Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Honking, Leaf Jumping, and Books in Green Ink


A while back I started what's called "A Thousand Gift List." I got the idea (and the graphic) from Ann Voskamp at Holy Experience. This will be my second installment, an entry devoted to thanking God for His simple (yet profound) gifts.

You know...I'm tempted to apologize here, or put in some sort of disclaimer that says, "I normally write much deeper posts than this. Please don't be disappointed in getting a 'lightweight' entry today. I promise the next one will be meaty."

That's so wrong.

Yes, "deep and meaty" are good, and God has designed me to think and write that way. But simple thanksgiving is good too, very good, and I should never relegate it to second place.

Lord, please teach me how much You love gratitude!


I Am Thankful to Almighty God for:


Geese who honk but never get in traffic jams
(though I've known them to cause a few...)
Something about their winged conversations
brings a smile to my heart every time.


and I am thankful for:

A blanket of Fall leaves,
a backyard to play in, manpower (and boy power)
to make a big multicolored pile...



and the joy of jumping.


And I am thankful for:

The fertile imagination of a ten-year-old autistic son,
who uses his markers to share his world with us.
A son whose initials are PJM,
whose favorite color is green,
and who loves cell phones.

The other day I found a three-page "book" made of notebook paper taped together.
The 1st page said,


"SUPERPJM 2 And The Cell Phone."




Page 2 said, "Once upon a time there was a cell phone on the ground"




And page 3 concludes our story with this scintillating climax:


SUPERPJM saw it and said heres my cell phone



You just gotta love that kid.


More than that, you've just gotta love the God who gave all of these wonderful gifts to us.



Why not start your own, "Thousand Gift List?"

5 comments:

Yvonne Blake said...

Oh Betsy! Never apologize for being grateful. This post is filled with joy and love.

I tried to get on Ann Voscamp's blog, but it must have extra graphics or music, because my dial-up wasn't letting me open it completely.

I'd like to use your graphic and start my own "Thousand Gifts List". That's a great idea! Thank you for sharing.

Vonnie

LauraLee Shaw said...

I love this, Betsy! You should think about submitting it to Julie at the Surrendered Scribe if she still has spots left for her thankful posts in November. She is looking for guest bloggers on thankfulness.

Love this!

Julie Arduini said...

Betsy, this is exactly what I'm looking for with NaBloPoMo in November at the Scribe. I have ONE slot left and guess what, you are it, if you're interested. I'd be happy to link this post to my blog on November 25. If you want, you can send me a bio and optional picture and I'll use that as well. jarduini(at)faithwriters(dot)net.

Thanks Betsy and Laura!

elaine @ peace for the journey said...

Far from fluff my friend, and believe me, I know some fluff when I read it! This is a spectacular praise of the heart. It's meaty and it's real.

As a writer, it's easy to get caught up in our words. Sometimes a picture speaks a word more sacred than a 1000 perfectly scribed.

love it...~elaine

Laury said...

Love this! What an awesome son you have!

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