Some of This Week's Blessings
Although this week started out with my continued ailment (some “bug” of some kind that has lasted for weeks now, as well as a bad head cold), I have been hoping to get back to my once-a-week (or so) list of things to be thankful for. And in spite of continuing health maladies, it has turned out to be a week of continued blessings.
Added to my hope of listing these blessings, I have been having a song in my mind, and have been encouraged by this song to make more of an effort. The song is by Gloria and Bill Gaither, and it’s titled “I Could Never, Never Outlove the Lord.
There’ve been times when living and loving brought pain,
And I promised I would never let it happen again,
But I found out that loving was well worth the risk,
And that even in losing you win.
(Chorus)
I’m gonna live the way He wants me to live,
I’m gonna give until there’s just no more to give;
I’m gonna love, love till there’s just no more love –
I could never, never outlove the Lord.
So here’s my list for this week:
1. Master Gardener’s Certification – For the last several months I’ve been attending once-a-week three-hour classes in a neighboring city as a master-gardener-in-training. In Mid-December the three-hour final exam was given. On New Year’s Eve, I got the word that I had passed the exam, and I’m very thankful for that. I learned a lot and hope to put some of what I learned into practice, starting this Spring. I love flowers, and fresh vegetables . . .
2. On Sunday night, I received an e-mail asking if I would write an article for a nationally known periodical, and it needed to be in their hands by today. Now, I’m not a fast writer usually (which was a mere six days), but because the editor of this periodical has been doing a stellar job, and I wanted to help if I could, I agreed to give it a try. He assigned a particular subject, and I set out on this task on Monday. Since my plans to go on a private spiritual retreat starting Monday had to be cancelled (mostly because of weather), I was able to concentrate and pray (which was what I had hoped to do on the retreat anyway—just on other subjects), and (this still amazes me to think of), I had it to him before Tuesday. That gave us plenty of time for editing and polishing, and he is a particularly gifted editor and enhanced the article considerably. I’m very thankful that I was able to do this, and was encouraged myself in the writing of this article while I was meditating on this subject.
3. While I was planning for my retreat, I had gathered some reading material to contemplate on my retreat. One of the things I had planned to take with me was a copy of Philip Yancey’s book Grace Notes. This is a book of selections for each day of the week, taken from Philip’s many previously written books, and articles. Philip Yancey is a favorite writer of mine and I went ahead and started the daily readings. This has been a special blessing to me this week and I’m very thankful for these readings. It has helped me stay focused.
4. We received in the mail today a booklet from an Elder and friend, who had written about his experiences in the Philippines. Included in the booklet were some very nice things that he wrote about my dh Travis. I’m especially glad to have this booklet to send to my children as a reminder of their dad’s character and work.
5. Also in today’s mail was the Burpee Catalog for the next growing season. I’ve been enjoying going through this catalog and marking things I’m interested in planting. Although we’re “snowed in” here today, the beautiful pictures and interesting descriptions of plants are making me long for the renewal of Spring. And turning my mind also to the renewal that we can always look forward to in this journey of faith we’re on. And on that note, I’m also thankful that today, for the first time in a l-o-n-g time, I’m actually feeling like doing something. (And my poor neglected house—due to my illness incapacitation for quite awhile—will benefit greatly if I continue to feel this well). So I’m thankful for actually feeling like getting to some of the chores staring me in the face.
Prayers to all for a blessed and profitable New Year in 2010!
Although this week started out with my continued ailment (some “bug” of some kind that has lasted for weeks now, as well as a bad head cold), I have been hoping to get back to my once-a-week (or so) list of things to be thankful for. And in spite of continuing health maladies, it has turned out to be a week of continued blessings.
Added to my hope of listing these blessings, I have been having a song in my mind, and have been encouraged by this song to make more of an effort. The song is by Gloria and Bill Gaither, and it’s titled “I Could Never, Never Outlove the Lord.
There’ve been times when living and loving brought pain,
And I promised I would never let it happen again,
But I found out that loving was well worth the risk,
And that even in losing you win.
(Chorus)
I’m gonna live the way He wants me to live,
I’m gonna give until there’s just no more to give;
I’m gonna love, love till there’s just no more love –
I could never, never outlove the Lord.
So here’s my list for this week:
1. Master Gardener’s Certification – For the last several months I’ve been attending once-a-week three-hour classes in a neighboring city as a master-gardener-in-training. In Mid-December the three-hour final exam was given. On New Year’s Eve, I got the word that I had passed the exam, and I’m very thankful for that. I learned a lot and hope to put some of what I learned into practice, starting this Spring. I love flowers, and fresh vegetables . . .
2. On Sunday night, I received an e-mail asking if I would write an article for a nationally known periodical, and it needed to be in their hands by today. Now, I’m not a fast writer usually (which was a mere six days), but because the editor of this periodical has been doing a stellar job, and I wanted to help if I could, I agreed to give it a try. He assigned a particular subject, and I set out on this task on Monday. Since my plans to go on a private spiritual retreat starting Monday had to be cancelled (mostly because of weather), I was able to concentrate and pray (which was what I had hoped to do on the retreat anyway—just on other subjects), and (this still amazes me to think of), I had it to him before Tuesday. That gave us plenty of time for editing and polishing, and he is a particularly gifted editor and enhanced the article considerably. I’m very thankful that I was able to do this, and was encouraged myself in the writing of this article while I was meditating on this subject.
3. While I was planning for my retreat, I had gathered some reading material to contemplate on my retreat. One of the things I had planned to take with me was a copy of Philip Yancey’s book Grace Notes. This is a book of selections for each day of the week, taken from Philip’s many previously written books, and articles. Philip Yancey is a favorite writer of mine and I went ahead and started the daily readings. This has been a special blessing to me this week and I’m very thankful for these readings. It has helped me stay focused.
4. We received in the mail today a booklet from an Elder and friend, who had written about his experiences in the Philippines. Included in the booklet were some very nice things that he wrote about my dh Travis. I’m especially glad to have this booklet to send to my children as a reminder of their dad’s character and work.
5. Also in today’s mail was the Burpee Catalog for the next growing season. I’ve been enjoying going through this catalog and marking things I’m interested in planting. Although we’re “snowed in” here today, the beautiful pictures and interesting descriptions of plants are making me long for the renewal of Spring. And turning my mind also to the renewal that we can always look forward to in this journey of faith we’re on. And on that note, I’m also thankful that today, for the first time in a l-o-n-g time, I’m actually feeling like doing something. (And my poor neglected house—due to my illness incapacitation for quite awhile—will benefit greatly if I continue to feel this well). So I’m thankful for actually feeling like getting to some of the chores staring me in the face.
Prayers to all for a blessed and profitable New Year in 2010!
1 Comments:
Oh, I love these types of posts!
Congratulations again on your Master Gardener certificate. Also, I look forward to reading your article.
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