Offers of Safety

Daily Gratitude Year 14-Day 221: Today, I am grateful for offers of safety. 

What a world we live in! It is a world in desperate need of random acts of kindness and unexpected gentleness. 

"Every creature is trying to survive a world growing louder, hotter, and less gentle. Be the reason one small life feels safe today." 

What if each one of us was intentional about pouring more gentleness and less of the "spirit of corrective-ness" into our days? By the way, that is not a "fruit of the Spirit." To be patient, gentle, and kind is much more Christlike, but it is not always an instant reaction. Unkind works cannot be regathered when we regret them. Too often, they echo, too. 

Offer encouragement and a place to rest for weary souls. It is part of fellowship and it is a part of ministry. 

"Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And not one of them is forgotten before God. Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows." -Luke 12:6-7 

And... do not forget the creatures of the earth. These hot, hot days are hard on them, too. 

Today, I am grateful for offers of safety. 

30 Shades of Blue

Daily Gratitude Year 14-Day 220: Today, I am grateful for 30 shades of blue. 

I found this picture on Pinterest and instantly knew it was my gratitude for the day. Ohmygoodness! It makes my soul sing. Clear turquoise waters are my favorite. Every shade makes me think of a time and a place. Color is as connected to our memories as scents. Clear turquoise is the color of the water at White Bay Beach, Jost Van Dyke, B.V.I. 

Mama always loved "robin egg blue." Perhaps that is why I love it, too.  It was the color of the pants she was wearing the day she met Dad at Aunt Judy's work picnic. Aunt Judy was not dating anyone at the time and took Mama as her plus one. Dad was Aunt Judy's boss's plus one. Life does take plot twists.  

Light is essential for color perception, as it interacts with objects to create the colors we see. Light brings colors to life. 

"But everything exposed by the light becomes visible—and everything that is illuminated becomes a light." 
-Ephesians 5:13

The many shades of blue are full of memories, fun times, stormy skies, and quiet nights glittering with stars. 

What is your favorite? 

Today, I am grateful for 30 shades of blue. 

List Keepers

Daily Gratitude Year 14-Day 219: Today, I am grateful for the list keepers.

There are so many ways to keep lists. What would we do without them? My Sister-in-Love, Jennifer, is a leftie with amazing handwriting. These two things do not always go together. She has a talent for finding fun pens (they have to dry quick when you are a leftie) and cute notepads. She nearly always has at least one list on the kitchen counter. It makes me smile. 

Now, we have many ways to keep lists in this modern world. Google has multiple options. I have a grocery list keeper in my Paprika app that I use when I have a short time to shop and a list that must be completed accurately. 

I love a checklist when learning a new task or doing one that gets done only once a year. I remember learning PowerSchool's administrative tasks. I would always tell our PowerSchool queen, Lauri V., to "send me the path and I will figure it out." It was a list of steps in the order they are clicked, and learning one path always allowed for detours for learning other things. 

It is the end of a long week and there is still a list of things that need to be completed, so this meme made me giggle. There are different kinds of list keepers. I found these two passages today. In the Bible, lists are most often found including genealogy and when there is an order that something needs to be completed. You want to be found in the Book of Life, that keeps the name of those who choose to follow Yahweh (meaning I AM WHO I AM). The list still grows. There is, also, a reference to this book of life in Malachi and I think Daniel 12:1, too. 

"Then those who feared the Lord spoke with one another. The Lord paid attention and heard them, and a book of remembrance was written before him of those who feared the Lord and esteemed his name." -Malachi 3:16

"The one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never blot his name out of the book of life. I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels." -Revelation 3:5

We want to be on that list! Believe, repent, receive, and live. That is a list no one else can complete for us. It is one we do not want to put off. We want to make the list. 

Today, I am grateful for the list keepers.
 

Strong Roots

 

Daily Gratitude Year 14-Day 218: Today, I am grateful for strong roots.

"Be so rooting in God's plan that even disappointment feels like divine protection." -TobyMac, Speaklife

I love this quote from TobyMac. 

Roots matter. They can be shallow or deep. I think of those descriptions often when considering roots. But what about strong? For some plants, long roots are the norm, but they can be easily pulled. For others, the roots can be more shallow, but they hold on tight. Strong roots matter. 

There is power in knowing that disappointment might be hiding divine protection. It reflects being deeply rooted. 

" for you have been my refuge, a strong tower against the enemy." -Psalm 61:3

Today, I am grateful for strong roots.

Change Agents

 

Daily Gratitude Year 14-Day 217: Today, I am grateful for change agents.

Never underestimate the value of a single act of kindness.

Social media and the news have so many on edge and developing short-fused reactions to the world around them. There are times when it all seems overwhelming. It is in the enemy's playbook to whisper discouraging words, hoping we give up the fight for truth, goodness, and love.  

"You may not be able to change the world, but you and show it  your love and kindness." 

Actions speak louder than words. When we do not know what to do, do something kind. When we don't know what to say, a hug just might help. Speak love and hope instead of criticism.

"If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal." -1 Corinthians 13:1

Simple, loving acts of kindness are change agents. Do not give up. 

Today, I am grateful for change agents.

The Return of the Hummingbirds

Daily Gratitude Year 14-Day 216: Today, I am grateful for the return of the hummingbirds.

We have been waiting and it happened. The hummingbirds have returned. Randy was able to capture this picture. I am so glad he did. We have now seen them in both the front and back yards sipping from their favorite flowers in our garden. The zinnias and the salvia provide an evening snack. 

They move so quickly, they are hard to capture. They bounce, dance, and flit from bloom to bloom.

“‘Give thanks to the Lord of hosts, for the Lord is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!’" Jeremiah 33:11

Let heaven and nature sing.

Today, I am grateful for the return of the hummingbirds.

New Learning

Daily Gratitude Year 14-Day 215: Today, I am grateful for new learning.  

Mama Ina Mae always said we should try to "learn something new every day." I heard it so many times growing up that it was more like inhaling and exhaling than an old adage to remember. Natural curiosity can be be fueled and focused. She lived to foster it. 

Mama was a learner and a teacher every day of our childhood and into adulthood. I wish I had written more things down. Some things I did not recognize as learning because they naturally grew in the fertile soil of encouragement. 

Anyone can learn if given opportunity and resources; wisdom comes from God. 

"Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser; teach a righteous man, and he will increase in learning." -Proverbs 9:9

What leaning will we discover today?

Today, I am grateful for new learning.