counting gifts

I recently started a notebook of "1000 Gifts", inspired by the writer of http://www.aholyexperience.com/. It's kind of an exercise in "counting the ways He loves you", as Ann Voskamp puts it. I am up to #367 right now and I thought I would share a few, and some photos I've taken over the last few months...



#1 Redemption - Jesus holding all hell on His shoulders, "I love you"

#3 The unrestrained joy of spring's frenzied birdsong



#8 Curlicues in a wisp of sunlit steam

#13 The untaught dance of baby femininity

#14 Coffeeshop air




#28 Striped morning sunlight

#31 The return of a long-absent friend



#33 Colored pencil shavings

#35 Gifts waiting to be given, like a secret only you know





#50 Iridescent bubbles floating to the sunshine

#51 Three generations around the table for a cup of tea



#58 Something to do, to give

#62 "He will praise the Lord through the night, until the sun arises"





#69 Hard things for little people, to teach trust

#75 Green shoots in the swamp by the lane

#77 Road trips and sendoffs



#88 Lonely but not alone - never alone

#92 Heartfelt, unrestrained chorus of praise - and the beautiful wonder that God is so pleased




#96 Waking up without an alarm

#97 The minor key energy of Jewish music




#99 The artless sincerity of elderly friends

#104 A coworker who shares Bible passages with me




#111 Unexpected beauty - a little Bible truth in a Disney fairytale

#116 The echo of sound in the stillness after the last note



#117 Righteous goofiness

#124 My own car!



#131 Overflowing wells

#141 A father and son washing dishes quietly, while mom sleeps on the couch




#142 A frog chorus shared on the internet

#147 The painful relief of truth finally told




#149 The fragrance of bruised petals

#161 The way the morning sunlight turns even a dandelion into a luminous glowing mystery




#175 Candlelit devotions

#183 That sometimes we can set things to rights




#185 The beautiful mystery that He wants our thirst

#188 Being reminded of lessons that turned my world upside down







#200 Amazing Grace - yesterday, today, tomorrow, forever

#212 Little girl stories

#228 Black umbrellas and puddle-y showers



#350The cleft in the rock behind the waterfall

#352 Spontaneous applause for victory over darkness

#364 the Power of the Cross