I am grateful for chocolate chips.

I am grateful for Central Christian chicken and noodles over mashed potatoes, for memories of wearing a hair net and disposable gloves and getting out of school to go help at the fair booth, of washing big pans and staring at fairgoers out the window while washing those big pans on a school day in the warm September afternoon, for funny memories of thinking it was a huge deal if I actually saw Roger Cornish in the Channel 12 booth, for state fair experiences growing up close to and in Hutchinson that not everyone had.

I am grateful for little girls who sing songs and have no inhibition.

I am grateful for anti-itch cream.

My friends have always been hope bearers for me by reflecting Christ’s love both in my early years of struggle and today. [They] have been like zany mirrors for me in that they assure me that my cockeyed reflection is both accurate and acceptable. – Patsy Clairmont

I am grateful for and love those whom I consider my friends – who have assured me that my cockeyed reflection is dead-on accurate and likewise acceptable.

I am grateful for memories of the state fair – for the smell mixture of funnel cakes and blooming onions and corn dogs and popcorn and manure and hay, for the noise of dings and bells and engines and braying and music and laughter and carnies yelling and screams from the top of a ride, for the sights of neon lights and crazy hair and couples holding hands everywhere and  cowboy boots and little mouths buried in cotton candy or caramel apples and tractors and RVs and chickens in cages.

I am grateful that there are some young men in this world who tuck their shirts in and a few young women in this world who refuse to wear those tight black spandex yoga pants things.

I am grateful for the beauty of the morning star.

I am grateful that we didn’t give up on the Royals last night and stayed up to witness the Dyson/Gore speed and this:

I am grateful for a bonus today.

I am grateful that tomorrow I will have chips and salsa. Just not two baskets full.

I am grateful that my Dad liked riding rides with my girls and grateful that my Mom was just as happy to sit on a bench with me instead of riding those rides.

I am grateful that I am getting healthier – mentally, emotionally, spiritually, physically.

And I am grateful for the beautiful lights of a ferris wheel – pretty enjoyable to stare at with an ice cream cone in hand and a best friend to share the moment.

I’m grateful for the funny ways people talk. Life is so much fun when you listen to the variety. This weekend, I have been reminded over and over again of the unique way words sound when you remove the r’s. So hilarious…I dare you to try talking without r’s. You’ll crack yourself up, and you’ll sound like a little preschooler, or a college kid named Ducky.

I am grateful for funny words that make me think of Mom. Like britches. And piddlin’. And worsh.

I am grateful for a shiny, clean floor.

I am grateful for a garden hose.

I am grateful for silly little pre-school kids in a bounce house next door that provided much entertainment as we listened to them argue.  “Now you all listen to me! I have something vewy impohtant to say!” said the little girl with a huge pink flower in her hair and hands on her hips…

I am grateful for Abigail the waitress.

I am grateful for sunshine on a cool afternoon.

I am grateful for Saturday evenings with family.

I am grateful for my devotion today that allowed me to deep breathe:

Rest in me, My child. This time devoted to Me is meant to be peaceful, not stressful. You don’t have to perform in order to receive My Love. I have boundless, unconditional love for you. How it grieves Me to see My children working for love: trying harder and harder, yet never feeling good enough to be loved.

Be careful that your devotion to Me does not become a form of works. I want you to come into My Presence joyfully and confidently. You have nothing to fear, for you wear My own righteousness. Gaze into My eyes and you will see no condemnation, only love and delight in the one I see. Be blessed as My face shines radiantly upon you, giving you peace.

I am grateful for a little guy named Harvest who sheepishly asked, “Do you have any tweats foh us?”

I am grateful for my pastor’s transparency in sharing his susceptibility to allow ambition to become a foothold in his career. I’m grateful that my pastor is real and doesn’t hide his human condition but allows God to use it in order to glorify Him.

I am grateful for rabbits, even though he ate all of our asters in the front yard.

Be vewy, vewy quiet. I’m huntin’ WABBITS.

I am grateful for long phone calls with my Dad.

I am grateful for memories of Ducky and Karissa.

And for the reminder of Elmer Fudd and his absence of r’s, I am grateful for Looney Tunes. I could watch them all day, I think. It’s Monday. Quicher-fussin and get back to work. Cartoons can wait.

I am grateful for times of quiet.

I am grateful for sleeping with the window open.

I am grateful for a husband who clears the table after dinner, does all of the dishes, covers me with soft blankets and cares enough to remove my shoes when I am not feeling well.

I am grateful for memories of recess time and art class with Mrs. Bohannan and chocolate milk boxes with thin straws and those little pink pills that showed where we weren’t brushing our teeth very good and Smokey the Bear coloring books and the smell of the band room in junior high and marching at the Fall Festival parade and solo night when our artwork was hung in the hallways and we had to perform for a room full of parents and being afraid of Mr. Murphy the principal, and Miss Meyers’ spelling cards that were on manila cardstock and tied into a little stacked card book with yellow string and reciting part of the Gettysburg Address and having a super clean desk and the awful smell of spinach in vinegar and the wonderful smell of Leona Silver’s cinnamon rolls and awards days and loving recess indoors on rainy days and getting to ride on the bus when Marcy asked me to come home with her to play and the dread of President’s Physical Fitness time in PE.

I am grateful for a new picture every morning of my little pre-schooler with personality +

I am grateful for banana bread with pecans.

I am grateful for the ability to swallow.

I am grateful for a belt to hold my pants up.

I am grateful that I know my faults, or at least am aware of most of them, and they are many.

I am grateful for the ability to envision lovely things, like curling up on the couch with a warm blanket on dreary days like today.

I am grateful that my Mom knew how to mend. Now I wish I had listened when she wanted to teach me…

I am grateful for moments of feeling safe and secure.

I am grateful for Frito pies at a football game.

And I am grateful for worship songs and hymns that make me cry. Like this one:

I am grateful for a beautiful mommy who prays for her children and who has learned a valuable lesson about filling her mind with positive thoughts rather than negative ones. And I am grateful to be her Mom.

I am grateful that I am not the least bit interested in a new iphone or gadget from Apple, nor am I remotely interested in the grand opening of the IKEA store in Kansas City. I am grateful that I am content.

I am grateful that I am not obsessed with/addicted to/interested in alcoholic beverages of any kind. The more I see people who are, the more grateful I become.

I am grateful for the smell of new carpet that drifts into this office today.

I am grateful for the blue light of the pool next door that glows in the night as I watch from the kitchen window.

I am grateful for a good knife.

I am grateful for parking garages.

I am grateful for my devotions this morning, from Dad’s book and from Jesus Calling, both of which talked about being content. Again, all is well with my soul…

In Psalm 23, green pastures and still waters are a sign of contentment. Few images convey the concept of peace like a flock of sheep under shady trees with their legs tucked under them, chewing the cud beside still waters. Sheep don’t lie down to eat. They only lie down after they’ve eaten, and then they relax and enjoy again what they’ve previously eaten. Nor do they lie down if they’re nervous or frightened. They only relax when they feel secure, content, and at peace.

The provisions of God’s grace come with overflowing blessings along with accompanying contentment and joy. God’s grace enables us to enjoy His fields and His folds. When the Lord is our shepherd, we have everything we need. We shall not want. We’re blessed, supplied, led, protected, and content with our Great Shepherd.

Jesus said, “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. I am the good shepherd. “ (John 10:10-11a)

If you have the Shepherd, you have grace for every sin, direction for every turn, a candle for every corner, and an anchor for every storm. – Max Lucado

Rejoice in Me always! No matter what is going on, you can rejoice in your Love-relationship with Me. This is the secret of being content in all circumstances. So many people dream of the day when they will finally be happy; when they are out of debt, when their children are out of trouble, when they have more leisure time, and so on. While they daydream, their moments are trickling into the ground like precious balm spilling wastefully from overturned bottles.

Fantasizing about future happiness will never bring fulfillment, because fantasy is unreality. Even though I am invisible, I am far more Real than the world you see around you. My reality is eternal and unchanging. Bring your moments to Me, and I will fill them with vibrant Joy. Now is the time to rejoice in My Presence!

Philippians 4:4
Psalm 102:27

I am grateful for birthdays to celebrate.

I am grateful for good dreams that replace the bad ones.

I am grateful that I no longer obsess about TV shows but can enjoy a baseball game on a Wednesday evening and don’t plan my free time around what’s on tonight.

I am grateful for more opportunities to make our home and our lives available for ministry through our church and the challenge to serve.

I am grateful for this incredible blog post. If you read my blog, please read this short post. It has such a simple but powerful lesson:

I am grateful for little ones sitting in shopping carts, reminding me of my little ones that I miss.

I am grateful for memories of driving to Carey Park and watching the fountain change colors.

I am grateful for bakery departments in stores, which makes me grateful for red velvet cupcakes, cinnamon crumb coffee cakes, monster cinnamon rolls, chocolate cakes loaded with chocolate frosting, carrot cakes with tons of cream cheese frosting, pretty croissants, cookies with M&Ms and chocolate chunks and sprinkles and pink icing…I am grateful that I am not a professional baker. I would weigh 946 pounds and then some. One more week on this challenge…

Which makes me grateful that someone in Rich Hill, Missouri is still supplying our grocery store with seedless watermelons, because right now, they are my frosted cakes and sprinkled cookies and loaded cupcakes and golden croissants and ice cream and Reeses Peanut Butter Cups.

I am grateful for giggling babies.

Yesterday, my boss and I witnessed a father making sarcastic, degrading comments about his son in front of his son. We were having a very pleasant conversation with this man concerning some work to be done in our office, and his son, a young man who works for Dad, was listening patiently. The words caught us off guard. They were like a kick in the stomach from a bully who thought he was being funny. I watched the young man’s face and my heart was broken for him, knowing that if his father said these things about him to strangers and in public, what it must be like at home and in private. I will now add this young man to my daily prayers, that God will strengthen him and send a mentor/father-figure into his life to encourage him and build him up, that God will be gracious in giving this young man the ability to block out the words that have surely damaged his self worth. I am grateful that this young man is back in the office today and that I have an opportunity to reach out. I am grateful that I feel the weight of glory and have an opportunity to pour the light of Christ into the darkness.

I am grateful for the warmth of a sincere hug

I am grateful for the sparkle of a diamond

I am grateful for the delight of a child’s squeal

I am grateful for the design of a spider’s web perfectly spun

I am grateful for the twinkle in an eye

I am grateful for the healing that happens when tears are allowed to flow free

I am grateful for the hint of nice perfume

I am grateful for acceptance and a willingness to move forward

I am grateful for the tenderness of little fingers

I am grateful for the smoothness of a pewter art piece

I am grateful for a moonbeam

I am grateful for the complexity of rose petals unfolding

I am grateful for the miracle of stars that hang in the night sky

I am grateful for a gentle, cool breeze

I am grateful for the crease in a fine wrapping paper

I am grateful for the absence of sarcasm in my life

I am grateful for the calming peace of soft piano music

And I am grateful for His presence in me and His grace given

I am so very grateful:

For 64 ounces of water down, 64 more to go 

For a Grandparents day phone call from Anissa and Andrae

For the fact that I am still wearing the same pairs of tennis shoes/dress shoes/work shoes…four years later

That Reilly was excited about her first day of pre-school

For a clean refrigerator

For Readers Digest and Guideposts magazines (sigh…I miss Mom)

For another great weekend with my family

For beautiful, cool days to enjoy outside – sitting on the patio on a Sunday morning after church, and working in the backyard on some landscaping and trimming trees

For a fire on the patio on Sunday evening, even if it didn’t include hotdogs and s’mores

For a dominoes game with Dad, Dwight, and Sam

For tiled ceiling above the kitchen sink finally done – thank you, Dwight and Sam

For a waitress who remembers our orders and does her job well

For leftover barbecue

For clean sheets that smell and feel so good

For bananagrams and appletters games with my sister and brother (sigh…I miss Mom)

For the privilege of speaking to my daughter many times in a week – you don’t know what you’ve got ‘til it’s gone, and I never want to take those calls/text messages for granted again

For really nice toilet paper

For a phone call from my Dad, letting me know he made it home and wanting to know the score of the ballgame

For the Sunday comics that were always pulled out, folded up, and chuckled at (sigh…I miss Mom)

For an absence of mosquito bites, which is not right now

For William’s happiness last night (he’s the receipt checker at the exit of Sam’s Club, an elderly man who always seems so unhappy and grumpy, but I think he really likes Sam and is finally warming up, and he’s really a pretty sweet guy underneath that mad/sad frown)

For cream cheese. (sigh…I miss Mom)

I know you would have loved to have heard your grandchildren’s voices yesterday. You always loved those phone calls, those visits. I remember the first time you held Parker and Anissa, your granddaughters’ first children, your great grandchildren. You were so surprised to see them and so very proud, just as you were so proud when your first grandchildren, Karissa and Katrina, were born. 

You were the best grandma. Always displaying their pictures in magnets on the fridge, their artwork on your end tables. Always showing the girls off at church when we came to visit and you had a knack for insisting they sing special music for services, for programs, for reunions. You took such care to provide the girls with pretty Easter dresses and Christmas dresses. You made sure they had a doll every Christmas when they were little. You hung their ornaments on your tree and if they ever broke anything in your home, it didn’t matter; it just added character. Your specialty was pancakes in specific shapes, and my girls looked forward to getting up and having breakfast with Grandma.  You were famous for your hugs. As you so eloquently put it many times, with a “Come here and let me squeeze your guts out!”, my girls looked forward to them and couldn’t wait to get to Grandma’s house. You made playdough for them. You collected TONS of “office paper” just so they could play “secretary” and “school” in the basement.  You took them garage sale-ing and gave them their own quarters so they could buy “junk,” since I was not a fan of garage sales. All of these memories were created because it was so important for the girls to grow up knowing their grandparents and having a relationship with them. You knew that importance, as did I.

You attended just about every volleyball and basketball game possible when they were in junior high, high school, and college, sitting in the stands with a bag of popcorn and a “Yahooooooo!” on the ready. You relished every minute of sitting at the table playing game after game after game with them and filling your home with laughter. When Karissa experienced one of the lowest points of her life, you and Dad were there to shelter her and protect her and pray for her and help her because her parents were not able. You fell in love with the girls’ choice in husbands and welcomed those two guys into the family from day one. There was never a shadow of a doubt that you loved your grandchildren, no matter what. I wish I still had pictures of you with the girls…but at least I have the memories. 

On Friday, we attended a memorial ceremony to honor you for willing your body to KU Medical School.  We were invited into this world of medical students, a world we had no idea existed. We were told that you were the first patient for a small team of students in the anatomy lab. We were told that no doctor ever forgets their first patient. We were told that because of your final gift, you will bless others through the hands of these doctors who are learning to treat and heal others. You will touch many lives through these new doctors who were so privileged to have you, Mom, as their first patient.

As we all sat in the auditorium and waited for the ceremony to begin, we quietly read the program that had been handed to each of us as we entered.  On the page, there were several quotes from medical students who had worked with the loved ones being honored that day, and as I read the following quote, the tears flowed.

And while it can be easy to get lost in the dissection, I want to let you know that I have not yet forgotten the humanity of the person who is teaching me. These are arms that have hugged, eyes that have cried, lips that have smiled, feet that have danced, ears that have listened, hands that have held, and hearts that have loved. — Errin Mitchell

This medical student had to have worked with you, Mom. I know she did. Because she described you in such detail.

Happy Grandparents Day, Mom. Thank you for your example of how to be the best grandma ever.   

I am grateful for the crispy burnt  outside of a fried hamburger.

Which, for some strange reason this morning, makes me grateful for memories of Mom’s knack for burning food, scraping off the black and serving it anyway, with the lesson to all of us at the table that we should be grateful for being served anything at all.

I am grateful for fuzzy slippers, for Estee Lauder perfume, for polyester pants, for white hair that sparkles in the sunlight, for silver tea glasses that sat on the table for holiday dinners, for countless teasing references to Mom’s big purses and driving ability,  for doilies on the table and the back of recliners, and for the enormous three ring binder filled with recipes cut out of newspapers that I used to have…

I am grateful for pants that are loose again.

I am grateful for the hymn, “The Solid Rock.” On Christ the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand. It took rock bottom for me to discover how to stand up again.

I am grateful for the hour I was able to spend last night with my CASA girl. Quickly becoming a favorite hour of my week, and oh, I wish time didn’t go by so fast.

I am grateful for dried, wilted roses that “grace” the coffee table, the entry table, and the island.

I am grateful for fried cheese.

I am grateful that I grew up in a home where my parents taught their children that church was a priority, that prayer made a difference, that Jesus was to be honored and worshipped, that no matter what we did in this life, we would always be loved unconditionally.

I am grateful for The Monster at the End of This Book. I LOVED reading this book to my girls when they were little. Wonderful, bittersweet memories…

I am also grateful for the lesson of the book. The monster that we create in our mind is almost always, in reality, not a monster at all. It’s the anxiety and the worry that is the actual monster.

I am grateful for a quiet morning with my Dad and my brother in the kitchen, listening to last week’s message from our pastor, visiting quietly, enjoying being together.

I am grateful for a beautiful, sunny morning to reflect on Mom’s life, Mom’s final gift that she gave – donating her earthly body to science in order to train new doctors and pathologists at KU Medical School. This afternoon, we will honor her decision to give this one last gift, and what a privilege it will be to once again focus on Mom’s decision to serve others in passing from this life into Heaven.

And, finally, I am grateful for kleenex. I will always remember the scrunched up kleenex that could be found in the pockets of Mom’s jackets and coats and being grossed out not knowing if it had been used or just scrunched up. If only I could discover one of those in a pocket today…because I’m pretty sure I’m going to need it in a few hours.

I am grateful for:

• Non-stick pans
• The beauty of pretty fabric
• The feeling of clean hair
• A letter in the mail from one of our “pastors” from Albert Lea, Minnesota
• The anticipation of seeing my family tonight
• As much water as I want or need
• Transparency in people
• Soft socks
• The opportunity to attend Mom’s memorial service tomorrow at KU
• The smell of bacon
• Cooler days coming
• Just about any food made of carbs or starch
• Mary’s Burberry Brit Gold that makes me want to eat her she smells so good
• Recipe cards
• The fact that I am anal about the way things look on a page, or a sign, or anything in print. And don’t start, because I’m not perfect and I do miss a few things now and then…
• Gentlemen and ladies who act like gentlemen, as in their manners
• The intricate patterns in a leaf
• Wind on a hot day
• An email from Julie!
• Lunch breaks
• The fact that I am not really concerned about labels and impressing people, for the most part
• The white-breasted nuthatch

• Another new bracelet in the mail from my daughter
• An abundance of pictures of my Texas grandchildren
• A Royals’ sweep of the Rangers
• A visit this evening with my CASA girl
• This devotion from Dad’s book that we read this morning, because I was convicted, and that’s always a good thing:

But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who harass you. – Matthew 5:44

Methodist pastor Charles Allen wrote that when he was in the fourth grade, a school official mistreated him. The man, who had a falling out with Charles’ father, took it out on the son.  Years later during Charles’ first pastorate, he heard that his old antagonist was seeking a job with area schools. Charles knew that as soon as he told his friends on the school board about the man, they would not hire him.

He later wrote, “I went out to get in my car to go see some of the board members and suddenly it came over me what I had done. Here I was out trying to represent Him who was nailed to the Cross and me carrying a grudge. That realization was a humiliating experience. I went back into my house, knelt down by my bed, and said, ‘Lord, if you will forgive me of this, I will never be guilty anymore.'”

The concept of grace is hard to understand because it’s so far removed from how we as fallen people relate to each other. But grace is grace – and grace changes things.

Every cat knows some things need to be buried. – Ruth Bell Graham

I am grateful for memories of the time in Oklahoma putting on “Oklahoma!”:

• Memories of Roman riding down the middle of the aisle in the CBA gym on a horse, the smell of popcorn in the air, and hearing him serenade the audience singing, “Oh what a beautiful morning, oh what a beautiful day…”
• Teaching all of those kids a folk dance for the auction scene and “The Farmer and the Cowman Should Be Friends”
• Meghan and that crazy cackle
• Danny in a plaid suit and silly grin
• Melissa in that bright red lipstick and her flirty ways as Ado Annie
• Seeing Vangie do her ballet in a CBA program
• The fun of putting on a huge production with my students

Good times.

I am grateful for showers of blessings, for morning thunder, for good windshield wipers, for a sturdy umbrella, and for the quiet of the car on the drive to work in the rain.

I am grateful for the strength of Gaither music that has been deeply imbedded in my heart and life over the years.

I am grateful for my first invitation to a Grandparent’s Day even though I cannot attend – hopefully there will be more.

I am grateful for roasted almonds with sea salt.

I am grateful that tomorrow is my Friday.

And I am grateful for this song that has played in my mind all morning. Not very many will recognize it, but I’m fairly certain Aunt Patsy will:

You ask me why my heart keeps singing

Why I can sing when things go wrong.

But since I’ve found the source of music

I just can’t help it. God gave the song.