Psalm 121:5...

I'm reading through the Songs of Ascent in the Psalms with She Reads Truth.

I've really enjoyed being involved in reading the devotionals and Bible passages along with other women, then connecting with them via the She Reads Truth blog or on Instagram.

Today the weather was sunny and warm enough to only need a sweater, 

so I had my devotions outdoors, one of my favorite things to do!

I'm so thankful that the Lord Himself watches over us.

Yes, He gives His angels charge over us,

but He's also personally involved in protecting us.

He's a good Father like that.

Still following,

Friday's Favs... forcing forsythia to bloom

Between our tall yellow house and Miss Wanda's tall pinkish house was a forsythia.

I used to climb under its branches and sit on a bare patch of ground just big enough for one.

With its yellow blooms and green leaves forming the roof of my little hideaway,

a special fondness for this spring beauty took root in my little girl heart.

Between our tall beige house and the neighbor's tall gray house is a forsythia.

It's just starting to leaf out.

 I trimmed off a few branches, knowing that if I brought them indoors and put them in some water,

 the warmth of the house would force them into bloom.

There's a special fondness in this now quite grown up woman's heart for these spring beauties.

It's almost Friday, friends!

Have a HAPPY, HAPPY Friday

and a BLESSED weekend!

              

                                            

Also linking to Jennifer Rizzo's Fabulously Creative Friday

Beloved...

Mama had the flu, so little blonde, blue-eyed, recently turned four year old granddaughter spent the night at Nana's.

I laid down next to her when it was bedtime and we read You Are Special by Max Lucado.

It's all about the Wemmicks, wooden people carved by the Master Woodcarver, Eli.

The Wemmicks, they give each other gray dots or gold stars, 

their identity found in how others label them.

Except for one Wemmick.

 No labels would stick on her.

Every day she spent time with the Master Woodcarver who told her who she really was.

She was His, 

created by Him,

 loved by Him

and that's the only label that really mattered.

I've worn many labels through the years,

daughter,

sister,

friend,

wife,

mama,

pastor's wife,

counselor,

teacher,

mentor,

and most every one of those labels I've worn proudly.

But the one that's the most me,

that's me right down to the core of who I am, 

is

BELOVED.

I don't know how it happened,

because I know that struggling to believe God's love for you is so common,

but somehow,

someway,

this little girl from a broken home,

this teenager that did her fair share of messing up,

this young wife and mama who made it through the day by grace alone,

this middle age woman who fought a two year battle with depression,

this 55 year old woman clickity-clacking away at this keyboard,

grew up with a deeply rooted awareness of God's love for her.

I am His beloved one.

I am accepted by Him.

He likes me.

I make Him smile.

Lots of times, I make Him laugh.

{I know this because He's the One Who gave me my ridiculously quirky sense of humor.}

When hard times have come, 

hurtful things have happened to me that I didn't deserve,

the enemy tries to whisper that I've believed a lie.

But I will not be shaken.

I will not be moved.

I will breath my last breath on this earth knowing that I am loved beyond measure.

In this knowledge, I know I am richly blessed.

I know it's a struggle for so many to believe and receive God's love.

I know I did nothing to earn or deserve His love.

It's simply that

I am His,

created by Him,

loved by Him

and so are you.

 So   Are   You.

And that's the only label that really matters.

Believe it.

Still following,

Goodwill transferware bowl...

I spied this white and blue transferware bowl on a quick run through of a nearby Goodwill 

and decided not to get it.

I guess I didn't want to wait in the long line or spend $3.99 if I wasn't sure I loved it.

But, when I regretted not getting it the next day, I ran back and it was still there waiting for me.

It's sitting on top of a Goodwill bread board on our dining room table. 

 I bought the bread board sometime last year.

A little pot of Trader Joe's tulips completes this quick and easy spring centerpiece.

Have you ever regretted not buying something and gone back to get it?

Still following,

              

Yellow carnations...

A grocery store bouquet of yellow carnations from the Hubs,

a few of them making a mini bouquet in this french mustard jar.

Sunshine for the soul.

Still following,

(one layer of Kim's unleashed texture, hard light mode, 60% opacity)

God's good plan...

For three months second born daughter and her family have stayed with us while making arrangements to relocate back to this area.

Three years ago I mourned them moving across the country for a missions internship.

It was so hard for the Hubs and me to see those grand babies that we had always lived near move so far away.

Then last year, they went to Ghana for six months, and oh, how hard that was to have our grand babies on a whole other continent.

But I didn't know...

that when they were in South Carolina we would be able to see them two or three times a year,

that when they were in Ghana, the Hubs and I would spend two weeks there with them,

that three years later they would move back here and head up ministry trips to Ghana for our church.

Sometimes, I just have to laugh at myself for ever doubting God's good plan.

They moved into their own little house this weekend...
only twenty minutes from Nana's house.

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

In 2012 I followed the prompts in Ann Voskamp's Joy Dare in counting my thanks.

In 2013 I'm going back to the way I did it in the beginning,
just noticing and recording the many extraordinary blessings in my ordinary life.

And so I continue to count my thanks

piling up gratitude day by day

in my little black journal.

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

#2842-#2869

2/25/13-

-quiet time for Bible study

-a good run in spite of the rain

-God's in control, even when hurtful things happen

-oldest granddaughter reading Homer Price, one of my favorite books when I was her age

2/26/13

-discount on pods for our coffee machine and some of that good coffee in one of my favorite cups

-grocery shopping-God's daily provision

-baking the Hub's birthday cake

-the grandkids licking the beaters

2/27/13-

-the Hub's 56th birthday

-working on my Precept's study on Ruth

-four year old granddaughter's tap shoes from Papa

-our family gathered around the table for the Hub's birthday dinner

-facebook birthday wishes

2/28/13-

-God at work in ways I can't see

-my Bible study class

-our daughter's new home

 3/1/13-

-big hugs and kisses before school from the grandkids on their last day before moving into their own place

-a fun date day with the Hubs-dinner at one of our favorite middle eastern food restaurants

-a new Easter dress for 50% off

-our son-in-law's safe trip from South Carolina with the Uhaul

-finding "love notes" left behind by the grandkids

3/2/13-

-stopping by the kid's house to drop something off and seeing the kids so excited about their new bedrooms

-a friend's new grand baby

-a healthy dinner

3/3/13-

-God's Word

-lunch with friends

-getting something I procrastinated on done

Gratefully yours,

Psalm 106:1...

Sweet four year old granddaughter and I had a little photo shoot the other day.

I don't really know what she was doing in this shot, or why, but it looked to me a lot like praising the Lord.

(Her favorite song, by the way, is "Your love never fails, never gives up, never runs out on me.")

Still following,