Category: Gratefulness

Joy Dare – Three Gifts Round

Friday was a special day. My Mom came to our house to visit, and to help out with several projects that I hadn’t had the energy to work on.

Together we looked for “Three Gifts Round” for my Joy Dare Challenge. We had a fun time searching for them, and as always, God provided these blessings!

The funny thing is that all three of the gifts ended up being food items. 🙂 The first was a Dunkin’ Donuts latte, the second was a tasty dinner, and the third was a delectable cheesecake that my Mom and husband helped me to make.

  1. A Dunkin’ Donuts Latte – Before my Mom and I headed out shopping, we stopped at Dunkin’ Donuts to get some “fuel,” i.e. caffeine. She got her normal hot mocha latte, and I got the same drink, except iced. It was a very nice treat, as I hadn’t had anything from Dunkin’ in a while – and I was able to share this special gift with my Mom!
  2. A Tasty Dinner – After taking me shopping for food items to make meals, my Mom helped me to make a dinner of turkey meatloaf (with chunks of cheese inside), onion-roasted potatoes, and steamed carrots. It was delicious! My husband, Mom, and I were able to sit down to a nice meal and share some time together. Such a sweet gift! 🙂
  3. A Delectable Cheesecake – My niece and nephew had a birthday party on Saturday, and my husband wanted to make a dessert to bring with us. He found a recipe for a No-Bake Reese’s Peanut Butter Cheesecake that he just HAD to try. 😀 So my Mom helped us to purchase the ingredients and to make the dessert. It wasn’t too difficult to prepare, and it was a hit at the party! We even got to bring some of it home to enjoy later.

Praise God for Three Gifts Round! ❤

SUNSHINE! Gratefulness, And a Little Bit Accomplished

So today didn’t go quite as planned (but then again, what day does?) I didn’t get many of the things accomplished that I wanted to, but I am still grateful.

I WAS able to get a few thing done around the house. I WAS able to pay a bill (yay, lol!) And I WAS able to take my dog Daisy for a walk outside in – yes, it’s true: SUNSHINE! So for these things, I thank the Lord.

And I thank the Lord for the things that I DIDN’T get accomplished. Yes, I wish I would have had a much more profitable day, but I’m grateful that God is able to take my day and use it for His purposes. And hopefully tomorrow will yield better results.

Tonight my husband and I have the privilege of going over our friends’ house for dinner, and then to church for hand-bell practice. Ah, hand-bell practice. That is where my perfectionism and anxiety come in. But I am determined to stick to the two rules that I’ve made for myself: 1) Have fun, and 2) Be “okay” with making mistakes.

We’ll see how things go! ❤

Photo Credit: Alejandro Escamilla

The Joy Dare – Three Ugly-Beautiful Gifts

There are some gifts that don’t look like gifts from the outside, because they are not “beautiful.” But when you look beyond their outer appearance and see what they mean, you realize that they are gifts of the greatest kind.

  1. Our Backyard – Right now our backyard’s appearance is pretty rough. There is a large sand-pit in the middle, left-over from the pool that had been above it. Debris is strewn across the lawn (well, there’s not really much grass to account for!), and everything is just a bit disheveled. However, this backyard is a blessing – because we had special people help us get it to the point that it is now. Loving family and friends helped us to take down our above-ground pool and disassemble our deck, and then to pile everything in a dumpster to have it taken away. This was a lot of work! Needless to say, both my husband and I are very grateful for this help, and even though we have a long way to go to get our backyard to look the way we want it to, steps have been taken in the right direction. 🙂our-backyard
  2. A Winter Hat – For Christmas this past year my husband didn’t know what gifts to get for me, so I tried to help him. I picked out a few items online and had them sent to our home, where they were wrapped and put under the tree. When Christmas came and I finally got to try them, some were good, and some were no-so-good. One not-so-good item was a winter hat that came as part of a set. I liked the scarf and gloves, but the hat was, well, a little large…and as my husband put it, “not very flattering.” But the aspect about it that I would say is beautiful is that my husband had still encouraged me to choose several items for myself, because he loves me. It makes it kind of funny that I picked out something for myself that I found out I don’t like…but hey, it can still be used in an emergency. 😉ugly-hat
  3. A Strange Stuffed Animal – The last gift that I would like to share is actually a gift that my husband received. He had been put into a drawing at work for a prize, because of his excellent attendance. Amazingly, his name was picked for the drawing, and he was given a gift card to his place of work, along with a weird stuffed animal. I could definitely do without the stuffed animal in our home, as I consider it quite, well, ugly…but it is a reminder of the recognition that he was given for his good work performance. So this ugly-beautiful gift stays. 🙂target-dog

Praise God for Ugly-Beautiful gifts! ❤

Featured Image Credit: lovethispic.com