“Gratitude...claims the truth that
all of life is a pure gift...the discipline
of gratitude is the explicit effort to acknowledge that all I am and
have is given to me as a gift of love, a gift to be celebrated with
joy.”
Henri J.M. Nouwen
Henri J.M. Nouwen
...a special date with my little one to his new favorite place...
..."Look Mom I'm touching the pistons!"
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...listening to this song "He Is the Love" by the David Crowder Band...and thinking on these lines
This is the place I've known
Here in the arms of one who loves
Deeper than anyone
His are the hands I've grown to trust
And this is the place I've known
Here in the arms of one who loves
Farther than I could run
His are the hands I've grown to trust
And I believe...
His are the hands that spread the sky
And His is the love that gives me life
And His are the broken, the needy ones
And He is the love
...the way he cries "Mama clean it" at 12:30 am when he wakes up in a sticky mess of gum...
...walking out of Starbucks at closing time after hours of rich conversation with a dear friend...
...reading this quote from Ann Voskamp and praying it sinks deep into the crevices of my rule following personality..the time with them is short...praying I lean into Him and trust...
"That maybe being the mama I want to be isn’t so much about being more, but trusting more – trusting
more in the God of Hagar and Ruth and Hannah, the God who sees the
angst, who nourishes the empty places, who hears the unspoken cries — and answers.
That godly parenting isn’t ultimately about rules — but having a relationship with an ultimate God and His children.
That godly parenting isn’t fuelled by my efforts — but by God’s grace.
That if I make God first and am most satisfied in His love — then I’m released to love my children fully and satisfactorily."
...a few days of a quiet house with just the older and younger boy and how we all miss one another...
...receiving pictures/texts from grandparents/aunt having fun with the boys...
...celebrating 15 years of marriage to my best friend...
~the one who understands me better than I understand myself sometimes
~the one who loves and serves us so well
~the one who has taught me so much about the height, depth and width of the love of our Father
...lobster risotto...
...Eli's determination to conquer swimming independently...the way he keeps practicing and experiences success...
...morning runs with a treasured friend...
...no knee pain...
...catching up with friends over dinner on a Friday evening...
...Eli's rendition of "Jingle Bells"...how I videotape him and then we all laugh until we cry...
...my comfy gray Target hoodie...
...walking into the room and finding big brother and little brother looking through a family photo album...
...a quiet morning to create in the kitchen...
...Micaiah's joy in having a fan section at his baseball tournament this past weekend...
...his line drive double and the smile that followed...
...how his number 7 seed team knocked off the number 2 seed...
...reading The Twenty One Balloons with the boys over lunch...
...Eli calling my attention to the dragonfly and butterflies flying by the house...
...Josh recounting sections from Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator...his new audiobook...
...how he leaves carrots out for the bunny that he saw in the yard...
