With Gratitude

Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.

And so I gather with heart overflowing, instead of basket, gratitude and join it with others that His name be exalted. He is here.

Here in the midst of us.



1,000 gifts, so easily reached.

Some people already in the hundreds, some well past the original 1,000 gifts....and little me, always a little bit late, just starting out at measly one. But everyone must begin in the beginning, ain't so?

I begin my gift list where my day began...in the garden. There in my little Eden, gifts abound.




1 ::A single bloom, turned overnight into a magnificent bunch.

2 :: Excited shouts and exclamations "A SQUASH! A SQUASH!" with chubby fingers pointed. There have been gardens in his life before, but at only three, each new one is like the first. May it be so with me also.



3 :: Promises for the future



4 :: Gathering baskets aplenty. AND

5:: A girl who loves the one that Mama painted best of all. (And wearing them on her head.)



6 :: weekly rain showers to do the watering for me most days



but on those hot, dry days that the rain hides, there is nothing like...

7 :: Watering children. (and plants)



8:: The hose, modern day Jack and Jill. It wasn't long ago I was watering with buckets~I will not forgot how much of a blessing it is to have.

9:: Holding rainbows in your hand



10 :: Zinnia kaleidoscopes to watch unfurl and change each day.



11: Diamonds, free for the taking



He is an intricate designer. He is a provider and sustainer---and He does so with flair.

It is a blessing that we have food to eat, but not the only one. The growing, the watching, the admiring, the beauty, the tasting, the learning, and the patience that come with it are giftsto us as well.

For them, I am thankful.