“my sunshine”
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Category: photography
Counting to 1,000 (935-959)
“Amen!
Praise and glory
and wisdom and thanks and honor
and power and strength
be to our God for ever and ever.
Amen!”
-Revelation 7:12
My One Thousand Gifts list continues this week with items 935 through 959:
935. how the autumn sun casts shadows of dancing leaves on the kitchen wall
936. sailing wing-on-wing across the lake on a gusty Sunday afternoon
937. sharing life with new friends
938. the quiet pitter-patter of ballet shoes slipping across the wood floor
939. how passionately she participates in her first ballet lessons
940. the helpful pharmacist
941. piles of piano books
942. the tap dancers’ uncontainable energy
943. holding sweet little Dorothy during the entire lesson
944. family devotions on Elohim (with Sally Michael’s fabulous new book: God’s Names)
945. how the horse eagerly eats an apple from my hand
946. rides on Chevy the Horse on a crisp, autumn morning
947. little girls in boots, all smiley on the platform of stairs
948. how they all line up to feed Nana the younger horse
949. Chevy’s clever tricks and kisses
950. new space for art class and the amazing teacher who likes it despite the dead frog that somehow landed on her head
951. the orange sherbet moon melting into the cloudy night sky
952. six sweet girls who listen and read and play together
953. how the young artist takes her lines for a walk and then colors a rainbow of chalk
954. lessons in longitude and latitude and all things geography
955. small group Bible studies overflowing with participants
956. how colorfully she wears her passion for the backyard swings
957. how she blushes when I catch her belting out tunes into her jump rope “microphone”
958. homemade chicken and dumplings, Gramma-style
959. the little ears and hands that somehow find the notes on the violin
You’re invited! Check out other bloggers’ posts in the One Thousand Gifts community by clicking the graphic below. Or click here to check out all previous posts in my “Counting to 1,000” series.
Back-to-School: Photo Entry
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Counting to 1,000 (905-934)
“Sing to the LORD with grateful praise; make music to our God on the harp.” -Psalm 147:7
My One Thousand Gifts list continues this week with items 905 through 933:
905. how she clamours with excitement anticipating the first day of Kindergarten
906. lessons in wisdom from Proverbs
907. big smiles and nifty new lunchboxes
908. snack time
909. snuggling up on the couch with books that take us around the world
910. their prayers for the homeless
911. 11 girls and 4 boys in our new Sunday School class
912. how quietly they sit and how closely they pay attention
913. the faithful teachers who serve
914. Psalm 96 and Psalm 47 — Let the nations be glad!
915. how she signs to me from the other room and blows kisses
916. two students so eager to learn
917. mountains of laundry overflowing the basket
918. the freedom to homeschool
919. City Square Park for recess
920. the neighbor friend who wants to play, too
921. her passion for swinging
922. new jump ropes — just like I had in P.E.
923. freezer meals
924. smoking BBQ in the backyard with new friends
925. a gusty afternoon of sailing and conversing with new friends
926. her generous offer for free babysitting
927. Spanish lessons
928. their kind thank-yous
929. live jousting, crazy log wars, elephant rides, glittery fairies, daring flame jugglers and kind harpist who lets them strum the instrument
930. exploring a fascinating festival with very dear friends
931. happy, dirty feet because we walked far with friends beside us
932. a gift of fresh cucumbers from the garden of a new friend
933. friendships characterized like Proverbs 27:17
934. lessons in contentment and friendship
You’re invited! Check out other bloggers’ posts in the One Thousand Gifts community by clicking the graphic below. Or click here to check out all previous posts in my “Counting to 1,000” series.
Let the Listening, Adding and Learning Begin
This morning we kicked off another year of learning at Starlight School. Aren’t my students cute? We all appreciate the new lunch boxes; in fact, I think I need my very own new lunch box, too.
These from Goodbyn come with dozens and dozens of dishwasher-safe stickers so you can customize and decorate them yourself. What’s more, they stack quite nicely in the refrigerator. One noticeable drawback is their lack of insulation. But here in the frozen tundra, keeping lunch cool usually is not too much of a problem. If you live in a warmer climate, keep this in mind before ordering one yourself.
I was so jazzed about using these that — for the first time ever — I packed the girls’ lunches the night before. How revolutionary!
This completely helps me fight grumpiness around mid-day; my own grumpiness, that is. Some days when we are still deep in the books and the clock ticks ever closer to noon, I really wish I could just send them to the cafeteria for a while! I can’t; but having lunches all ready to go seems like the next best thing for easing my mid-day stress. Of course, this is just Day 1, so maybe I will follow up in a few weeks and let you know if this is still such a grand idea for homeschool moms.
The school room itself finally came together last week. Tah-dah!
Notice the geography theme? And the owls? I am so excited about the owls. We have an owl theme going this year to help us remember some of our key verses. This week’s verse is from Proverbs 1:5 — “Let the wise listen and add to their learning…”
The school room is truly a blessing, and I am very thankful to have the space to keep school books and projects organized. But since the room is in our basement and lacks windows, most days we can only bear to stay down there a few hours before we must come upstairs for air and sunshine and food (for the latter, see lunchbox discussion above).
We had plenty of sunshine and fresh air today. The weather is downright perfect this week! Right after lunch we headed to our favorite park for recess and a few “not” back-to-school photos. The playground equipment at this particular park is scheduled for a major upgrade in a few weeks, and I am feeling a tad bit nostalgic about saying goodbye to the swings, merry-go-round and slides that both my kids have thoroughly adored since before they could walk. Sniff.
Plus, doesn’t the weathered equipment make a nice background for school pictures?
Another favorite feature of the park, besides its massive trees, is the gazebo.
Lots of brides have their pictures taken here, and for a good reason. It offers nice lighting in the afternoon and an array of leading lines to add interest to your photos.
So that’s a quick wrap of our first day of school. Now I gotta run and pack tomorrow’s lunches.
Counting to 1,000 (869-904)
“I will give thanks to the LORD because of His righteousness;
I will sing the praises of the name of the LORD Most High.”
-Psalm 7:17
Giving thanks as my One Thousand Gifts list grows ever so close to the goal. Here are items 869 through 904:
869. giggles and silliness with “chin men” faces
870. a building to borrow for homeschool classes
871. a tiny butterfly hiding in the bright orange mums
872. teamwork within the church
873. two full days devoted to school preparations
874. the thoughtful, fun daddy who takes them on a day trip to St. Paul
875. his strong hands strumming the red guitar he built himself
876. road-tripping to Northfield with a dear friend
877. relaxing hours spent chatting and catching up with girlfriends at Goodbye Blue Monday
878. a steaming mug of Mexican hot chocolate
879. the princess picture she created for her little sister
880. ice cubes to numb a fat lip
881. frisbee fun in the backyard
882. reflections in the bird bath
883. bumblebees hiding in the hostas
884. the growing little maple tree she inadvertently planted
885. an end-of-summer teddy bear tea party
886. dear friends for my daughters
887. bear brownies
888. raindrops sparkling like jewels on the windshield
889. a bookshelf full of new books
890. bulletin boards
891. new school supplies
892. a freshly re-organized school room
893. fun geography ideas shared on Pinterest
894. the smell of hot dogs and burgers sizzling on the grill while the cicadas sing the song of summer’s end
895. hands ready to minister to a newly single parent
896. a full roster for my “Girls of Character” study
897. how gently she holds the egg that didn’t hatch
898. Jamie Grace pounding out “Hold Me” on her guitar
899. their kind, encouraging words
900. the broken dryer and piles of dirty laundry
901. the smart husband who knows how to take the dryer apart, fix it and put it back together again
902. the beautiful hummingbird that perches long at the feeder
903. the 108-minutes-and-31-seconds phone conversation with my big brother
904. my nephew’s 4 years and the sound of his sweet little voice on the other end of the phone
You’re invited! Check out other bloggers’ posts in the One Thousand Gifts community by clicking the graphic below. Or click here to check out all previous posts in my “Counting to 1,000” series.
Counting to 1,000 (838-868)
“Every blessing You pour out
I’ll turn back to praise
When the darkness closes in, Lord
Still I will say
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your name (Jesus)
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your glorious name”
–Matt Redman
We sang Matt Redman’s song at Sunday worship yesterday. It has long been one of my favorites. But after a week of taking my oldest daughter to and from Spanish immersion VBS, the song lyric that is stuck in my head today is “Yo tengo tanto, tanto, tanto para agradecer!”
I do have so much to be thankful for! And compiling my One Thousand Gifts list is a regular reminder to not just watch for the blessings God pours out but also turn each one back to God in praise.
Here are items 838 through 868 in my list:
838. singing along with the kids to fun praise songs in Spanish — “Yo tengo tanto, tanto, tanto para agradecer!”
839. how Spanish immersion VBS ignites a passion for the unreached people in Peru
840. God’s faithful protection over my cousins who survived being hit by a drunk driver
841. her winning four free State Fair tickets and getting to pass them along to a neighbor
842. his winning free tickets to watch the Twins play the Yankees at Target Field
843. how she taps his leg gently and how he kindly cracks open each peanut for her
844. how happily she exclaims “It’s a doll hat!” as she examines the plastic miniature baseball helmet full of ice cream
845. singing “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” during the 7th inning stretch — a song I remember from my tee-ball days
846. picture-perfect sailing weather and three pleasant evenings on the lake with friends
847. playtime in the pool with dear friends
848. a potluck pool party with new friends
849. lessons in Job 1:20-22 about praising God when He gives and when He takes away
850. their prayers for my cousins
851. new acquaintances who surprisingly turn out to have mutual friends
852. how they all bounce together in celebration of her 4th birthday
853. how much the littlest of five has grown since I held her last month
854. the teens who serve up pizza and tacos to raise money for their Jamaica mission trip
855. their lengthy search for the lost library book — still not found
856. a lull between loads of laundry
857. a breezy picnic lunch in the shade on a grassy hilltop at the Arboretum
858. a family bike ride to Target for a treat
859. meeting baby Annie and seeing the sweet smiles of her big sisters
860. the big brown eyes and shy smile of a 15-month-old
861. how the youngest brother throws back his head in roaring laughter as he helps steer the boat
862. her homemade zucchini bread
863. more hummingbirds at the patio feeder
864. God’s mercy on us
865. words about His gracious giving (Romans 8:32)
866. Matt Redman’s song “Blessed Be the Name of the Lord”
867. loads of wet towels and swimsuits
868. the happy news that she’s home from the hospital
You’re invited! Check out other bloggers’ posts in the One Thousand Gifts community by clicking the graphic below. Or click here to check out all previous posts in my “Counting to 1,000” series.
Counting to 1,000 (814-837)
“Every day of my life was recorded in your book.
Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.
How precious are your thoughts about me, O God.
They cannot be numbered!
I can’t even count them; they outnumber the grains of sand!”
–Psalm 139:16b-18a (NLT)
I’ve counted well beyond 800 now in my One Thousand Gifts list, and now it seems like I have enough moments recorded to make a book. But the truth is my list is but a tiny, tiny snippet of what God has already recorded in His book.
As Psalm 139 reminds me, I can’t count all the moments, all the ways He loves me and all the thoughts He thinks of me because His precious thoughts outnumber the grains of sand. Oh, what a truth to ponder!
Here are items 814 through 837 in my list:
814. putting a hand of blessing on the head of each dear member of my VBS crew
815. a chance to “be the gift” — they even gift wrapped me in paper and bows!
816. warm hugs from new little friends
817. their whistles, quacks and baaas as they talk to the animals
818. remarkable cows and refillable milk cups for 50 cents
819. pig races and familiar faces at the county fair
820. courage to ride the ferris wheel
821. close encounters with exotic animals
822. his passion for funnel cake
823. carefree leaps into the pool
824. food and fellowship among church friends
825. lessons from Esther
826. how God cares for His people
827. the kind worker who gives us an impromptu tour of the local food shelf
828. how the sunshine dances on the waves and the reeds
829. the peaceful sound of the waves gently lapping against the boat as it glides across the water
830. unexpected goosebumps on an August evening
831. sunset on the lake
832. how she bounces happily through the grass, chasing butterflies
833. meet-you-in-the-middle hugs given with a running start
834. giving lessons in how to drink Coca-Cola from a glass bottle
835. strong, confident legs that pedal the bike and pump the swing
836. her request for “Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus” as a lullaby
837. fishy faces
You’re invited! Check out other posts in the One Thousand Gifts community by clicking the graphic below.
Counting to 1,000 (784-813)
“Thank You for making me so wonderfully complex!”
–Psalm 139:14a (NLT)
This week is Vacation Bible School at our church. God’s goodness and love have followed me there, and I have the joy of leading a crew of half a dozen 3rd graders from praise and worship to games, crafts, Bible lessons and snacks. Last night I fell into bed exhausted in such a soul-satisfying way. Where else can you go to wear panda ears, hear “God made us!” proclaimed and repeatedly shout “Thank You, God!” in response? Better is one day in His courts than a thousand elsewhere, and for that I am thankful.
I am complex and tired, too, but best of all I am truly loved by God. You are, too.
Counting the ways He loves me keeps me thankful; here are items 784 to 813 in my One Thousand Gifts list:
784. creamy, frozen peanut butter pie on a hot evening
785. girl talk over Mexican food
786. the cheery buzz of the otherwise anonymous cicadas, hiding in the trees
787. the 20 cents she spends buying her big sister a green lollipop, a special surprise
788. how grown up she acts carrying that sparkly pink purse on her wrist as we stroll down the sidewalk
789. new little friends chatting about scrapbooking and quilting in the back of the mini-van
790. a tea luncheon with one spunky 5-year-old, Raggedy Ann, Fancy Nancy, a black gorilla named Licorice, and a dozen blueberry muffins
791. the happy clang of the garage door opener, signaling his return home from work
792. celebrating the big question popped and the saying “yes” 16 summers later
793. the man who comes home with a fist-full of flowers, happy to whisk me away for dinner
794. how mindful he is as he tells them stories about their Great-Great-Grandma Alice
795. the smile on her red Kool-aid stained face as she proclaims “I feel like I’m eating humming-bird food!”
796. the close parking spots and the rainstorm that lets up while we’re running errands
797. the unexpected joy of teaching them how to bounce-pass a basketball
798. the sweet 2-month-old who snuggles in close to her mom
799. how her big blue eyes sparkle with excitement as we enjoy the “best lunch ever” at Antiquity Rose
800. shopping with an 8-year-old who finds me the perfect tea party hat
801. how she adores clay camp
802. all her 80 years — and how she loves her great-grandchildren
803. curling up on the couch with him to watch Flywheel
804. the breeze that finds its way through open windows
805. the air conditioner repair man who decides to drop the extra charge for a Saturday service call
806. lessons on prayer and righteousness from Nehemiah
807. the passionate youth pastor who presents Already Gone to our Sunday School class
808. the lovely dwelling place where one day is better than a thousand elsewhere (Psalm 84)
809. making new friends in the parking lot after church
810. a divine grocery store appointment with a sweet friend
811. his fajitas and the salsa that tastes just right
812. making new friends at VBS
813. singing praise to Him and loudly shouting together “Thank You, God!” over and over with the VBS crew
You’re invited! Check out other posts in the One Thousand Gifts community by clicking the graphic below.
Counting to 1,000 (752-783)
“When the builders laid the foundation of the temple of the LORD, the priests in their vestments and with trumpets, and the Levites (the sons of Asaph) with cymbals, took their places to praise the LORD, as prescribed by David king of Israel. With praise and thanksgiving they sang to the LORD:
“He is good;
His love to Israel endures forever.”
And all the people gave a great shout of praise to the LORD, because the foundation of the house of the LORD was laid. But many of the older priests and Levites and family heads, who had seen the former temple, wept aloud when they saw the foundation of this temple being laid, while many others shouted for joy. No one could distinguish the sound of the shouts of joy from the sound of weeping, because the people made so much noise. And the sound was heard far away.
-Ezra 3:10-13
Are we taking our places to praise the Lord today? Are our shouts and weeps of praise and thanksgiving to the Lord being heard far away?
My list of One Thousand Gifts continues this week as an intentional way to proclaim that God is good and His love endures forever.
752. playgroup at the park and the chance to fellowship with other moms
753. tender hugs from the sweetest little boys
754. chatting with my fun friend Alice at the beach while the kids frolick in the warm water
755. sand between my toes
756. how she helps me cut fresh hydrangeas for the blue vase
757. making popsicles and watching puppet shows on hot days
758. the baptism article that runs word for word in the newspaper
759. how she thanks me for helping clean her room
760. wise words to remember when dreading Mt. Laundry
761. empty sketchbooks full of promise for art class
762. one-year-olds toddling through the waves
763. giant cardboard boxes decorated to become a playhouse “lodge up north”
764. the washing machine that keeps up with all the sandy wet beach towels
765. smart, passionate people to serve alongside
766. lessons in faithfulness and sacrifice taught by missionaries
767. how we laugh about kids being kids
768. the happy big camper who heads off to the campground with two little happy campers
769. their happy leaps and hugs as I pass out Dilly Bars to little girls with lake-soaked jeans
770. how confident she is riding her big bike around the campsite
771. all smiles around the campfire as they sink teeth into “doughboys”
772. my dear friend Jonda who celebrated her birthday this week
773. nifty new lunch boxes
774. words of wisdom from a 92-year-old widow
775. little girls star gazing, sleepless in the big red tent
776. tired campers napping the afternoon away
777. chips and salsa
778. monarch butterflies dancing through the hydrangeas
779. the freedom to forgive and be forgiven
780. exploring part of the mysterious ghost-town on the island
781. a cook-out picnic with family friends and their boys — one hanging upside down from a bent tree and the other hanging fish on his line
782. three hours just lingering in the lake, talking with a kind friend and watching the kids jump off the boat — all happy and wet
783. soft beds on which to rest swim-tired bodies
You’re invited! Check out other posts in the One Thousand Gifts community by clicking the graphic below.
Starlight Writer 