1. I am grateful for the satisfaction of breaking a dirt clod between my fingers.

2. I am grateful for the inside grin when I hear someone say “for pity’s sake.”

3. I am grateful for a grilled steak with melted butter drizzled on top.

4. And I am grateful for the treat of having a visitor watch us work on Mom and Dad’s hope chest in the garage yesterday.

I am grateful today for my sister and my husband. They keep me grounded when my emotions get a little out of whack.

I am grateful today that it is Bingo day. My prizes are ready, and the bank had enough gold dollars for me.

I am grateful that every once in awhile, a memory comes back that makes me smile. Recently, thoughts of singing the Austrian yodeling song with my elementary students brought some forgotten joy to surface.

I am grateful today for little earbuds and a $4 radio to shut out drama.

I am grateful today for a goofy picture of my grandson.

I am grateful today that tomorrow is our small group’s first opportunity to serve a meal together.

I am grateful today that I don’t have a big fat Rolls Royce that turns heads.

I am grateful today for my husband who likes getting up in the early morning hours to walk with me.

I am grateful today that my church women’s group has created a Gratitude journal and is focused on gratitude this month. For once in my life, I don’t feel like I am behind but feel like I might have a little bit of a clue how to do this thing.

I am grateful today for memories of licking rock salt.

I am grateful today that bickering with my husband is not a part of my world.

I am grateful today for the rough of a kitten’s tongue.

I am grateful today for bendy straws.

And I am grateful today for the words to “God Leads His Dear Children Along.” I wish that when I die, an all day singspiration could be had and I could be present. I would request quite a few songs and I would make sure everyone had all-they-could-eat french fries and chocolate custard from Freddies.

In shady, green pastures, so rich and so sweet,
God leads His dear children along;
Where the water’s cool flow bathes the weary one’s feet,
God leads His dear children along.

Refrain:
Some through the waters, some through the flood,
Some through the fire, but all through the blood;
Some through great sorrow, but God gives a song,
In the night season and all the day long.

Sometimes on the mount where the sun shines so bright,
God leads His dear children along;
Sometimes in the valley, in darkest of night,
God leads His dear children along.

Though sorrows befall us and evils oppose,
God leads His dear children along;
Through grace we can conquer, defeat all our foes,
God leads His dear children along.

Away from the mire, and away from the clay,
God leads His dear children along;
Away up in glory, eternity’s day,
God leads His dear children along.

I am grateful:

• for lavender in color and in smell.
• for the privilege of walking out the door and not having to dwell on work until the next morning.
• for shoes not muddy.
• for a nap in the middle of the day.
• for my daughter who calls me.
• for my daughter who does not.
• for a home that smells halfway decent.
• that our basement does not smell musty awful like what I experienced a couple of hours ago.
• for chipmunks.
• for a really fun message at church yesterday with a message about coming home, going home, and cheering others on while they “run the bases.”
• for hymns that flood my memory with sweet thoughts.
• that I don’t have to sing or play “Be Glorified” or “I Love You, Lord” anymore. Love the message, cannot STAND the choruses.
• for the sound of a very quiet home…until I become sad about missing the world of six little lives.
• for my new favorite chocolate cake recipe. I am so proud of myself for finding one that is from scratch and worth sharing with others.
• for chair pads that protect the floor.
• for oatmeal from McDonalds.
• for fresh breath.
• for Listerine and its hidden secret – it repels mosquitoes! No, you don’t have to breathe like a dragon. You just put it in a spray bottle and mist the patio before you enjoy the evening/party/morning/cookout/picnic.

T. Matthews Fine Art

I enjoyed a few minutes this morning looking out the window.

I woke up to the peaceful sound of rain and the comfort of gentle thunder, and it was most pleasant. What a gift to receive when the day first begins.

Drops of rain in a brownish grayish puddle on the patio are beautiful. The tiny ripple circles create a picture that cannot be duplicated. At least not exactly duplicated.

I thought of the rain and how welcome it is in my solitary world, but how unwelcome it is to others right now. How the rain is necessary for May flowers and green grass, but how devastating it is when pouring into a basement or pushing cars downstream. A good thing to some can be detrimental to others.

And then, I sat down at the table to read. Matthew 7. Two people. Two homes. What to the world looks like stability and beauty, can actually end up looking much different when the foundation is tested and the rains begin to fall.

Rain to the wise man only bolsters his decision to have prepared, to take care of his foundation for the times when the clouds would form and the floods arrived.  He can weather the storm because he did it the right way from the very beginning, even when it meant more work and less fun.

But rain to the foolish man forces him to notice the lack of preparation and absence of care to his home. He had time, lots of time, to do things the right way, to notice the leaks and the weak places. He had gone to school and learned the building trade. But HE chose where to build and how to build. HE chose to make it look pretty on the outside while ignoring the heart of the structure.

For so many years, I lived a life of sweeping things under the rug, of covering up the ugly and unfinished, of putting a wreath on the door and keeping that door closed to the outside world. It was easier to go about the business of smiling and wearing the mask, hanging the wreath that said, “All is well, I’m good, don’t bother me,” while avoiding the conflict in order to not deal with the crap.

And my foundation crumbled when I least expected.

I am grateful today that I serve the God who created the rainbow. Because I needed a rainbow after the storm came, the flood swept away the foundation, and I was left standing in the muck.

I am grateful that my faulty foundation is gone and I am now building on a rock. THE Rock.

I am grateful that my life is full of “rocks” who lift me up and support me when I’m weak on my own.

And I am grateful to see beauty and promise when the rain falls and I now, most of the time, recognize it as a gift.

I am grateful that my counselor emails me with kindness onscreen.

I am grateful for a co-worker whose response to a crisis was to sing the Doxology and share that with me, because she knew I would “get it.”

I am grateful for another co-worker who gave me a very sweet compliment about oatmeal cookies that I made. I am not skilled at making oatmeal cookies, so it meant that much more for her to tell me they were the best she’s ever had and then added, “They are from the devil.” Because I heard her say it and watched her face as she ate, I will accept that as a compliment.

I am grateful for a surprise visit today here in the office from my Dad and a favorite pastor from my childhood, Keith Ellis. What a treat! I am fairly certain I have not seen him in over 35 years.

I am grateful for loving and helpful advice from Michelle.

Get on the bus, Gus.

I am grateful to have witnessed Louene and Norma reaching out to Dottie last night and helping her play Bingo. Dottie doesn’t understand our versions of the game and gets so confused when a straight line doesn’t win. Louene and Norma were so patient and sweet to constantly explain the game to her without getting grumpy.

I am grateful for a quiet evening last night, Royals game turned off since it was no fun to watch them lose, in order to read multiple chapters of my book and then get the ironing all done.

I am grateful for wide parking spaces.

I am grateful for one hotdog warmed in the microwave for my lunch.

I am grateful for catchy tunes that are pleasant.

Don’t need to be coy, Roy.

I am grateful for another co-worker who left me an email in my inbox this morning that gave me a huge boost of confidence and entrusted me with more responsibility for the next week.

I am grateful for shiny gold dollars and crisp money that smells new.

I am grateful that I am not on my feet all day at work.

I am grateful for really good coupons and stores that take them even after they expire.

And I am grateful for daily pictures from Tymber while the family is on their vacation.

Drop off the key, Lee, and set yourse-e-elf, free.

I am grateful for a breeze.

I am grateful for Sam – without him, I wouldn’t have walked all those miles this past weekend.

I am grateful for the joy that I feel when I see a dog’s head hanging out a car window, taking it all in.

I am grateful for a hug from my Dad today.

I am grateful for a rescued chipmunk.

I am grateful for cards sent to my new list of summer pastors.

And I am grateful for quiet camaraderie and understanding from Mary.

I am grateful for chocolate. Pretty much chocolate anything.

I am grateful for blue sky with one teeny tiny white puff of a cloud when it is about 60 degrees outside.

I am grateful for bacon. Pretty much bacon anything.

I am grateful for sticker stamps that you don’t have to lick. I’m also grateful for stamps that are no longer perforated sheets that caused me more often than not to accidentally rip perfectly good stamps. Young people wouldn’t even have a clue there was ever anything else besides sticker stamps.

I am grateful for conviction that keeps me from judgment. I just need to look at people and imagine they are trees.

I am grateful for right click that quickly shows me if I am spelling judgment correctly. I was. I could have spelled it judgement, too. They are both correct. That would be why little red squiggly line did not appear under the word. Which makes me grateful for little red squiggly line. Dictionary? What is THAT?

And I am grateful for chocolate bacon cupcakes that need to be on my list to make as soon as I possibly can.

I am grateful for my church devotion today based on Matthew 6:1-15. I’m pretty sure John Ortberg must have some Quaker blood in him. Or maybe he was in Mom’s Sunday School class at one time. This was what got to me:

Here’s a simple way to examine your motives, shared by Pastor John Ortberg in his book The Life You’ve Always Wanted: “Do something good and try to make sure no one finds out about it” (p. 168). 

Matthew 6:1-15 (CEB)

“Be careful that you don’t practice your religion in front of people to draw their attention. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven. Whenever you give to the poor, don’t blow your trumpet as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets so that they may get praise from people. I assure you, that’s the only reward they’ll get. But when you give to the poor, don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing so that you may give to the poor in secret. Your Father who sees what you do in secret will reward you. When you pray, don’t be like hypocrites. They love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners so that people will see them. I assure you, that’s the only reward they’ll get. But when you pray, go to your room, shut the door, and pray to your Father who is present in that secret place. Your Father who sees what you do in secret will reward you. When you pray, don’t pour out a flood of empty words, as the Gentiles do. They think that by saying many words they’ll be heard. Don’t be like them, because your Father knows what you need before you ask. Pray like this: Our Father who is in heaven, uphold the holiness of your name. Bring in your kingdom so that your will is done on earth as it’s done in heaven. Give us the bread we need for today. Forgive us for the ways we have wronged you, just as we also forgive those who have wronged us. And don’t lead us into temptation, but rescue us from the evil one. If you forgive others their sins, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you don’t forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your sins.”

I am grateful for the reminder today that our kindness, our compassion, our mission, should not be for the recognition we want from others, but for the Audience of One.

I am grateful today for loneliness. It takes me back and is a good reminder of the pain and the heartache that allows me to be even more grateful for where I am now.

I am grateful for funny. It would be a very sad world if there was no such thing as funny.

I am grateful for stain remover.

I am grateful for my daughters’ friends.

I am grateful for ways and means of seeing pictures of my granddaughters even when…

I am grateful that my sister visited my aunt and uncle in Pratt yesterday.

I am grateful for the end of a work day.

I am grateful for a REALLY GOOD BOOK. It makes me so sad I have to read it a couple of chapters at a time, but IT IS SO GOOD. Today would have been a great day to stay home and relax under a blanket and read and cry and read and sigh. Shoulda coulda woulda but there is that work component that doesn’t seem to fit the schedule I want.

And I am grateful that a really terrific family is about to embark on a wonderful adventure vacation to see things they have never seen before. Yay for them! Life is too short to not take fun vacations.

This morning, I am grateful for the energy to get up and go to work an hour and a half earlier than usual.

I am grateful for cheerios in a zipper bag.

I am grateful to have watched Macey Hensley before turning off the TV last night.

Macey for President in 2016.

I am grateful for Avis’ grumpy muttering during Bingo that makes me smile. “Well, doesn’t that just bust yer buttons…”

I am grateful for memories of childhood games that I played in music with my elementary classes.

I am grateful for a tupperware orange peeler, one of the best inventions of all time.

I am grateful for Tymber and her sweetest heart.

I am grateful for Jared’s letter to my daughter.

I am grateful that our home does not smell old and musty, even after the flood of 2015.

I am grateful for urgency to get things done. There’s nothing like urgency in order to motivate.

And I am grateful for the wisdom of Barbara Johnson:

We can never untangle all the woes in other people’s lives. We can’t produce miracles overnight. But we can bring a cup of cool water to a thirsty soul, or a scoop of laughter to a lonely heart.

I am grateful for moments when I can walk outside and reach my face to the sunshine on a cool day. It is a wonderful feeling.

I am grateful for people who use toothpicks in the privacy of their own space, behind closed doors and certainly not at the table with others present. I am also grateful for those bonus toothpicks from my history that were coated with cinnamon oil. Mmmmmm.

I am grateful for memories of summer camp crafts, the hilly dirt road, and the big slide at Camp Quaker Haven.

I am grateful for clothes pins.

I am grateful that the basement flood of 2015 1) happened  when we were home for the weekend, 2) did not happen on a weekday when we would have needed to be at work, 3) gave us a clean-up day that was sunny and breezy but not hot, 4) allowed us to save the carpet, 5) did not involve mud and ruined belongings.

I am grateful for friends, nice neighbors, and family who help out when needed.

I am grateful for graduation announcements addressed to us.

I am grateful for memories of vacations that involved going someplace never-seen-before-new.

I am grateful for rainbow sherbet.

And I am grateful for this today that happened to show up on my computer screen: