February 24, 2012: Joy in the Morning

3 gifts before 11:00 am:

• The gift of being warm and cozy inside when it's snowing and blowing outside.
• The gift of a caring, compassionate physical therapist who encourages me to keep working.
• The gift of God's Word from David's Psalm 103. The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love.  He will not always accuse,  nor will he harbor his anger forever;  he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities.  For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him;  as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us (verses8-12). Hallelujah!

January 21, 2012: Grace Sparkles

one thing in the sky, one thing from your memory, one thing that's ugly-beautiful:

• One thing in the sky: sunshine and vivid blue color.  Lovely the way the sun sparkled on the snow.
• One thing from your memory: God's forgiveness for past sins.  Even though I made plenty of poor choices when I was younger, God has blessed me with a faithful, loving husband and 26 years of marriage (so far).  Reminded of the grace in that at a women's conference on marriage today. 
• One thing that's ugly-beautiful: my tears.  Sometimes I hate the fact that I cry so easily.  It's embarrassing and sometimes ugly.  But it's also a beautiful gift to be so compassionate for others that I cry when they cry.  I'm comforted by the promise that God never thinks my tears are senseless. You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book. Psalm 56:8