December Thanks

Something that has become a habit now, started about a year ago - a weekly sharing of thanks on this blog. And looking back over last week where November turned into December, these are some of the things that were special gifts for me ~

This beautiful quote from Jesus Calling:

" ... needing Me is the key to knowing Me intimately,

which is the gift above all gifts."

And this quote from the blog "A Holy Experience":

"Born in Bethlehem, the town with the name that means house of bread, the baby came to feed all the lost ones. And we only have what we giveaway and all our hungry places are only fed by how we make our lives bread." 

Connections with grown children - texting, phone calls, emails, visits (I never tire of hearing from them.)

Encouragement to praise and thank Him continually, and these words:

"I will praise You, Lord, with all my heart;

I will tell of all the marvelous things You have done.

I will be filled with joy because of You.

I will sing praises to Your Name, O Most High."  

(Psalm 91:1-2)

The excitement of entering the month of December - decorating the house, changing the photo on this blog header - love this season!

For the Peace that comes from God when we quiet ourselves before Him, listening. Especially needed when we get stressed with all the busyness of life.

For a refocusing on the urgency to pray - for family members, for others.

How times of being tight financially help us be thrifty in creative ways - instead of going out to purchase a new Christmas tree (as most all of the lights on our tree have stopped working) - we took the time (several hours for each of us!) to clip all the lights off our tree, so we can keep on using it with lights that we string ourselves. Simple idea that took some time - but a way to keep using our beautifully shaped artificial tree even longer.

Remembering of some of our family traditions, and seeing them passed on.

The beautiful first snowfall!

Enjoying the warmth of our wood stove on a cold, snowy day, together with my sweet husband.

Daughters shopping for Christmas gifts together - and time spent with three of our grandkids while their moms were shopping.

Thankful for the love of family ~ and praying for my cousins as they lost their mother this weekend. So sorry to hear of the loss of my Aunt Lil, and thankful that she is with Jesus now.


(One Thousand Gifts #791-803)

Linking up at Multitudes on Mondays,