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?"

A Thousand Gifts

I know that the next item in the blog should be "How Does the Holy Spirit Really Help Us?" It's the next (and probably last) posting in the series that began with "I Was Born This Way." It's in the works, but it's not ready yet. And in the meantime, I just feel I have to act on the wonderful idea I got from Ann Voskamp at A Holy Experience.

To encourage believers to give the Lord the glory due His Name through gratitude, different bloggers are beginning to create what they call the "One Thousand Gift List." Periodically they will add to their lists and share them with readers. A thousand ordinary things to thank the Lord for. It sounds like a wonderful idea to me. So here's my "starter list."

I'm thankful to Almighty God for:

My precious, one-of-a-kind family

Snowcaps in the middle of Summer ...
A reminder that God provides refreshment
in every season of life.

And Fall colors ...
A reminder that, for believers, even death has lost its sting.
If He makes death beautiful for leaves,
how much more will He give beauty to those who,
through physical death,
join Him in eternal life?
(I guess writing about my Heaven-dwelling grandparents made me think of this one.)

So much to be thankful for!

Why not start your own "Thousand Gift List?" (All of my entries on this subject can be found here.)

(All photos except the family portrait were taken by Betsy Markman here in Colorado)