Multitudes on Mondays ~ April 25

Living in Houston is a bit different. While many parts of the country are finally starting to feel like spring is here to stay, for us it's almost gone! We are typically hitting temperatures in the mid to high 80's with 70%-80% humidity. That means that we've have many days already where it feels like 90 degrees, and we are not even out of April.

Today as I add to my (very irregular) counting of 1000 blessings I am reflecting back on some of the beauty we've enjoyed this spring.

51. Hummingbirds buzzing about at our ranch this spring...truly amazing! I have never seen them in such a frenzy. The boys and I sat in awe watching on this particular evening. I grabbed my phone and took this short video. I was barely 12 inches away from them and they didn't even seem to notice!

52. Monarch in our butterfly garden almost ready to emerge. The boys never tire of watching each chrysalis as it changes from its gorgeous jade green to translucent to new butterfly!

53. Those first moments of a monarch's life still clinging to her former home.

54. The reminder that butterflies are to me of this precious truth:

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. ~2 Corinthians 5:17

55. And although the transformation of this butterfly is complete, my transformation is very much still in progress. And the progress is oh so agonizingly slow. And painful often. I wonder if it hurts the butterfly as she struggles to emerge from her chrysalis. Because sometimes for me this process seems just.so.hard. But I cling to the promise found in Scripture,

And I am sure of this, that He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.~ Philippians 1:6

56. A black swallowtail caterpillar on a fennel plant. My absolute favorite caterpillar!

57. This lesser vine sphinx moth the boys spotted on the window at church at our Saturday night Easter service.

58. I am so incredibly thankful that my boys are learning not only to spot nature but are beginning to delight in it. There is a sweet connection between loving our Creator and truly appreciating His creation.

I love to think of nature as an unlimited broadcasting station, through which God speaks to us every hour, if we will only tune in. ~George Washington Carver

59. The delight on little and not so little boys' faces at seeing one of their favorite places on earth for the first time in 2011, our swimming and fishing place we call Blue Hole. For bullfrogs croaking underground while we fished and the tiny baby perch the boys caught on that gorgeous spring day just a few weeks ago.

60. For all the beauty we get to experience each time we leave the burbs and head to the Hill Country. What a privilege and joy!

* Sorry about the quality of some of the pictures. I need a class to learn how to take better nature photos on my phone! :)

Multitudes on Mondays ~ March 14

On this journey of gratitude I am learning (or at least trying to learn) to be thankful in all things. And to look for and see grace in all - the big and small. Some weeks it is in the simple day to day blessings I am learning to revel and other times it is in a place where God absolutely wows me with his love, his majesty and his creation. This was one of those weeks.

We were flown to Colorado, guests of a ministry whose goal is to refresh, encourage and bless pastors in the journey. They take the mission of their ministry from 1 Kings 19:7 where the angel says to Elijah, "Arise and eat for the journey is too great for you." Their hope is to strengthen pastors because they say the journey is too much at times. They hosted us in their condo on the mountain, fitted us with ski gear, gave us three day ski passes, took us to eat out at amazing restaurants for dinner and prayed with us each evening. This was our second time to be blessed by this wonderful ministry.

So grateful for...

41. Breathtaking views at every turn. Absolutely stunning.

42. Three days of skiing with incredible snow, one of the deepest snow bases in history!

43. No injuries!

44. Precious friends with whom we shared our trip. We love these guys to death and are so blessed we get to do life with them each and every day.

45. Our wonderful hosts, Allen and Doris, (center) who had the vision for this ministry years ago and have been faithful to bless so many pastors and their wives each and every year. Their generosity is overwhelming. Allen told us that one of their goals was to show us just a bit of how deeply God loves us. Mission accomplished!

46. More breathtaking vistas, and this one with the love of my life in it! Very thankful he is my best friend and Daddy to my three boys. It was so fun to be away from the daily grind and just enjoy each other.

47. The prayer that happened each night as we gathering around this bench for a time that was sweet and refreshing and truly soul nurturing.

48. Amazing food. Yum! Homemade mushroom ravioli with a cognac demi-glace, trout with eggplant ratatouille and polenta, a huge plate of amazing barbecue and one of these each afternoon after skiing - a toffee covered caramel apple from Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory. Must.learn.to.make.these.soon.....

49. My sweet mom who took time off work to come down and love on the boys so we could go away. They went to parks, saw a movie, got a special new toy, had special lunches out and best of all got precious time with their Grandma! They love her so very much.

50. A safe trip that brought us back home...

Mid pleasures and palaces though we may roam,

Be it ever so humble, there's no place like home;

~John Howard Payne

Multitudes on Mondays ~ February 7

A little late today but continuing the list of His good gifts:

31. The whole family tagging along with dh to Austin this weekend on a work-related trip.

32. Perfect timing of the church who asked dh to speak just before we were to start our unit on Texas history! :)

33. The break in the icy road conditions on Friday that allowed us barely enough time to get out of Houston after we thought we wouldn't be going on this much anticipated trip after all.

34. Sharing family legacies...being able to show my boys the 180 year old house my mother-in-law grew up in east Austin, now owned by the American Botanical Council. What a blessing to see where she and her siblings (whom my boys adore) made all their childhood memories!

35. Fun times learning about our state's history at the Texas Capitol.

36. Walking around the campus where I attended college. Such sweet memories. I was overwhelmed with emotion as I shared remembrances with the boys.

37. A visit to the Texas History Museum. I know nothing of the specific history of other states save where it intersects with American history, but Texas truly has a remarkable story. This museum really was an incredible opportunity to experience it.

38. The best part of the LBJ Presidential Library for my boys was rolling down the steep hill out front afterwards! I got each of them to stop just long enough for me to snap a quick pic...and then back to rolling. ;)

39. For little random details I always notice and fall in love with...like old ornate doorknobs from 1888 in the House and Senate Chambers at the Capitol.

40. For little boys worn out and ready to go back home after a fun and exhausting weekend.

Multitudes on Mondays ~ Jan. 31st

And the gratitude journey continues:

21. The blessing of best friends - despite the distance that two very large states has put between them. These boys' hearts are knit together in a way that words cannot describe and is precious to behold!

22. The reminder in Sunday's sermon that even the heroes of faith described in Hebrews 11 had feet made of clay. That the writers of the Bible were very intentional about describing not only their successes but their failures - and the reminder that they are not the true heroes of Scripture. The only one who could claim that he was always faithful, "to do the things that were pleasing to Him." (John 8:29) is the true hero to look to in all things, at all times.

23. Christmas 2011 came early for me in the form of a new set of excellent quality stainless steel pots and pans that I did not pay a dime for after I returned my original set.

24. For companies that have lifetime guaranties and honor them.

25. For friends 15 years ago that bought me the first set of pots and pans as wedding gifts that lasted for a decade and a half.

26. For little boys who go and go and go...until their go is all gone. ;)

27. For boys who come downstairs in the morning like this...

(math manipulatives for guns and all!)

28. For memorizing the book of Philippians in 2011 with a faithful friend.

29. For my very own copy of Ann's book waiting to be read and discussed with friends. And the anticipation of God doing great things in all our hearts.

30. For the pot of hot coffee that awaits to wake and warm me at 5:00 am each morning along with my copy of the Word that waits to warm my soul.

1000 Gifts: A New Year

I recently discovered Ann Voskamp's blog, A Holy Experience, and have been immensely blessed. I read a post describing her journey of gratitude that's ultimate expression has been her book soon to be released (on my reading list for 2010). I am a little late in joining the community of gratitude but am expectantly looking forward to all God will do through my journaling of 1000 gifts He has graciously bestowed.

And so it begins:

1. A new year full of hope and promise.

2. Three boys whom I absolutely adore.

3. A husband who loves me despite my many, many faults.

4. Being part of an amazing body of believers who bless me and spur me on.

5. Friends who know me, the good and bad, and still bless me with their friendship.

6. A warm and safe home.

7. An abundance of healthy food to eat.

8. Clothes to wear.

9. Clean water to drink.

10. The sweetest dog who ever loved three boys.

11. An invitation to lunch on our first day of the new semester.

12. Two new puppies that have brought our neighborhood out to fellowship.

13. A playdate with amazing friends.

14. The chance to redo things not done correctly the first time. Big things.

15. A hand me down treadmill I never could have purchased.

16. A hand me down Wii Fit I am enjoying to help get back in some kind of shape.

17. A fantastic start to our new semester.

18. Art online so this art-phobic mommy doesn't have to teach it.

19. A warm bowl of spaghetti and meatballs after playing outside in the cold.

20. Boys saying, "I'm sorry," and really meaning it.

* Photos were taken today on our first day back of the new semester. Thatch is showing off his art from his Mark Kistler art lesson. Haddon is working on phonics and Beckett is playing with wedgits.