Remembering the Blessings During the Trials

"The thief comes only to steal and and kill and destroy;
I have come that they may have LIFE and have it to the full."
John 10:10


I know that the key to pushing through the hard times is looking at the blessings. As life has thrown me some major trials in the last two months, I have completely left my list of 1000 gifts behind. This desert that I am in needs reminding of the good around me. This seems obvious, but Ann Voskamps book "One Thousand Gifts: Dare to LIVE FULLY RIGHT WHERE YOU ARE" explains it so well when she says "when I give thanks for the seemingly microscopic, I make a place for God to grow within me".

So here continues my list
#226-240
....the sound of the tea kettle whistling sends me feelings of comfort through and through
....making cranberry tea with Caroline-sharing in her excitement and joy in juicing the lemons and oranges
....girls up on the hill with a friend for HOURS, just being little girls!
....the little red book, Streams in the Desert by Mrs Chas Cowman given to me on my birthday by a dear, thoughtful friend. This one book besides my Bible has been my pipeline of comfort from God
....the words of Andrew Murray "we have a God who delights in the impossibilities"
....being very sore from a hard workout (below 150lbs)
....good friends who comfort me
....1 Thess 5:16-18 claiming these verses now and for always..."be joyful always, pray continually, give THANKS in ALL circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus"
....twins mastering no training wheels one day apart, Caroline was not going to be out done by Thomas. Pure joy to watch there joy as they went around and around the driveway!
....making it through Thanksgiving day~I love my kids so much
....a few hours to myself, in my house to clean, put things away, and decorate a bit for Christmas
....red vintage tablecloth, freshly ironed and put on the table in the family room, I see it everytime I walk to the front of the house. Thank you mom for giving me a pop of red to add to the Christmas spirit
....a brother who cares
....kids who tackle a project as a team (lovely job of cleaning the bird cage out, they made it look like new!)
....Ephesians 3:20

November 10 devotion from Streams in the Desert
"....it behooves thee, therefore, to rely with confidence upon the Word of God. And though He delayeth His help, and the evil seemeth to grow worse and worse, be not weak, but rather strong, and rejoice, since the most glorious promises of God are genereally fulfilled in such a wondrous manner that He steps forth to save us at a time when there is the least appearance of it."