Three things overheard, all gifts

"Three things overheard, all gifts"


#0031 "DERP!" - my little sister's current way of saying "I love you".





#0032 The clattering of dishes that tells me that Mama is cleaning the kitchen to bless me tonight.


#0033 Hearing a sweet friend say lovely things about my grandparents

A gift found at 11:30am, at 2:30pm, at 6:30pm

   "A gift found at 11:30am"


#0028 This morning at 11:30, I was listening to this week's amazing STAMP teacher, Herman, tell the story of Gideon from the book of Judges. Herman has possibly the best storytelling voice I have ever heard in my life.


   "A gift found at 2:30pm"


#0029 Cute pins I found on Pinterest before I started my homework this afternoon. Pins like this





and this





   "A gift found at 6:30pm"


#0030 At 6:30 this evening, I finally found an advertisement for a full-time, Diploma-trained teaching position. After a lot of unfruitful hunting, the only Diploma-trained job I have seen in a few months turned up. So I applied and am waiting to see if they give me a call for an interview!


Have a blessed, gratitude-filled day tomorrow!


Much love xx

A gift on paper, in a person, in a picture

   Hello! I know I haven't posted in a week or so, and I do need to apologise for that. Things have been a little crazy of late in Laura-land but I am BACK! Three gifts a day for the rest of the year! I am choosing to make identifying God's gifts a priority in my life, not just because I think it's a nice thing to do, not just because it will be good for my relationship with Him, but because I need to do this to keep me sane. To keep me grounded. To keep me mentally and emotionally well. Life is a little hard at the moment and I know that doing positive things will help keep me positive. So I am counting gifts. To grow in faith, in love, and in stability.


   I have decided to just pick up from today and not backdate gifts. So, without further ado, the January 31, 2012 Joy Dare!


   "A gift on paper"


#0025 My gift on paper today is this set of planner pages from Ann Voskamp's website (click on "About the Joy Dare" in the sidebar to learn more about Ann). They have spaces for everything I need to write down in order to have a beautifully planned day, helping keep me on track, under control, and de-stressed. They are by far the best planner pages I have ever used.


   "A gift in a person"


#0026 Tonight I got to go and have a dinner and movie night with two very dear friends, who to me are like family. I haven't got to spend quality time with Evan and Hannah in quite a while so it was very refreshing and fun to get to catch up with them again. Love you guys a tonne :-)


   "A gift in a picture"


#0027 Yesterday, my new skins for my computer and phone came from GelaSkins. The cover on my phone is now a print of Monet's "The Artist's Garden at Giverny", this picture:

I find it a very relaxing, peaceful image to look at, and it refreshes me when I see it. I can just picture myself in that garden, wandering down the lanes between flower beds, or perhaps sitting beneath a tree in the sunshine with a good book.

   I hope you all have a tremendously blessed day! We'll talk tomorrow.


P.S. For those of you who are joining in with the Joy Dare, Ann has posted the February list on her blog. It is available to print here.

The Joy Dare: Blessings Nineteen to Twenty-Four

   "3 graces from people you love"


#0019 I am grateful for my brother thanking me for making dinner each night. It's encouraging to know that he's blessed by the meals I prepare for us.


#0020 I am grateful for Mama texting every morning telling me that she loves me and hopes I have a lovely day. Such a simple reminder can affect how my day begins.


#0021 I am grateful for the social media that allows me to sing "Funny Girl" with my best friend via Twitter. Just a small thing that may not mean much to anyone else, but sharing a favourite song from a dearly loved musical with Kate is always a joy.


   "a light that caught you, a reflection that surprised you, a shadow that fell lovely"


#0022 I am grateful for delicious food. This photo doesn't capture it as beautifully as I saw it, but I loved the way the light danced across the surface of our bubbling pan of butter chicken tonight.

#0023 I am grateful for small moments when I feel lovely. I've been caring for my skin better recently and today it feels wonderful and looks good, which made me happy when I first saw my face this morning.

#0024 I am grateful for things in my house that remind me of favourite stories. I noticed this shadow tonight on my kitchen floor, and it made me think of chairs that the Cuthberts and the Marches would have had at their tables and on their porches. Our dining chairs are a much newer style, but their shadows wouldn't let on.

   A friend of mine posted this scripture reference as his facebook status today. I read it, and it really got me thinking, so I thought I'd share it with all of you. 

"But I say to you who hear: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, and pray for those who spitefully use you. To him who strikes you on the one cheek, offer the other also. And from him who takes away your cloak, do not withhold your tunic either. Give to everyone who asks of you. And from him who takes away your goods do not ask them back. And just as you want men to do to you, you also do to them likewise. But if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good do those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive back, what credit is that to you? For even sinners lend to sinners and receive as much back. But love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High. For He is kind to the unthankful and evil. Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful. Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you." (Luke 6:27-38, emphasis mine)

   "For He is kind to the unthankful." If the Lord is kind to the unthankful, imagine how much more kind he will be to the thankful! "Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom." This, Messiah says, is the fruit of a thankful life. Have you lived thankfully today?


    Father in Heaven, help me to live a life that is thankful to You every second of every day. Help me to follow the teachings of Your Son and love without expectation of reward or gratitude. Thankyou, Lord, for giving us Your Word to guide us and show us how to live lives full of the Spirit. As I grow in You, fill my cup to overflowing. Press it down and shake it together so that my soul can experience the fullness of You. I love you.

The Joy Dare: Blessings Thirteen to Eighteen

   "something you're reading, you're making, you're seeing"

#0013 I am grateful for Les Miserables. Even though this is my most dearly beloved musical, I have struggled to get into the book. I have just started reading it for the third time via the Kindle app on my phone and I'm loving it! Can't wait to finish the first section to switch back to the paperback. So many good messages and blessings in this story of forgiveness and redemption - almost a parallel of the Bible.

#0014 I am grateful for my bed, and the dressings made with love that grace it. In the past I have been guilty of neglecting to make my bed each day, but recently I have made it the first thing I do in the morning. It is so refreshing to come home from work to a tidy room and a made bed!

#0015 I am grateful for answered prayer. I noticed today that the things I prayed for with thanksgiving were the first to receive an answer. I truly believe that being deliberately and specifically thankful is opening my eyes to the Lord working and answering prayer.

   "one thing in your bag, your fridge, your heart"

#0016 I am grateful for ChapStick. As someone prone to dry lips, I am a lover of lip balm. I am thankful that it comes in little sticks to keep in my purse, and in any flavour I could possibly want.

#0017 I am grateful for the tumbledown gingerbread shack in my fridge. There is a long and messy story that goes with this shack, and if you ask nicely in a comment, or perhaps ask Emma, we might share it in a future post. But it reminds me of a hilarious, frantic Christmas Eve with my sister and brother, and the fun we had. I love them.

#0018 I am grateful for beautiful hymns that remind me of the blessing of salvation. "How Deep the Father's Love For Us" has been in my mind and my heart today. I love it, not only because it is musically lovely to sing, but mostly because it shares the story of Christ's redeeming love in a simple but beautiful and reverent way.

"I will not boast in anything,

No gifts, no pow'rs, no wisdom,

But I will boast in Jesus Christ,

His death and resurrection.

Why should I gain from his reward?

I cannot give an answer.

But this I know with all my heart,

His wounds have paid my ransom."

(How Deep The Father's Love For us, Stuart Townend, 1995)

   While I was at work today, I had on a CD of Christian children's music. A scripture memory song came on that is fast becoming a favourite of mine. It is a very short and simple song, but a reminder to engage in eucharisteo - in joyful thanksgiving.

"We give thanks to you, O God, we give thanks to you!" (Psalm 75:1, NKJV)

   Lord, I give thanks to You for my life, my friends, and my job. I give thanks for a fantastic night out at the theatre that lifted my spirits after a challenging afternoon. I give ethanks for answered prayer, for the way You are the Rock in the storm, and for giving me a sense of calm in stressful situations. I give thanks for cuddles from babies and for the opportunity to witness sweet sibling interactions. But most of all, I give thanks for Your son, in whose gospel I can proudly boast. Continue to bless my week, dear God, and stay close by. I give thanks for the opportunity to give thanks. 

The Joy Dare: Blessings Seven to Twelve

   "3 lines you overheard that were graces"


   I am cheating a little with this, as these weren't overheard but were lines said to or read by me.


#0007 "So you mean I only have to just be myself?" - a five-year-old in my classroom today realising for the first time that he is valuable just the way he is.


#0008 "I want to encourage you to do things God's way, because it always works out so much better." - a sweet lady who I work with blessing me through a conversation we struck up over lunch.


#0009 "The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams." - a president's wife who always inspires me with her grace and courage.




   "one gift old, new & blue"


#0010 I am grateful for the beautiful classic literature that lives on my bookshelves and in my heart. The volumes may be new, but the old words still fill me with wonder with every page I turn.

#0011 I am grateful for my newest scar - a mark from where I cut my leg on a Sabbath table as I carried it out of the theatre late one Saturday night. The cut hurt but the scar reminds me of how blessed I was to be a part of Fiddler on the Roof.

#0012 I am grateful for my bluebird bracelet. I received it as an infant, and each time I clasp it around my wrist, it reminds me that even as an infant I defied death to be brought into the fullness of life given by the Father, and I give thanks for the air in my lungs.

   A new scripture that enriched my soul today:

"Let the message about the Messiah dwell richly among you, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, and singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, with gratitude in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or in deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him." (Colossians 3:16-17, HCSB, emphasis mine)

   Lord Messiah, as I count my blessings daily I feel the gratitude growing in my heart. Thank You for the people You give to encourage me and enrich my life through their sweet words. Thank You for the blessing of individuality, and for allowing a child to realise its beauty. Thank you for the scars on my body and on my heart that remind me of experiences, friends, and lessons learned. Thank you for the eleven thousand litres of air I inhale every day, and for providing the earth with air daily to the volume of whatever seven billion times eleven thousand is. May Your Name be magnified as my soul reflects Your grace.

The Joy Dare: My First Six Blessings

   Today I begin the Joy Dare with my first six gifts.


   "3 things about yourself you are grateful for"


#0001 I am grateful for my tenacious spirit that keeps fighting when the rest of me wants to give up.

#0002 I am grateful for my hazel eyes that change colour depending on what I wear.


#0003 I am grateful for my love of learning that continues to make exploring my Father's world a delight.


   "a gift outside, inside, on a plate"


#0004 I am grateful for the warmth of the sun on my skin.


#0005 I am grateful for having a home to care for.


#0006 I am grateful for time spent cooking with my sister.


   One Thousand Gifts has inspired me to leave my Bible reading plan behind and embark on a journey through the Word to better understand thankfulness and the love of the Saviour. James, Christ's brother, writes

"Every generous act and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights; with Him there is no variation or shadow cast by turning. By His own choice, He gave us a new birth by the message of truth so that we would be the firstfruits of His creatures." (James 1:17-18, HCSB)

   Blessed Father of lights, draw me closer into your grace. Help me to live daily in a state of eucharisteo, of grace, joy and thanksgiving. Thank you for the innumerable blessings you have bestowed and continue to bestow in my life. I will never be able to count all of them, but I thank you for each one just the same. I love you, dear Lord.