Joy Hides in Gratitude

I could blog today about all the things that are hard in my world, or aren't quite working out, or are worrying me...but that's really no fun.  I think I'll just share how sweet it is that when my girls hear the teapot whistle, they yell, "I want some!"

And when they set the table for lunch, they stick a swirly paper straw in our waters, because it just makes lunch more fun.

And how I walked around Hancock for an hour, looking for fabric for our "Quilt Day" project...only to come home and find that I already had the perfect stack. 

(We really need a modern little quilt store in town!)

 And how she folds for me with a fairly happy heart.

I woke this morning, brewed the coffee and "perched" in my favorite spot.  There was a fluttering just outside the window and I peeked.  The shrubs were filled with a reminder of how much He values me...

"Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?"  Matthew 6:26

I picked up my little "list", my life's story in freeze frames of thanks, and I wrote the next number...

• Laughing with Andy before sleep.
• How he wakes happy regardless of circumstances.
• 8th grade girls playing dress-up.
• Only 20% chance of rain today.
• My own unkind words that make my heart hurt and long for restoration and forgiveness.
• Forgiveness.
  

 (And I read some wisdom from page 83 of one of my favorite books.)
 

The numbering leaves traces of our days... the counting of blessings unlocks the mystery of joy.  It just might be the "gigantic secret of the Christian" 
(Philippians 4:11)... 

JOY hiding in gratitude.