What's the Password?

Psalm 100 (MSG) says...

On your feet now—applaud God! Bring a gift of laughter,

sing yourselves into his presence.

Know this: God is God, and God, God.

He made us; we didn't make him.

We're his people, his well-tended sheep.

Enter with the password: "Thank you!"

Make yourselves at home, talking praise.

Thank him. Worship him.

For God is sheer beauty,

all-generous in love,

loyal always and ever.

Did you catch the words....."Enter with the password: Thank you!"?

The reason I ask is because....if saying thanks to God is the password to BEING in his presence, then I need to BE offering thanks continually.

Here's my visual...

I'm on one side of a door that's closed. God is on the other. He gives me the choice to knock, and when I do, he says, "What's the password?"

So, I'm on a mission of cultivating a heart of gratitude because honestly.....I DESPERATELY NEED to be on the other side of that door with him!!!

Some of these go way back (from my journal), but I'm playing catch up.

134. Forts -- made of sticks, blankets, pillows, or whatever their creative little minds think of

135. Airplanes that turn a 7 hour road trip into 1 hour of relaxation
136. A good night's sleep after several restless nights
137. Old Maid and Go Fish
138. Playing hide and go seek with my kids
139. A front-seat buddy...Cameron's finally big enough to ride shotgun
140. A beach without seaweed
141. The sound of waves crashing on the shore
142. Sand...white and fluffy
143. Natural exfoliation that occurs while walking in that sand
144. Walking in the rain without an umbrella
145. Make-up-free days
146. Boogie boards and awesome waves
147. Precious time all 14 of us got to spend with my mother-in-law 2 months before she died
148. God CAN move mountains!
149. The treat it is to be able to cook and eat the fish my boys caught in the morning
150. As I lay on the beach letting the sand sift through my hands, God sweetly reminds me that His thoughts concerning me are precious...and that if I were to count them they would outnumber the grains of sand (Psalm 139:17-18)
151. The privilege of serving Him
152. Seeing the blessings and benefits of waiting for His time and His place -- He recently answered a prayer I've been praying about for 7 years
153. Sleeping late and waking up to a little angel face (HG) right next to me

154. God is a RELENTLESS pursuer

155. Walking into an air-conditioned home when it's 95 degrees and 80% humidity

156. The hum of the washer and dryer

157. Reflections of disgrace that cause me to fall on my face before God

158. Simple. Daily. Bread and Strength.

159. Birds at my feeder

160. Encouragement from a friend -- when you didn't even know you needed it

161. Friends that are one-step ahead of you in the adventure of parenting

162. Friends that are one-step ahead of you in the adventure of homeschooling

163. Delightful detour through a neighbor's sprinkler on my run this morning

164. A puzzle completed...with the help of friends

165. Whipped cream on coffee

166. A table that's set pretty

167. Hearing "this is really good, mommy" at the dinner table

168. Precious little fat toes.....(HG age 6)

169. Beauty....that comes from ashes

170. Puppy love

171. She chose to cut the Barbie's hair and not her own

172. Hand-made cards

173. Love notes she (HG) leaves me "just because"