One Thousand Gifts

I have been following Ann Voskamp's blog www.aholyexperience.com for quite a while now and have been working on my own list of 1000 gifts. Since her book came out, I am moved to look daily at the microscopic and generous gifts God gives minute by minute. I am not sure I will post my whole list here, but certainly will celebrate when I get to 1000!! In the meantime, I am re-opening and trying this again.

Since our son and his two boys came to stay last June, our house has been a beehive of activity with school, laundry, swim lessons, LEGOS, wrestling, hugs and tears. This has been an especially hard journey for this little family with their Mom living and working 200 miles away while Dad looks for work. We are blessed with the time together with them and when they do move it will be a "hard eucharisteo".

Since I last posted, my mother finally left this earth on December 26th. Her last month was a rapid slide downhill (or a climb up) into eternity with her Lord. Our family spent the last few days taking turns sitting with her in shifts so that she would not be alone and were blessed by the staff at the nursing home where she lived. I will write more about that later.

1. Time with granddaughter
2. The beauty of the hills around our home
3. Our snug and cozy little house
4. The electric garage door opener (and the garage)
5. The instant hot water tap
6. Gold finches
7. The quail family that visited our yard
8. The bunny that lives under the shed
9. My new outdoor sitting/praying area
10. Lunch with my dear friend, newly widowed.

The End (for now)

I have decided to put this blog out of its misery--at least for now. I have too many little details nagging at me and I want to narrow things down. I will be working on my personal handwritten journal more often, hopefully. This is not to say I won't ever post here again, just not anytime soon.

Birthdays

Well, I am 70 today. Is that really true? The numbers don't sound right to me. If I am 70, shouldn't I feel like I have arrived, like I have it all together? Believe me, I do not feel that way. This journey is full of detours and distractions from the things we know to be the important things of life and yet, here I am wondering where it all has gone and what I will have left behind.

For me, birthdays are kinda like New Year's Eve. I like to look back and evaluate, then look forward and think about the future. Of course, I know that the past is gone, but it is a good teacher and there are no guarantees of the future, so I guess I will just work on today and enjoy what it has to offer while trying to make things better in some way. One day at a time, isn't that all we can handle?

Today looks to be a beautiful fall day. Maybe I will get out and enjoy the gorgeous colors and the sunshine for a little while, go visit my mother and spend time with my family this evening. Sounds like a plan!

HELP!!!

I have lost it all!! Hope I can recover it.

A Note

I am not quite sure what happened to the nice design I had here, but it is gone!! All I can do is play with it til I get it fixed.

That Hurts!!

O.K., I am officially obese, or should I say OBESE! Of course, I knew I was overweight. That has been a problem off and on since I was 14 years old, but obese?I went to a weight loss support group meeting last night and they did the weigh, measure, caliper pinch (in three places), and the BMI thing. The numbers were ugly to say the least. I could have cried. I have done this work before-several times-and don't want to do it again, but there are several things to consider.

First, this body is a temple of the Holy Spirit. The measurements are just a bit bigger than the design called for and certainly not in the condition it should be in.

Second, the extra weight puts me at risk for several unpleasant possibilities such as heart disease, stroke, diabetes, back problems and knee problems. Not things I would like to go through.

Third, I just feel sluggish and unable to do the things I would like to do. My energy level is low. It is a vicious circle of not being able to lose the weight if I don't exercise, but exercise is uncomfortable at this point.

So, I have decisions and commitments to make that no one else can make for me and no one else can do for me. I am on my own in this one and there is no one to blame but myself. Cause and effect; action and consequence.

Dad

It was eight years ago that my Dad left this place of pain and sickness and went to be with the Master Carpenter. Dad was a carpenter-among other things, but that was his passion. He loved working with wood and we have several pieces of his creativity to remember him by. I imagine him with Jesus, making sawdust while humming or whistling the whole time.

Have I written this before? On the day he died, March 24, 2002, I was not with him, but my brother was holding him in his arms and singing to him. I was home alone and when they called to tell me, I looked out the window and saw an eagle soaring in the sky over our house. To me, that was a message from God saying "He is okay. He has risen on eagles' wings above all the suffering. He is released to fly with me."

I still miss him terribly-his kindness and gentleness-and the love he had for God and his family, but I know I will see him again.