Saturday, June 23, 2012

Attitude of Gratitude take 2

Obviously I need to work on consistency, but here are some more things for which I give thanks.

11) a super amazing trustee chair
12) finally having the church parsonage rented
13) awesome youth who are willing to help from taking out trash to leading at VBS
14) a husband who is incredibly gifted and always willing to help me
15) fresh fruit from the trees
16) summer squash
17) home-canned fruit
18) homemade jam
19) friends moving closer
20) opportunities to help
21) a nice long nap
22) my family
23) our dogs
24) living in a city with lots of options
25) strength of the faithful in the church
26) a new woman in church who has years of experience in ministry and was more than ready to be a prayer partner
27) new visitors in worship
28) competent and helpful laity
29) the opportunity to overhaul the church nursery
30) a brother in law who is willing to be our on-call doctor

Sunday, June 3, 2012

Do not worry

The other day, I met a friend for coffee.  We were sitting outside at Starbucks and she noticed a woman behind me and said she wanted to talk to her. I asked why and she said, "I don't know, she just looks sad. I want to hear her story."  I encouraged her to go, but she refused.  We talked further and a few more times throughout our conversation, she looked at the woman and repeated her curiosity about her situation.  I continued to tell her she should talk to her if she felt compelled to do so. Again and again, she declined.  

As we were saying our goodbyes, I went inside to wash Ruth's hands.  As we headed toward the door, we saw the woman sitting inside us and she commented on how beautiful Ruth is.  I thanked her and had Ruth wave hello.  Then we played a few games to get Ruth to smile and carried on with pleasantries.  The woman again commented on how pretty Ruth is and then said a blessing for health and happiness over her.  She blessed me as well and I returned the blessing.  

Outside I said goodbye to my friend and went on my way.  Later that afternoon I received a voicemail from my friend saying she had gone inside and talked to the woman and she shared the details of their conversation, part of which was that the woman had told her to tell me, "Tell her everything will be ok. Do not worry."  My friend explained she had told the woman nothing about me, only that the woman had shared this divine wisdom.  

I was truly blessed.  Things haven't been awful lately, but they haven't been wonderful either and they have definitely been stress filled.  And I needed to hear those words.

I have only had a couple of prophecies told to me over the years.  The first was in Cuba in 2003, the second 2.5 years ago about R and me, and now this one.  This woman was a gift to me.  And I can't help but think that my friend's compulsion to talk to her wasn't for the woman's sake, but for mine. 

Saturday, June 2, 2012

Gratitude list


A friend of mine from seminary has been working on a gratitude list for months now.  I read it and appreciate all the things for which she gives thanks.

Often, in recent weeks (months) I’ve found myself more full of complaints than praises and instead of continuing to wait for the perfect series of events to satisfy my frustrations, I think it’s time I start focusing on the things for which I am grateful.  I’d like to pledge to do 10 or 20 per week, but since I have a hard time getting on here to write anything, that may be a but lofty, but I’ll do what I can….
  1.      A daughter who loves to laugh
  2.    A dog that cuddles when I’m upset
  3.   A husband who is amazing at getting the house clean in record time 
  4.    The gift of being able to nurse my daughter without physical struggles
  5. Church office volunteers who love my daughter and don’t mind when she interrupts their work
  6.  The flexibility to try new things in worship 
  7.   Homemade spaghetti sauce
  8.     Awesome homemade sticky buns
  9.  JW who called for coffee just to catch up
  10. A nice long afternoon walk