals about God's character

-hugs from our granddaughters

-dinner with our youngest daughter and son-in-law and his parents

2-14-16-

-40 years of Valentine cards from him

-celebrating the 5th anniversary of Hope City,

 the church our church planted with our son-in-law and oldest daughter as pastors

-water baptisms

-lunch out with our kids and grandkids afterwards

-the best kind of evening-just the two of us

still following,