Category: Gratefulness

The Joy Dare – Three Surprise Gifts

I slept in late this morning (I couldn’t fall asleep last night), so I was concerned that I wouldn’t have much time to encounter my “Three Surprise Gifts” today. But as I’ve mentioned in the past, God always seems to provide! 🙂

  1. A Video that Made me Smile – I have a friend on the blogosphere named “Z,” and she is just AWESOME. I hopped on over to her site today, and was surprised by the amusement that a video she had posted gave to me. 😀 It is a video of her preparing a cup of tea. It may not sound like it would be too enthralling, but, because of Z, it was! You MUST visit her blog and check out the video. It is so entirely cute! And please, read her posts and get to know her better. She is such a special little lady! ❤
  2. Coinciding Pet Naps – I know that it might not seem like much, but my dog Daisy and cat Misty took naps at the same time today. This enabled me to be able to fill out some paperwork that I needed to complete for an upcoming doctor’s appointment. It is not all the time that this happens, so I was – yes – pleasantly SURPRISED! 😉
  3. An Awesome Handbell Rehearsal – My last surprise came this evening as our handbell choir practiced for the final time before our performance this Sunday. It was wondrous! Did I play perfectly? No. Did I nail every part that I was supposed to? No. But there were one or two repetitions of the more difficult piece we’re performing that made me happy, because I actually played a section correctly that I had been struggling with. Now I’m just praying that I remember how to recreate this for the performance!

Praise God for Three Surprise Gifts of Unexpected Grace! ❤

Photo Credit: Zwaddi

The Joy Dare – Three Gifts Red

Rojo. Rouge. Rot. Rosso. Today’s dare was to identify three gifts RED! I thought that this would be a difficult challenge; but thankfully, red is a dazzling color, and the gifts just kind of popped out at me. 😉

  1. A Gift to Be Worn – My Mom gave me a pretty sweater a month or so ago (for Christmas, actually). I haven’t had an opportunity to wear it yet…but with Valentine’s Day coming up soon, this would be the perfect opportunity! The sweater reminds me of my Mom’s thoughtfulness and generosity.IMG_0954
  2. A Gift to Display – A second gift that my Mom gave me recently was a Valentine’s Day wreath. I can put it up outside our front door, or anywhere else around the house. I’m just very grateful that she thinks about me wherever she is, and takes the time to pick something up for me that she believes I will like. 🙂valentine-wreath
  3. A Gift to be Read – God’s Heart For You by Holley Gerth is actually a gift that I purchased for myself several years ago. 😀 It’s a calendar with a quote or saying for each day, that is meant to encourage and uplift you. I’m not extremely faithful about reading it, but when I do, God always seems to have the perfect words of love for me.IMG_0951

~

You really are forgiven,

slate-wiped-clean,

sins-washed-away,

brand new.

All those mistakes,

all that pain,

there’s only

one thing that remains…

grace.

~

Praise God for Three Gifts Red! ❤

Featured Photo Credit: Unknown

The Joy Dare – A Gift On a Paper, In a Person, In a Picture

Things have been a little crazy around here lately, so I haven’t been able to share my daily gifts. This joy dare was from January 31st and I’m just now getting to it–but hey, I’m determined to get caught up, and it’s better late than never! 😉

  1. An Email from the Hubby – The other day my husband sent me a sweet email just to tell me how much he loves me. Now this is not technically “a gift on paper,” but I will most likely print it out for a wonderful keepsake. 🙂 These are the little things that mean so much to me, and totally make my day!
  2. A Time of Celebration with my Grandmother – This past Saturday we had a surprise birthday party for my grandmother. It was such a blessing! Things came together beautifully, and my grandmother really had a nice time. We had food and cake, played a mad-lib game, danced, and enjoyed each other’s company. But most of all, we were able to honor a very special woman who I am so proud to call my Mom Mom!
  3. A “Just Because” Bouquet of Flowers – My husband brought me a beautiful bouquet of roses the other day after he got done work. This meant very much to me! They just looked so amazing and smelled so good! Because I was incredibly blessed by this gesture, we decided to take some pictures to remember this gift. I am so grateful to have such a caring and thoughtful husband! ❤

P.S. Check out my my collage of pics above and let me know what you think! 😀