A Gift in Wind, in Water, in White

Wind: Today's snow blowing sideways in the wind...so sick of it, yet it's still beautiful
Water: Quenching my deep thirst
White: The beautiful clouds in a bright blue sky... so ready to see those again!

3 Gifts Read

~ The Word of God
~ One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp
~ Blog posts that challenge and encourage me

3 Gifts in Christ

~ Forgiveness
~ Eternal life with Him
~ The perfect relationship - at least on His end!

3 Gifts Carved

~ All the awesome cars tonight at the Awana Grand Prix
~ Our beautiful bookshelf, created by my husband
~ My bass guitar

3 Gifts Loud

~ Our teenagers running around the church playing Grog (their favorite)
~ The chipping sparrow outside our window that just can't stop singing that spring is near
~ Singing along to Air1 blasting as we set up chairs for tomorrow's service

3 Gifts in the Kitchen

~ Homemade smoothies for breakfast
~ My electric tea kettle
~ My apron

3 Gifts Found

~ Finding new friendships
~ Finding (yet again) my need for a Savior
~ Me - I once was lost, but now I'm found!

3 Ugly Beautiful Gifts

~ My heart: ugly, but being made beautiful
~ Our sink pipes coming undone while doing dishes, which provided a chance for God to give me peace and not let me come unglued
~ Another looming winter storm, which I am so sick of, but yet the snow is still so beautiful

3 Gifts Seen as Reflections

~ A mirror showing me myself and reminding me who I am
~ A tree line along a lake
~ Lilypads on the water

A Gift Worn Out, New, Made-Do

Worn Out: My beautiful tulips that have reached the end of their lives
New: Beautiful serving plates that Roy found on major clearance and got for me :)
Made Do:  I feel like so many things in our life are "made do" but we're still so grateful for all God's given us!

3 Gifts Before 11 AM

~ A nice warm shower
~ The bright sunshine
~ Catching up with my friends

3 Ways You Feel the Love of God

~ Through His creation and its beauty
~ Through Roy each and every day
~ Through good friends who love me just as I am

3 Gifts Found in Giving/Serving

~ The joy-filled and youthful faces that smile up at me each week in our Sunday School classes. Love those kids.
~ The overwhelming love I feel for our church family when I get to be up on stage and just look out over them as I play.
~ The laughter and heartache found in working with teenagers. They bring me to the Lord in prayer with prayers of thanksgiving and pleas of mercy.

3 Gifts in Shadows

~ The silhouettes of me and Roy walking hand in hand in the evening. I miss our walks and can't wait for it to warm back up so we can walk together again.
~ Cool breezes on warm days
~ The reminder that light shines into the dark places. Light makes the darkness flee, but darkness can do nothing to the light. Just like Christ.

A Gift at 11:30, 2:30, 6:30

11:30: Preparing for youth and kids ministries this weekend. It is a joy to work with them!
2:30: The ability to exercise and move my body to keep it healthy
6:30: Enjoying time with our youth girls at Girls' Night

3 Gifts Found Outside

~ A neighbor helping my car get unstuck yesterday
~ A blanket of glittering diamonds
~ Watching a beautiful sunset on my drive home

A Gift Stitched, Hammered, Woven

Stitched: Our quilt, one of our most used wedding gifts!
Hammered: Our bookshelf that Roy built
Woven: All my sweaters, which have been very helpful in this snowy winter

3 Gifts Found When Bent Down

~ My favorite little boy, visiting with his parents for dinner
~ The reminder that He is God and I am not
~ Clean floors, thanks to my husband that was a huge help today!

3 Gifts Found in Writing

~ Our Christmas cards from each other, family, and friends that are sitting out in various places and contain messages of love
~ My reading in Psalms today: "I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living!  Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!"
~  Research material that I actually am enjoying!

3 Gifts on Paper

~ My Bible
~ Cards and notes from people that love me
~ Books!

3 Old Things Seen New

~ People that you've known at a distance once you get to know them
~ Birds back at our feeder that we haven't seen in awhile
~ Youth Group - so good to be back!

A Gift on Paper, In Person, In a Picture

Paper: Needed information for a project in books at the library
Person: Encouragement from Roy when I'm feeling tired and down
Picture: Wedding photos that remind me of our special day

3 Gifts Red

~ The blood of Christ shed on my behalf
~ The third stalk blooming on our amaryllis! Crazy!
~ Monk DVD cases, one of our favorites to enjoy together

A Song Heard, A Soft Word, Light Seen

Song: Never Once by Matt Redman: "Every step we are breathing in Your grace. Evermore we’ll be breathing out Your praise. You are faithful, God, You are faithful" Love these words!

Word: "I love you..."

Light: The beautiful sunset tonight as I drove west

3 Graces Found In Friends

~ Lunch with old work friends; catching up and laughing with Paige and Alisha
~ Stephanie, the one I can just be me with and the one who just gets me
~ Michael and Sarah, the ones who we get to do life with and can't wait to know better

3 Gifts in the Kitchen

~ Cooking dinner with friends
~ Leftovers to pack in my lunch
~ New cookbook stand

A Gift Before Dawn, At Noon, After Dark

Before Dawn: Sleep!
At Noon: Getting to come home after church
After Dark: One-on-one at Starbucks with one of my girls

A Grace Borrowed, Found, Inherited

Borrowed: Good books from friends
Found: Me...because of Christ
Inherited: Little gifts from my grandmas

3 Things Blue

~ The sky that decided to show today... even if it was still bitterly cold!
~ Blocks, puzzles, toys galore! I always love visiting Sarah and playing with Gabe and his toys!
~ Boardwalk and Park Place that were my only hope in our game of Monopoly tonight. However, Roy still pulled out the victory.

3 Gifts Found in Christ

~ Security: He will carry out His work in me until He returns, and He's sealed me with His Spirit.
~ Faithfulness: He is faithful and just to forgive my sins and cleanse me from all unrighteousness. Even when I am unfaithful to Him, His  faithfulness to me is not nullified.
~ Salvation: But God demonstrates His own love for us in this; while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

A Gift Wrinkled, Smoothed, Unfolded

Wrinkled: my embroidered handkerchief from my baptism in 1999 that I just rediscovered
Smoothed: our nicely made bed
Unfolded: old notes from Roy that I keep to remind me of how far we've come and how God has worked in our lives

A Gift In Sky, Water, Memory

Sky: vivid colors at sunrise
Water: lily pads
Memory: Betty, my favorite lady from Texas

3 Gifts Only Seen Close Up

~ The shimmering scales on our fish from dinner
~ The beauty of my flowers
~ The beauty of someone's heart

3 Gifts That Might Never Have Been

~ my marriage
~ my pursuit of my occupational therapy degree
~ my experience in Texas

3 Gifts from God's Word

Romans 8.28 ~ And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

Philippians 1.6 ~ And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.

2 Corinthians 5.21 ~ For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. 

A Gift Bringing Laughter, Prayer, Quiet

Laughter: Playing euchre with Michael and Sarah...and all the fun conversation that comes with it!
Prayer: Growing friendships that bring me to lift them up in prayer
Quiet: Resting on Roy's shoulder - a place of quiet and peace

3 Witnessed Blessings

~ My husband spending our free evening with me
~ Our professor letting us out of class early (especially helpful with the snow that's falling!)
~ Just being able to witness stepping into a warm home on a cold night, having comfort and security that so many don't have

A Gift Worn, Given Away, Shared

Worn - Warm slippers that were a birthday gift from a sweet friend
Given Away - A simple pack of peanut butter crackers to a homeless girl who shares my name
Shared - Homemade buckeyes with my classmates

3 Startling Graces of God

~ He knows my inmost secrets and shameful sins, and He loves me more deeply than I could imagine
~ He left Heaven and came to earth to live the perfect life that I cannot live and pay the debt that I owed that I might have life
~ He is coming back for me and all of His children and we will live with Him forever

3 Things About Yourself You Are Grateful For

~ That I love nature
~ That I'm married to a wonderful husband
~ That Jesus loves me and has saved me and made me his child

Something Above, Below, Beside

Above: My God whose love is wider, higher, longer, and deeper than my mind can fathom
Below: A booth beneath me as I was kindly treated out to lunch
Beside: My love back with me after four days away!

3 Yellow Gifts of Fresh Mercy

~ A fresh pineapple sliced up for smoothies and snacks
~ The colors on a bird in my sketchpad
~ The warmth of the sun on my face

A Gift Sour, Sweet, Just Right

Sour: Starting the day with a doctor's appointment, but grateful for good health.
Sweet: Spending much of my day with my favorite friends.
Just Right: Finally getting this apartment in decent shape. I need a place that I can relax, and chaos just does not work!

A Gift Held, Passed By, Sat With

Held: Roy this morning before I left. Sometimes it's harder to say goodbye than other times.
Passed by: The kitchen cleaned up by my loving husband.
Sat with: My classmates...for like 6 hours :) Good thing I like them. 

Dusky Light, Surprising Reflection, Lovely Shadow

Dusky Light: As I left the house this morning, I saw the first sunrise I've seen in awhile.
Surprising Reflection: Myself in the mirror after being out in the cold and wind. Looked better than I thought! Doesn't happen often!
Lovely Shadow: The shadows in my bedroom where I will soon lay down and rest in darkness.

3 Graces From People You Love

Roy: Helping me when running our washer in these cold temps resulted in a mini flood in our kitchen.
Michael & Sarah: Having us for dinner. I love it when you feel at home in the house of a friend.
Mom: Texting just to make sure we have heat and we're doing ok.

One Thing in Your Bag, Your Fridge, Your Heart

Bag: Starbucks gift card with plenty loaded to keep me warm this winter with my favorite drinks
Fridge: A lot of leftover vegetable soup we made today
Heart: Gratefulness to Roy for helping me clean and organize our apartment today

Something You're Reading, Making, Seeing

Reading: One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp
Making: Homemade chicken pot pies with my mom
Seeing: My amaryllis in full bloom

A Gift Old, New, Blue

Old: A favorite Christmas ornament being passed down to me
New: Several new faces at our youth group lock in
Blue: Skip Bo and Dutch Blitz cards to play with our youth

3 Graces You Overheard

~ Laughter of good friends
~ Kindness of a bank teller
~ Joyful sharing of a story by a stranger

A Gift Outside, Inside, On a Plate

Outside: Beautiful snow falling outside my window most of the day
Inside: The beauty of our Christmas tree still bringing joy as we wrap up the season
On a Plate: Colonial Pizza because the fridge is bare

3 Gifts Heard

~ Clinking glasses filled with Martinelli's
~ Adventures in Odyssey playing on the drive home
~ Phil Wickham's new album