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

I Can See a Light

I’ve been feeling pretty depressed the past several days. Yesterday was especially bad. I went up on one of my medications recently, so that could definitely be affecting me…along with other factors. But I was able to go to my therapist appointment today and talk some things out, which was very helpful.

As I was driving home from my appointment I treated myself to a Snicker-doodle latte at Dunkin Donuts (I had a coupon, of course 😉 !) and one of their new croissants/donuts with a chocolate drizzle. It’s amazing how little things like this can lift your spirits! I think that’s one of the things that has been pulling me down lately: I haven’t been taking the time to do the things that I enjoy. I just haven’t felt like doing them! Well, I pretty much haven’t felt like doing anything. But I’ve learned in the past and need to put back into practice the fact that when I don’t feel like taking care of myself, I need to do it anyway–and the enjoyment will come eventually. 🙂

I’m just so thankful for the support of my family and my close friends…and most importantly, for God. Without them and without God, I really don’t think I would make it. I am just in awe of the fact that the Lord doesn’t let me go–doesn’t give up on me, even when I give up on Him, in a sense. He’s so faithful, and I pray that I never forget this!

If you’re feeling down today, take at least a few minutes to do something that you enjoy–even if you don’t feel like it. It may seem like a chore at first, but I hope that the pleasure would come as you push forward through the mud and the muck. And depression IS a pit of mud and muck. You constantly have to crawl out of it. But thank God that we have Him to not only help us crawl out, but to lift us up on all sides and set us on our feet again. May we always remember the times in the past that He has come to our aide, and trust that He will do the same in our current situation, and for everything that we encounter in the future! ❤


Image Credit: Unknown

A Furry Friendship

“Aunt” Kiwi and “Niece” Daisy had such a nice time together during their parents’ vacation! At first they were reluctant to get along, but soon they began to tolerate each other. I would even say that a sweet, furry friendship has formed! 🙂 I definitely think they will miss each other. Come back and visit our home any time, Kiwi!