I will get there

3 gifts found in church:
~ Love of our family.
~ Corporate worship.
~ Growth of the church.

A gift white: The pages of my journal.

3 gifts in today's work:
~Toddler chatter.
~Joy in serving (both the families at church and my husband).
~ Love given back as it was given.

3 gifts blue:
~Fresh blueberries.
~Fun blue nail polish.
~Clear blue sky.

A gift whispered:
My mother in law whispering she loved me in my ear.

A gift at 8 am:
Sleeping in snuggled next to my husband on a holiday-I know it's one of the last times!

A gift at 12 pm: A reminder that God is a faithful Father.

A gift at 8 pm: Time to snuggle up with a book.

3 gifts blue:
~ Fresh blueberries.
~Fun blue nail polish.
~Clear blue skies.

3 gifts you gave today:
~Tidying our house (serving our family).
~Forgiveness.
~Priority to time with God. It is such a gift to not have to rush off!

3 gifts orange:
~Comfortable pajama pants.
~A lost earring found.
~Cheese in my scrambled eggs.

3 gifts funny:
~Inside joke with my husband that kept me in stitches all day.
~Listening to my husband and friends play a game where they had to answer a question with a question in the car.
~Seeing my friend's little girl as the only one making a silly face in a family photo (what a goof!).

3 gifts from today's conversations:
~Love from my husband.
~Joy in silliness.
~Encouragement in seeing God at work all over.

3 gifts found in Christ:
~ Encouragement that He is changing me over time.
~Grace
~Truth that never changes.

A gift of peace:
Peace knowing God has our whole lives planned out and we can rest in Him.

A gift of hope:
Knowing God will lead us (our church family) to the right man to lead our youth and young adults.

A gift of love:
Reading in Matthew and realizing how much God loves children and then realizing how much He already loves my little girl.

3 gifts ugly-beautiful:
~A hard situation properly dealt with and God's abounding grace.
~Eight months of my husbands illnesses. It feels never ending.  But, we know God has a purpose and a plan in it. Learning to trust Him more and more.
~An unworkable piece of jewelry. My idea didn't work, but I started something new instead that is great!

More than you'll ever know

Five years ago the man and I spent our first Valentines day separated by more than a thousand miles. I saw him a couple of days later and he proposed!

Five amazing years later, and I now know that he believes Valentines is a silly made up holiday, made for the sake of consumerism.

That year however I was giddy and made him a special gift he still treasures. Funny thing is, something I now find a little corny is what prompted him to encourage me to get back to blogging (among other things).

I wrote him a "fairy tale" about a princess (me) and her prince, scrap book style with our few pictures in it.
When I was young I used to think I'd be a writer, but that's fallen by the way side over the years.
Andrew told me that this gift is part of what made him fall in love with me. Go figure.
Today as I was praying and thanking the Lord for a man who loves me so much.
He loves me where I am, encourages me where I need to grow and nurtures things in me I don't even realize are there sometimes. I am also so grateful for a husband who loves the Lord so much and who's desire is to serve Him and His people all his life.

During my quiet time today I was also thinking about God's huge love for me and how He has shown me /us that over the years.
In so many little and huge ways He has taken care of us and redirected our plans. What a loving thing to do!
The man put this quote on my facebook wall not to long ago, and it really spoke to me:
"You're more sinful than you ever dared believe; you're more loved than you ever dared hope."
Tim Keller

^"For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 8:38-39

God's love for us isn't based on how we live or what good things we have done. It's based on Christ and the cross. I can courageously wake up each morning and approach the throne of grace boldly knowing that He sees me in Christ, that I cannot have a righteousness of my own, but that His love for me will never change. He doesn't love me out of principle (because He has to) , but because He truly loves me!
Bask in His love today!