July 31, 2012: Counting the Difficult as Joy

3 gift difficult:

• waiting for answers to prayer
• trusting God's timing
• doors closing

July 30, 2012: How Loud Do You Need the Volume?

3 gifts heard:

• agreement from another leader on the direction God is leading us, confirmation from the Holy Spirit.
• honesty and truth from sisters in Christ as we discussed joy, gratitude, expectations, and lament.
• the Shema: Sh'ma Yisrael Adonai Eloheinu Adonai Eḥad - Hear, O Israel: the Lord is our God, the Lord is One.  

July 29, 2012: Together by Heart

3 gifts together:

• our family in a row at church, family not of blood or background or even race, but of heart
• my husband and I reading the Sunday paper at the kitchen table after lunch
• a bike ride through the park in the cool of the evening

July 28, 2012: The Gift of a Clean Slate

3 gifts of beginnings:

• new opportunities to watch what God has planned. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland. Isaiah 43:19
• additional time to grow trust. When I am afraid, I put my trust in you.   In God, whose word I praise— in God I trust and am not afraid. Psalm 56:3-4a
• fresh starts. 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. Psalm 103:11-12

July 27, 2012: Home Sweet Home

a gift on vacation, at home, in relaxation

• freedom from To Do lists
• comfort of knowing you can be completely yourself
• blessing of God-given rest  “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." Matthew 11:28

July 26, 2012: Fresh Joy

3 gifts fresh:

• my attitude after stopping by our refugee family's apartment for a visit.  contagious joy.
• blueberries for lunch
• basil growing in my windowsill

July 25, 2012: The Ending Is Only the Beginning

3 gifts of endings:

• I have no reason to fear. I know that my redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand on the earth. Job 19:25
• the comfort of knowing I am never alone. For this God is our God for ever and ever; he will be our guide even to the end. Psalm 38:14
• the knowledge that he has already been there. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End. Revelation 22:13