Gratitude365

I have been made acutely aware of several instances in the past 24 hours of God working through my family members, and I am so grateful! Their having a relationship with God is something I’ve been praying for, and whether or not they know it, it’s happening.

Admittedly, I’m just a beginner when it comes down to making my supplications known to God. I feel as though I’m just now learning how to really pray: humbly, sincerely, with trust and faith in God’s unfailing love and perpetual presence. But I’m no longer fearful of not doing it right, and that’s a huge step for me. God knows my heart, and that’s all that really matters.

The LORD makes firm the steps of the one who delights in him; though he may stumble, he will not fall, for the LORD upholds him with his hand. ~Psalm 37:23-24

My husband of 44 years and I are total opposites in every way. A huge difference is that I’m Type A++ and he is relaxed and mellow. I always have to be doing something, and he is content to scroll through Facebook multiple times a day. Yet we get along amazingly well.

I’m grateful he is attuned to my ADHD and need to be moving and active. After being kept inside for the better part of the last three days due to extremely windy conditions, I was dying to get outside yesterday. He agreed to go fishing with me. My spirit leaped at the mere idea of doing something together; I didn’t care if we caught anything.

We didn’t, but I had a great time trying and he didn’t complain at all. The wind was still a factor, though it wasn’t blowing nearly as hard as it had been. The sun shone brightly, and all in all, it was a very pleasant outing. Sometimes it’s just nice to be out in the sun.

Light is sweet, and it is pleasant for the eyes to see the sun. ~Ecclesiastes 11:7

Yesterday two friends and I worked on connecting our devotional group to members who are away from the group electronically, via Zoom. One of us was in Minnesota and two of us were here in Arkansas.

From the start, there was a big problem: no wi-fi in the owners lounge. There’s a show stopper right there. My friend had a friend who had a hotspot she said we could borrow, so we jumped in the car and went to get it. Meanwhile, our friend in Minnesota called, asking why we weren’t on Zoom. So I explained the delay and said we’d get get the meeting going asap.

Once we were finally connected to the internet, things didn’t go well as far as Zoom was concerned, and that was my fault. Being technically challenged myself, I somehow screwed up, but my friends were understanding. I was grateful for their grace. This Zoom-thing might have been a bee in my bonnet, but I never said I knew what I was doing.

We resorted to meeting on FaceTime. I’m grateful for alternatives, and that where there’s a will, there’s a way. We had a very encouraging conversation that included great ideas. I’m grateful for technology that enables us to be togetherness even when we’re apart. I’m grateful for ideas that make me learn new things. That’s how God works in my life.

Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain. 1 Corinthians 15:58

And the Lord shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not. ~Isaiah 58:11

Besides this blog, I also hand-write daily gratitude in a journal. Others may consider this excessive, but I do it to remind myself how blessed I truly am. By incorporating “the usual,” I realize how much I take for granted: a good night’s sleep…warmth from the heat pump on a chilly morning…coffee…readings to start my day…a lazy Sunday…the anticipation of visiting my daughter and her family this week…uneventful trips of every kind…good health…loving and supportive friends and family…a reliable vehicle to get around…a senior pup who still has a lot of life left in him…hummingbirds at my window feeder…the list goes on.

I’m grateful to be in my golden years and all the experiences and lessons that got me to this point in time. I know I have no right to even be alive today given my alcoholism, but for some reason God saw fit to rescue me. See how much I take for granted?! Sobriety should have been the first thing on my list!

I pray I am kept mindful of all my blessings: the little things, the big things, the challenges that make me grow, the setbacks that make me humble. Everything in my world is meant for my benefit, and I am grateful.

Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits… ~Psalm 103:2

It’s only been within the past month that I had the nerve to venture into one of the businesses here in my little town. We’ve had our place for almost two years, and we’ve driven by time after time. We just never stopped.

It wasn’t until I mentioned that fact in a carload of acquaintances from here at the resort that I learned that it was a treasure trove. One of the ladies commented that she had found a brand new shirt from Dogwood Canyon there; I remember her wearing that shirt, and it was darling. So, that convinced me to stop and check it out sometime.

Well, today is the 4th time I’ve been there this month, so that speaks volumes. Basically, this little store was part convenience/hardware/thrift/bait and tackle shop, so chances are, what you’re needing can be found there. I was so lucky as to find a Matchbox Lamborghini my 5-year-old grandson said he wanted. For $1.99! I am treasuring these days when anything that costs that little thrills a child. I can’t wait to give it to him.

I was guilty of judging a book by its cover. I’m grateful for the reminder. I’m grateful for the other treasures I found that cost next to nothing. I’m grateful for having the enjoyment of just wandering through this very cool store. I’ll have to remember that sometimes, extraordinary moments are right in front of me.

You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore. ~Psalm 16:11

Ever since we returned to our place here, I’ve been searching for a way to serve. I love volunteering, and even went so far as to start filling out the application for a nearby nature park. But our daughter, who lives 400 miles away, needs us there for a week at a time throughout the summer to help with the kids, and of course, we’re going. That just limits what I’m able to do here.

In the month since our return from our winter trip, a few of us friends have gotten together for fellowship, and I’m so grateful I encountered these particular women on my spiritual journey. I don’t really know any of them much at all, but there’s something about them that I like a lot and I’m grateful that God somehow collected us here at this RV resort in a teeny tiny northwestern Arkansas town.

Travel is the name of the game for us RVers, and most groups only last for just a season, after which people go their separate ways. Already, one in our group has left to go home for the summer, and another is doing the same in a couple of weeks. The thought of our blessed connection happening in the middle of nowhere and then dissolving so quickly has been weighing on me, and to a certain degree, bringing me down.

An idea has been put on my heart, though, that would keep our devotional group connected, and that would be through Zoom meetings. When the plandemic shut down everything in the spring of 2020, that’s how our women’s AA group continued meeting, so I have experience in setting that up. The idea has been percolating for several days, and I wonder if this is how I’ll be able to be involved without always being physically ‘here.’

God is in charge. The idea has picked up steam. All I can do is all I can do, so I will! Some of the things I learned about Zoom three years ago are coming back to me, and just as it was then, it is now: all for His glory! Timing is of the essence, and God is aware of that, of course. I’m just happy (and grateful) to do the legwork.

For it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure. ~Philippians 2:13

Aside from admiring this morning’s stunning sunrise, the mariner’s rhyme came to mind when I initially shot this photo, probably because of having once lived on a boat and having had the weather impact our lives on a daily basis:

Red sky at night, sailors delight. Red sky at morning, sailors take warning.

But soon after, Matthew 16:2-3 came to mind, and that seemed much more appropriate, given the times in which we live:

He answered and said unto them, When it is evening, ye say, It will be fair weather: for the sky is red. And in the morning, It will be foul weather today: for the sky is red and lowering. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times?

So many things have been and are happening, if one has the eyes to see and the ears to hear. July will be three years since I watched TV, and what a blessing that has been! Until I turned off the boob tube, I hadn’t realized what a boob I’d become, being content with whatever emanated out of the screen. It never occurred to me that it was all scripted, and I just assumed the news, as it was being reported, was the truth. I am so gullible and naive.

I’m of average intelligence, but I have a lot of common sense, and I’m so grateful because a lot of things didn’t appear to make sense beginning in March 2020 and that caught my attention. Much like remembering where I was on 9/11, I recall exactly where I was when the supposed pandemic was declared: I’d just finished my Meals on Wheels route where I was in close proximity to and face to face with a lot of people. I felt fine. But the constant talk about the virus made everyone suspicious of one another, and the fear spread like wildfire.

I didn’t participate in the mass vaccination campaign because the statistics were in my favor, but mostly because the supposed vaccines were suspiciously available for rollout just in time. Looking back, I’m so grateful I didn’t buy into the fear! Actually, I just realized while writing this that the ticker tape of the rising number of covid cases constantly streaming across the television screen was the straw that broke the camel’s back and prompted me to eschew television once and for all.

I was grateful when our volunteer job happened that summer because traveling and reserving campground sites was so tenuous in 2020. Everywhere we traveled, and in Virginia where we workamped, there were way more ‘Trump for President’ signs than those for Biden. Trump campaigned and Biden stayed in his basement. So when the latter supposedly garnered more votes than Obama and supposedly won the presidency, that made no sense to me.

Three years later, things are as confusing as ever. But, with the information gained from a few channels on Telegram—Lin Wood’s in particular—and then going down rabbit holes, the puzzle pieces are coming together. It’s making sense now that some big box stores are closing, banking institutions are failing, and major media personalities and celebrities have become ‘has beens.’

The future might seem bleak, but now more than ever, I’m certain it’s going to turn out better than anyone can ever imagine. I’m grateful for ignoring the world and choosing instead to focus on God’s constant presence and majesty. I’m grateful for sanity and discernment in an upside down world.

But test everything; hold fast what is good. ~1 Thessalonians 5:21

This morning I’m getting together with a few others within the resort community for an hour of communion. Devotional readings set the tone for what I hope will morph into an in-depth conversation on some pertinent spiritual topic. I’m grateful to be included; no (wo)man is an island.

There’s so much happening in the world that is playing havoc with people’s minds. I’m grateful for the opportunity get away from the madness and immerse myself in the peace that is God while in the company of godly women. It settles my mind and heart. I’m grateful these I found these women out here in the middle of nowhere!

Yesterday morning found me in a funky mood, and I don’t know why. All is well. Still, there was an undercurrent of discontent that put me in a sullen mood, and I didn’t care for the feeling too much. Thank God I knew just what to do.

The not-so-funny thing about this is that—even though I realized my situation and knew WHAT to do—I didn’t actually DO IT for several hours. For some reason, wallowing was comfortable for awhile.

Until it wasn’t.

I’m grateful for the wonderfully beautiful day that finally got me outdoors and at the same time, out of myself. That was the problem: I was thinking about my self too much. When I was finally willing to do something about it, I called an old friend and visited for awhile, and that helped a lot. Then I went for a long walk—not so much in actual distance, but because I kept running into people I knew and ended up talking to for a while. That helped considerably, too. It didn’t take long to turn my attitude around once I got going. After I ate dinner, I felt even better. I’m grateful the cloud passed. Before the end of the day, I felt like my usual self. Happy. Content. Blessed. And very grateful.

Remove far from me falsehood and lying; give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that is needful for me, ~Proverbs 30:8