My calendar is a place of appointments scheduled, lest I forget. Yet it is also a place I note things past, the unscheduled noteworthy moments of life. Thus my calendar is not simply a tool to remember the future, but also one to remember the past…a diary of sorts.
This counting of graces is similar. The discipline of counting coaxes me to watch for the moments as they happen, lest I forget to look and they pass by unnoticed. And in the noticing and counting, this list has become a blessed diary of beautiful remembrances of moments in which God poured out a grace and I whispered back a praise of gratitude.
Counting with gratitude this week {and last}…
569. God, in His great wisdom, seeing fit to knit into my daughter interests and abilities that are very different than my own
570. her love for horses
571. church friends inviting her over to ride and learn about caring for horses
572. her plan to own a Ford F-150 some day…a black one
573. her creativity and drawing abilities
573. her compassion
574. her imagination
575. conversations with her
576. her voice
577. hugs and kisses all the time
578. God seeing fit to knit my son with a personality similar to my own, but alas he’s a man-child, and so, still very different from me
579. him looking so much like his dad and yet I see so much of my own dad in him
580. having to look up to him…he’s nearly two inches taller than me now and still growing
581. him coming up behind me to give me hugs
582. his deepening laugh and voice
583. his strong work ethic and tenacity
584. him using any few degrees of warmth as an excuse to wear shorts
585. my man and I having very different tastes in Christmas decor…him: colorful lights, Shiny Bright ornaments, ’60 vintage with fat silver garland…me: white lights, cranberry garland, a homespun country look
586. having two trees so we both get to enjoy our favorite style
577. decorating for Christmas
578. daughter being so excited to decorate that she started all by herself
579. her being old enough to help with so much of it
580. new lights and ornaments
581. pausing to snuggle and enjoy the moments
582. making plans to host Christmas dinner at our house!
583. cleaning out the big closet
584. growing pile of clothes and trinkets for the Salvation Army
585. peeking into the  kids’ special keepsake totes
586. the memories that rush to forefront of my mind
587. packing and delivering Shoeboxes
588. visiting the “rich” mall and all of us deciding that we’re much more comfortable at our regular mall
589. passing up the expensive gloves at the rich mall and finding better ones at Target for one-third the price
590. playing “slug bug”
591. picking ornaments from the Giving Tree at church
In hope,
Shelli
This post is linked at with the Gratitude Community at Holy Experience as I share my list of One Thousand Gifts.
About Shelli Bourque