April 5, 2012: A Cup of Grace

3 gifts at 11am, 2pm, 6pm:

• a cup of tea at my desk, made tastier by the fact that the tea bags were a gift from a friend.
• one of the officers stopping into the church, saving me a phone call asking someone to come in to sign accounts payable checks.
• grace from my husband when dinner was blandly mediocre after an extremely busy day at work.

March 21, 2012: Sometimes Gifts Are Hard to Swallow

one gift salty, one gift sweet, one gift just right:

• salty tears of frustration over a difficult situation.  Trying to keep in mind Ephesians 4:2,  Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.
• sweet, chewy peanut butter cookies, freshly baked.  I've already eaten more than my fair share!
• a just right afternoon spent with a friend.  Lunch and shopping--fun girl time!

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