My Very Specific Nails

"Slapping a sloppy brush of thanksgiving over everything in my life leaves me deeply thankful for very few things in my life....life-changing gratitude does not fasten to a life unless nailed through with one very specific nail at a time." --Ann Voskamp

174. Watching three tiny birds leave the nest for the the first time

175. Camp Grammy

176. Mimosa trees

177. Absence makes the heart grow fonder

178. Rustling leaves in the trees

179. Sunrays like spotlights piercing through the clouds

180. A summer symphony -- lawnmowers humming and cicadas singing

181. Magnolia blossoms

182. A perfect heavenly father -- who loves to visit with me while I sit in his presence

183. Fluffy white clouds

184. The silver lining

185. Camping trips

186. Family circle time

187. Thunderstorms at midnight -- and getting to watch them from the porch

188. Shooting stars

189. Cousins

190. Second cousins

191. Growing heart rock collection

192. A game of charades

193. Ice-cold springs bubbling up on your feet

194. Rope-swings

195. Girl-talk

196. Looking up at millions of stars & knowing He knows each one by name

197. Overcoming fear

198. Mountains to climb

199. The view from the top

200. Bein' "the cream" in the the middle of two generations -- these are the best days

201. Shiney-hiney squeezes

202. Yoooooooou-whooooooooo's from another room

203. Warnings instead of tickets

204. Cruise control

205. The Texas flag -- there's just somethin' about her

206. Sleeping late

207. The way she fits "just so" when she's snuggled up in my lap

208. The way we breathe together when she's fallen asleep in my arms

209. Dimples on hands

210. Fresh-smelling clothes just out of the dryer

211. New recipes that are yummy (I've made my share that aren't quite so)

212. Revealing light

213. Barbara Brown, Stephanie Edwards, Amanda Skinkle, Jerry Welch, Gene Fortenberry, Tami Ham...for all that you did to help Cameron have an AMAZING time away with the Lord at church camp

214. Camp counselors

215. Cha-cha slide

216. Walking barefoot on fields of soft, green grass

217. Rocking chairs on porches

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"

Giving Thanks to My Father Today For....

#110

I've trained both my kids to just come up to me (when they need it) and say, "Mama, I need some lovin'.'"

#111

My baby (6 years old) fell asleep in my arms on the couch and we napped together

#112

Online Bible Tools -- Bible Gateway, Strong's Concordance, etc.

#113

Time spent with my mentor, and the beautiful godly woman that she is

#114

Automatic coffee pots with timers

#115

A pastor who tells it like it is

#116

A "Jonathan Sperry" for my son -- Mr. Jim Ramsey

#117

Getting to hold a newborn baby -- the smell, the feel -- and then getting to give him back to his mama ;)

#118

A girly day with my mama and my daughter

#119

A heart-to-heart talk with my mama

#120

The smell of autumn -- pine needles, apple strudel, pumpkin pie

#121

Pandora Radio (Chris Botti while I write tonight)

#122

A man (MY man!) who's not too proud to....

#123

Women gathered around my kitchen table....talking, laughing, sharing

#124

Climbing into my bed when it has fresh, clean sheets

#125

Finding a new favorite perfume -- Love and Luck by Ed Hardy

#126

Good friends for my children

#127

Miss Nan (my Life Group/Sunday school teacher) -- her wisdom and forthrightness

#128

Carpools

#129

Little House on the Prairie DVDs

#130

Waking up to my husband kneeling on my side of the bed with his hands covering me in prayer

#131

Leftovers

#132

Scratching an item off my "to do" list

#133

Nothing and no one can thwart what the Lord Almighty has planned (Job 42:2)

More Gifts

Wow! This 1000 Gifts thing is a little more difficult than I thought it would be. The cool thing is that it's helping me to appreciate the little things in life. Things like...

49. Coffee and quiet time on my couch
50. Summer church camp for kids and the amazing people who pour God's love into our children's hearts
51. All God's creatures and critters — especially the ones who love you back


52. My dad
53. Libraries
54. Old friends (old, as in known for a long time...I don't have any old friends!)
55. New friends
56. Happy Hour — at Sonic
57. Sonic ice
58. Little helping hands


59. The little fingerprints on my glass-top kitchen table...because one day they'll be gone and I'll wish they were there
60. Hand-me-downs
61. Getting to give hand-me-downs
62. Lightning bugs
63. Watermelon
64. Ice Cream
65. Home-grown tomatoes
66. God's grace and the fact that I can rely on him to "cover me"
67. Tea parties
68. Pedicures and pretty toes
69. Playdates at the park with friends
70. God's Word says that "Gray hair is a crown of splendor"...because I'm getting a lot of it
71. A scale that say's I'm "thinner" (found this at the hotel we recently stayed at in Chicago). Gotta love it — especially because I ate enough of that deep dish pizza to gain 10 pounds!


72. The men and women who fight for our freedom
73. Fireworks
74. Sand and water...and the hours of entertainment it can provide


75. The power of prayer
76. Prayer-warrior friends
77. Crossing off something that's on my "to do" list
78. Coupons
79. My friends who teach me how to use coupons
80. A good night's sleep
81. My health (which I'm learning not to take for granted)
82. Laughter...especially from a child
83. When God gives me glimpses and I start to see the "pieces of the puzzle" coming together
84. Carousel rides


85. The way the Lord sends just the right person, just the right Word, at just the right time to encourage me
86. The fact that our toil is not in vain in the Lord (1 Corin 15:57-58). The Message puts it like this..."Throw yourselves into the work of the Master, confident that NOTHING you do for him is a waste of time or effort." If the mountain of dirty clothes never goes away or the floor never stays clean, it is o-k-a-y!
87. The father my husband is to our children




88. Brownies (yep, just enjoyed one) :)
89. A swim instructor who taught my child to swim in 10 minutes
90. Bug spray
91. Sunscreen (and the fact that I've finally come to my senses about using it). Those baby oil days are long gone!
92. The freedom from a schedule (but just you wait...come September, I'll be thankin' the Lord for a schedule)
93. Cell phones — what did we ever do without them?
94. Blue skies and the feel of the sun shining on my face
95. Strongholds that no longer have power — "The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds." 2 Corinthians 10:4
96. As I walk past the bathroom someone just used...boy am I thankful for air freshener/neutralizer :)
97. Microwaves that defrost in minutes — oh, so handy when I wait to the last minute to decide what to make for dinner
98. A good movie the whole family can enjoy
99. Opening my mailbox to find a real letter/card from a friend (rare in the days of email)
100. The way Facebook helps me stay in contact with friends
101. Financial Peace University (Dave Ramsey) and how it has impacted my family's life
102. Good conversation over date night
103. Saturday morning breakfasts — pancakes and sausage — my family's favorite
104. Researchers who develop new treatments for cancer (and other diseases)
105. Vacation
106. Exploring new cities
107. The incredible way that the Lord knit my Cameron together and is molding his heart. The other day we went to Gattitown to celebrate Hannah Grace's birthday. Cameron won almost 600 tickets (more than he'd ever earned in one day) and was so excited to be able to turn them in for a prize. We're talking...you can get a prize off the wall, not the ones in the piddly little bins. Without being told, he gave them ALL to Hannah Grace. Just gave them away...blows my mind! All glory to God!
108. "Mom and me" days with my mommy
109. The fun we have as a family on the Sea Doo

"Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights..."
James 1:17

How I thank him for being SUCH a giver! And for giving me the most precious gift of all!

"He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us ALL—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?
Romans 8:32

My 1000 Gifts

One of the things God continually reminds me of is the importance of thankfulness. Oftentimes he does so through my children. They'll be complaining about something and I'll say, "You need to be thankful for what you have." As those words come out of my mouth they pierce my heart and I know it's because the Lord is saying the same thing to me.

When we forget what God does for us we begin to grumble (my Life Group teacher Miss Nan calls it "murmmering"), and I believe grumbling/murmmering will lead to flat-out rebellion. Psalm 106 painted this picture for me clearly. I know that I HAVE to think of the blessings...for my flesh and my heart WILL/DO fail .

Phillippians 4:6-7 says, "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." When we're thankful we're at peace. And who couldn't use a little more peace? :)

So...a few months ago I decided to join the Gratitude Community . Here are a few of the things I'm grateful for:
1. The blood of Jesus
2. My Bible — my love letter from my Lord
3. The stack of love letters I have from my hubby — first one dating back to 1990
4. Spring thunderstorms
5. Walks/bike rides with my kiddos
6. The beautiful "sanctuary" God has give me to enjoy as I look out my window
7. Quietness and stillness
8. The birds that sing
9. Music that speaks of God's greatness
10. "Do-overs" with Jesus
11. The Holy Spirit and how he works in our hearts
12. My baby girl asked Jesus into her heart yesterday (4-13-09)
13. My Cameron asked Jesus into his heart nine years ago
14. Our little family of four will all be in heaven one day :)
15. Freedom from being conformed to the pattern of this world
16. That God pushes me outside my comfort zone
17. Friends that are REAL
18. The peace that comes from knowing I'm not in control...God is!
19. Wisdom that comes from the Lord...how he makes this "air-head" (yes, I am sometimes known as one by those that know and love me) a teacher
20. The smell of beautiful flowers — gardenia, roses, jasmine — along my walking path
21. The times I do stop and smell the roses
22. The Lord has kept our family safe from harm and danger
23. No matter what's going on in the world I can trust the Lord is my shelter, shade, refuge and hiding place
24. God IS sovereign — above ALL — El Elyon
25. Nothing and no one can thwart what the Lord Almighty has purposed (Isaiah 14:27)
26. We (Hannah Grace and I) have been praying for a 5-year-old little girl to come to our homeschool group and she came
27. My husband is my best friend
28. Summertime
29. A mom who taught me about Jesus
30. A mom who taught me how to be a good mommy
31. A mom who "babysits" for free ;)
32. Parents who become amazing grandparents
33. Good books
34. When you "trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding he WILL direct your path" (Proverbs 3:5-6)
35. A wonderful homeschool group
36. Progress seen
37. Friendships that don't change across the miles or through the years — the kind where you pick up right where you left off
38. Aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces and nephews
39. Christian women who challenge me to be a godly wife and mom
40. When I ask the Lord to take away the desire for ungodly things...he does (why should this surprise me?) :)
41. The power of the Word — to convict and to heal
42. Snuggle time
43. The promise and hope of heaven
44. My husband — the incredible, godly man that he is
45. Memories re-lived through photographs
46. The courage that the Lord gives me
47. Freedom to worship
48. Sunday afternoon naps

More to come later!