313/365

thankful for family visits, fresh brewed ice tea with lemon, safe travels, teens who laugh and serve well, soup in the crock pot, friends with chocolate, a rare Monday night rendezvous at the dollar theater with the faves, sleep next to my beloved.

312/365

I was glad when they said to me,
    “Let us go to the house of the Lord!”
-Psalm 122:1 (ESV)

thankful for worship, for corporate prayer, for the body, for His word taught and preached, for confession and assurance, for hymns and songs of praise. 

(and for an unexpected carpet of little purple flowers at the soccer fields...)

311/365

thankful for
early morning quiet,
my french press,
running,
unexpected rainbow in the sky,
my coaching girl,
friends with cumin,
a stool perch in the corner of the kitchen,
the girl who still shows me her coloring creations,
a tasty burger and great company,
holding hands at the movies,
my husband nudging me before I started snoring,
the smell of Chicken Tagine when we walked into the house,
Saturday night at home,
football with my favorite peeps,
daughters who vacuum and clean the refrigerator out,
the promise of tomorrow.

310/365

For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.
- 1 Corinthians 13:12

The hazy fog of the morning reminds me of the mysteries of this life, of the mysteries of faith. I realize that I have become increasingly skeptical of those who speak in absolutes, declaring emphatically on subjects such as marriage and parenting and faith and life. I'm trusting His sovereign grace in and with and by His providences, ever thankful for the promise of Romans 8:28 in all things. 

309/365

Thankful for the blessing of ordinary life-
clean sheets tight on a fresh made bed,
chili in the crock pot,
listening to chatter while taking my girls to school,
the daily crossword puzzle,
phone calls returned,
a full tank of gas,
favorite faces in familiar places.

(and a hula girl dancing in the sunlight streaming in the window...)

308/365

thankful for friends, new and old.
I can't begin count the folks that God has allowed to cross my path. Some have been just for a time, much too short. Others I have been privileged to live life with, day in and day out, for years and years. I think of so many faces, so many stories, so many memories, and my heart is full. Again tonight I am reminded that time here is short, but our eyes are fixed on eternity.

307/365

Thankful that this little trap was empty when I discovered it. (& I'll be even more thankful if we soon have no need of it!)

But, even more, thankful for the men in my life who take care of this stuff. Yes, I could do it, but I'm grateful that I don't have to.

306/365

I feel the pleasure of my Lord when I'm in stride
For the glory of the Lord is man who is completely alive 
- "Run" by Josh Garrels, from Love & War: B​-​Sides & Remixes EP, released July 5, 2012 

Thankful for a cool morning, a bright sunrise, a playlist that makes me smile, feet to carry me, and enough aches to remind me that I am fully His.

305/365

The challenge asks me to share a daily "thankful" for the month of November...

today: active, healthy, athletic girls playing on a not-too-hot, not-too-cool, fall afternoon against a beautiful lingering sunset.

304/365

Pretty good for a bunch of kids who couldn't care less what day it is.

303/365

I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the Lord
    in the land of the living!
Wait for the Lord;
    be strong, and let your heart take courage;
    wait for the Lord!
- Psalm 27:13-14

302/365

Earlier in the day I was reminded to give thanks in all circumstances.
I confess, I lost that perspective right after the box of uniform jerseys without numbers arrived...

301/365

Here is something we can share with all the people in the world. They cannot all be brilliant or rich or beautiful. They cannot all even dream beautiful dreams like God gives some of us. They cannot all enjoy music. Their hearts do not all burn with love. But everybody can learn to hold God by the hand and rest. And when God is ready to speak the fresh thoughts of heaven will flow in like a crystal spring. Everybody rests at the end of the day, what a world gain if everybody could rest in the waiting arms of the Father, and listen until he whispers. 
-Letters by a Modern Mystic by Frank C. Laubach, 1937.

300/365

We native speakers don't ever think about how much there is to remember when forming a grammatically correct sentence, subject and pronoun agreement and singular and plural verbs and word order and accent marks that aren't even written down. Yet these women persevere and make mistakes and receive correction gracefully and continue on with diligence. They encourage me in my own language-learning journey, and they exhort me in my walk with Christ, reminding me of His steadfast love and faithfulness to us. Let the nations be glad and sing for joy...

299/365

Golden birthday: The ‘Golden Birthday’ is the day where a human being turns the same age as the date to which they were born (Example, turning Twelve on the 12th of October). 
- Urban Dictionary (just ignore the stuff about Big Bangs and Magic Wizards and infinite levels of Power... what?!?)

We were late to this Golden Birthday idea (sorry Susannah! sorry James!), but better late than never, right? Then Keilah finds a birthday twin to celebrate alongside and turns a birthday into a birthweek. May all your year be all joy and all your birthdays be golden, Keilah.

(and the rest of us, we are thinking a Golden Birthday do-over...)

298/365

The night that Alfredo surprised us all with mole de pollo and homemade rice and a fresh squeezed limeade and a tall stack of fresh tortillas. The night I smiled all the way home.

297/365

For a good many years we lived just up the street from a QT. We were regulars- regulars as in the people that walk in and the counter help greets with familiarity. And I'm not talking the usual "hi-welcome-to-QT," but more of a "hey guys! Ready for your slushes?" Or even, "Aren't you a bit early today?" That kind of regular.

In those same years, I carried my kids around on a lot of missions. We walked alongside a lot of folks in those years. We experienced and shared situations and lives that were messy and beautiful and crazy and broken and sad and sweet and beautiful. I imagine it all as one crazy mosaic pattern.

My kids were patient. And generous. They flexed. They played with kids that weren't always easy friends. They often waited beyond when they should have waited. They helped when they would rather have been doing something else. Maybe part of that was the promise of slushees. But they still help today. No slushees. I am grateful. Maybe that when they are old they won't depart from it really is a promise.

(photo from a DFW area QT- sadly, none in the Rio Grande Valley; but then again, we do have the Laredo Taco Company...)

296/365

The King of Love my Shepherd is, 
Whose goodness faileth never; 
I nothing lack if I am His 
And He is mine forever.

Where streams of living water flow 
My ransomed soul He leadeth, 
And, where the verdant pastures grow, 
With food celestial feedeth.

Perverse and foolish, oft I strayed, 
But yet in love He sought me; 
And on His shoulder gently laid, 
And home, rejoicing brought me.

In death’s dark vale, I fear no ill 
With Thee, dear Lord, beside me; 
Thy rod and staff my comfort still, 
Thy cross before to guide me.

Thou spread’st a table in my sight; 
Thine unction grace bestoweth; 
And O what transport of delight 
From Thy pure chalice floweth.

And so through all the length of days, 
Thy goodness faileth never; 
Good Shepherd, may I sing Thy praise 
Within Thy house forever.

- "The King of Love My Shepherd Is," Henry Baker (1885-1910)

295/365

Slow morning, long breakfast,
me and him,
wandering Trader Joe's,
squash soup and fresh brewed tea,
a cookie,
another cookie,
10 amazing Half Price Book minutes,
For the Nations,
new friends,
Isaiah 31:33-34,
familia, confianza, animo.

294/365

"These fights to defend Austin's soul from development have been going on since before the invention of the garage band. Or, as Josh wrote, "For some Austinites, the only satisfactory historical account of the city's weirdness would begin some time before the Paleozoic era, where no doubt the first tattooed multicellular hipster emerged from Barton Springs riding atop a salamander, slowing his ambling gait only to ask for directions to the nearest free concert."

- John Kelso, "It's weird social science...,"Austin Statesman, May 6, 2010.

I'm not sure Stephen F. Austin would be so impressed...