Tag: gratefulness

Hidden Blessings

Daisy after a good long walk. :-)
Daisy after a good, long walk. 🙂

My puppy, Daisy, has gotten me started on a new routine lately: taking her outside for (almost) daily walks around our neighborhood. At first this was a chore for me. I don’t exercise much, and trying to keep up with her would make me tired. Also, I felt a little scared to be walking around without someone to walk with me. Another deterrent was that my feet would hurt when we got home! But I’m starting to see that favorable things are resulting from it.

I wouldn’t say that I look forward to our walks each day, but I am definitely becoming more accustomed to them. I enjoy the fresh air, the sights and the sounds, and the movement of my body as I walk down the street. And Daisy certainly enjoys the opportunity to get out of the house, pull me along with the leash, and sniff all of the smells that she can reach! 🙂

God allows things for a reason. Although at first I was annoyed by the prospect of walking Daisy regularly (she normally would just run around in our backyard), I’m learning to adjust to–and even appreciate–the opportunity to get outside and spend some time with my puppy, and ultimately with my Lord.

For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord. They are plans for good and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.

Jeremiah 29:11 (TLB)

I Make God Happy!

Today has been a good day, and I’m so thankful to God for how He has worked and for what He has enabled my family to accomplish. We loaded up a huge dumpster with construction material that was in our backyard, to hopefully start the process of making this space usable. We received so much help from family, that we were able to finish in one day what we were expecting to require a week to complete. Praise Him!

I can see His hand on me, and on my life. It’s not always glaringly obvious–on the contrary, a good amount of the time I must trust that He is with me and that He is working for good, even though I can’t see or feel it. But He spoke to me in a number of ways to encourage me today, and for this I am grateful.

The main reason I wanted to post to my blog tonight was to share what God taught me in His Word a short time ago. I will share the Scripture that I read, a few observations that I made, applications of those insights, and my prayer response to Him.

“The LORD your God in your midst, The Mighty One, will save;

He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love,

He will rejoice over you with singing.”

Zephaniah 3:17

Observations: 1) God rejoices over me with gladness and singing. 2) He will quiet me with His love!

Applications: 1) I make God happy! He loves me! 2) God’s love for me is so amazing and overwhelming that when it envelops me, I am rendered speechless.

Father, thank You for Your limitless love for me. I thank You that You love me no matter what I do or how many times I mess up. Help me to make you happy today out of my love for You. In Jesus’ name, Amen.