1000 Gifts

Even in my darkest hour,
Through the sorrow and the pain,
I will sing; I will praise…

~ I will Sing (Don Moen)

3 Gifts Curled

310. The sons curled up in bed.
311. My hair.
312. Pencil shavings.

3 Gifts Yellow

313. A yellow leaf.
314. Turmeric powder.
315. Yellow flowers along the highway.

3 Gifts of Stone

316. Stones fitted at our church entrance.
317. The stone that was rolled away.
318. Jesus, my Cornerstone.

3 Gifts Hanging Down

319. A ceiling fan.
320. Leafy branches.
321. Chandeliers in a display window.

3 Gifts Learned

322. Diligence from the ant.
323. Hindi Rhymes with my sons.
324. The importance of trusting in God, while I’m waiting.

3 Gifts Musical

325. A new praise song the sons taught us.
326. My husband playing the guitar during family prayer.
327. Singing “He’s still working on me” and the sons echoing “On Me!”.

3 Gifts Baked

328. Bread.
329. Cookies.
330. A pineapple upside down cake, baked by my husband’s colleague.

A Gift in Light, Dark, Shadow

331. Sons practicing writing, in the radiance of a tube light.
332. Travelling in the dark to a friend’s new home.
333. Shadows on the highway, cast by the clouds floating above.

3 Gifts of Story

334. Catching up with a friend after 5 years.
335. A match-making story unfolding before our eyes.
336. The sons giving us driving directions to their school.

3 Gifts Understated

337. Our home.
338. God’s love, words could never be enough to explain it.
339. The effect of change.

A Gift High, Low, Far Away

340. Cloudy skies.
341. Rain water puddles.
342. A dream destination.

Are you in the habit of counting your blessings? I mean, literally counting them 1, 2, 3… Would you consider joining me on this journey? Would you dare to live fully, right where you are?

When up on life’s billows, you are tempest tossed,
When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost,
Count your many blessings, name them one by one,
And it will surprise you what the Lord has done! 

~ From the Hymn (Count Your Blessings)

Here I go again, counting my blessings; leading up to at least one thousand gifts I am thankful to God for.

A Gift in Faith, Family, Freedom

280. Knowing the future is secure in my Father’s hands.
281. Being together, no matter what.
282. The freedom of being a stay-at-home mom.

A Gift in Red, White, and Blue

283. The Lego box.
284. The keys on our electric keyboard.
285. 3 pairs of flip-flops.

3 Gifts of Persistence

286. Trying to get our internet connection fixed.
287. My husband’s desire to play football.
288. The sons, constantly begging to help me in the kitchen.

3 Gifts of Enthusiasm

289. The kids, excited to be attending our prayer group.
290. Our prayer group venue’s face-lift.
291. Me, enthusiastic about a lazy weekend.

A Gift of Challenge, Conflict, Change

292. Finding a house, big enough to accommodate 3 growing boys.
293. The sons, not wanting to get back home.
294. Doing my hair up in a new hairstyle that my husband suggested.

3 Gifts Water

295. A light drizzle.
296. The sudden thunderstorm.
297. 3 purple water bottles.

A Gift of Rhythm, Rhyme, Reason

298. The rhythm of my feet, on my morning run.
299. The sons belting out a rhyme they learnt in school.
300. Trying to make the kids understand, why they can’t always have their way.

3 Gifts in Weakness

301. His strength.
302. A husband who’s always willing to ease my burden.
303. The time to rest.

3 Gifts in Jars

304. Jam.
305. Homemade chocolate syrup.
306. Jalapeno chili mayonnaise.

A Gift of Life, Growth, Decline

307. My grandfather – feeble, yet so strong.
308. The money plant, in a corner of our living room.
309. My blog stats ;).

Are you in the habit of counting your blessings? I mean, literally counting them 1, 2, 3… Would you consider joining me on this journey? Would you dare to live fully, right where you are?

“I will give you thanks in the great assembly; among throngs of people I will praise you.” (Psalm 35:18)

I’m participating in the Joy Dare – giving God thanks in the assembly world wide web… Counting 1000 gifts I can be thankful for…

3 Gifts in Fabric

259. The handkerchief I used on my wedding day.
260. Crisp cotton clothes.
261. My sons’ school uniforms.

3 Gifts Framed by a Frame

262. A “Sketch-a-Photo” picture of my husband and I as newlyweds.
263. A “Sketch-a-Photo” picture of my sons.
264. The verse Romans 15:13, a gift from my cousin.

3 Gifts Eaten

265. Chocolate chip cookies {again!}.
266. Scrambled eggs.
267. Jalapeno chilli mayo and jam on bread.

A Gift Small, Big, Just Right

268. Watching Bible cartoons with the sons.
269. Seeing my husband drenched in God’s presence.
270. Reaching church on time after being stuck in traffic for two hours.

3 Gifts you Gave today

271. A hug.
272. A call.
273. A meal.

3 Gifts Loved

274. Worship in our church.
275. A hard-hitting lesson on priorities, from our pastor.
276. Family time.

3 Gifts Read

277. My Bible.
278. A storybook.
279. The children’s Bible.

Are you in the habit of counting your blessings? I mean, literally counting them 1, 2, 3… Would you consider joining me on this journey? Would you dare to live fully, right where you are?

Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. (I Thessalonians 5:16-18)

3 Gifts you became today in Serving

238. A clothes dryer.
239. A cook.
240. A comforter.

A Gift Bent, Beautiful, Loved

241. My mother’s fingers, bent with arthritis, but oh so precious.
242. The light morning breeze.
243. Our family unit.

3 Gifts found in Light

244. Clarity.
245. Direction.
246. Revelation.

3 Gifts that are Difficult

247. Bumpy Roads.
248. Traffic Jams.
249. Strangers talking to my sons.

3 Gifts found around a Table

250. Laughter.
251. Conversation.
252. Company.

A Gift in Water, in Words, in White

253. Refreshment on a tiring day.
254. The lyrics of a new hymn that our pastor sang in church.
255. Washed clothes, waited to be folded.

3 Gifts today in Someone Older than You

256. Wisdom.
257. Encouragement.
258. Experience.

Are you in the habit of counting your blessings? I mean, literally counting them 1, 2, 3… Would you consider joining me on this journey? Would you dare to live fully, right where you are?

“I will bless the LORD at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth.” (Psalm 31:1)

3 Gifts Full

217. The skies, filled with clouds that looked like this.
218. My heart, as my sons walk together, holding hands.
219. My mind, filled with all I couldn’t get done today.

3 Gifts Smelled

220. Pizza with italian seasoning.
221. My husband’s cologne.
222. Homegrown black pepper, a gift from my mother-in-law.

A Gift Unexpected, Unwanted, Unlikely

223. Husband working from home – an unexpected blessing.
224. A long wait for the school bus – definitely didn’t want that!
225. Unlikely, I’ll be getting any work done, after an extended power outage.

3 Gifts in His Word

226. Water, for the parched soul.
227. Comfort, for the hurting soul.
228. Hope, for the disappointed soul.

3 Gifts Moving

229. Our car.
230. The grocery cart.
231. Pencils, as our sons completed their homework.

3 Gifts in your Dad

232. Enjoying double scoop, choco-vanilla ice cream together on hot summer afternoons.
233. Teaching me to play “Are you sleeping?” on the piano.
234. Our trips to the library.

3 Gifts from your Heavenly Father

235. Jason.
236. Jon.
237. Judah.

Are you in the habit of counting your blessings? I mean, literally counting them 1, 2, 3… Would you consider joining me on this journey? Would you dare to live fully, right where you are?

Why do we end gatherings with a vote of thanks? We end a day, a month, a year with a word of thanks – gratitude for all God’s done for us in the days gone by. But, what if…

What if we started our day with thanksgiving? If we began each morning with praise? If we looked each day for things we can be thankful for… wouldn’t we find them, everywhere we looked?

I’m counting my blessings as a part of June’s Joy Dare at A Holy Experience.

3 Gifts Orange

184. Trays holding 5 dozen eggs in our kitchen.
185. Orange chalk.
186. Drinking orange soda with our prayer group family.

3 Gifts Funny

187. Travelling 90 minutes on a circuitous route to a venue we didn’t realize was only 30 minutes away! LOL!

188. Shoppers at a mall watching in amazement as our triplets filed out of the car, one after the other… Their reaction was hilarious! 😀

189. Jon raising his toy car up to the night sky and shouting, “Jesus, see my new race car!” 🙂 {Not exactly funny, but a million dollar, melt your heart, smile all night – moment}

3 Gifts from Today’s Conversations

190. Hugs.
191. Laughter.
192. Burdens shared.

3 Gifts found in Christ

193. New mercies for today.
194. Bright hope for tomorrow.
195. Pardon for sin, every single day.

A Gift of Peace, of Hope, of Love

196. Morning time (before the kiddos wake up).
197. 7 Days of Hope for Moms.
198. My husband urging me to rest awhile.

3 Gifts Ugly-Beautiful

199. A broken hair clip.
200. Toothpaste squeezed out in the bathroom sink.
201. Sore limbs.

3 Gifts in what you Read

202. “…yet not my will, but yours be done…” (Luke 22:42)
203. This blog post on large family moms.
204. Burnt Happens – a post on mistakes and learning.

3 Gifts Empty

205. Gift bags.
206. Chocolate wrappers.
207. The washing machine.

3 Gifts that made you really Smile

208. The memory of Judah peeping out the car window at the heavens, saying, “Mama, see! Jesus is looking at me. Jesus is opening the curtains and looking at me”. And when I respond, “Where baby? Where are the curtains?”, he promptly exclaims, “There.. see.. Jesus is opening the clouds and looking at me..”. {Precious :)}

209. Our sons praying for their father who wasn’t feeling so well. “Jesus, please heal Dada.. Let him go to the hospital.. !!” LOL!

210. A glimpse of monkeys, eating bananas, in our kitchen!

A Gift at 8, at 12, at 2

211. Father and sons, all cuddled up together.
212. Prepping vegetables, to make cooking the rest of the week easier.
213. Folded laundry, finally put by.

3 Gifts Painted

214. The sons’ hand prints.
215. Our crayon-colored walls.
216. The bright yellow school bus that ferried my sons, on their first day of kindergarten.

Are you in the habit of counting your blessings? I mean, literally counting them 1, 2, 3… Would you consider joining me on this journey? Would you dare to live fully, right where you are?

Here I am, ending yet another month on a positive note… Concluding May’s Joy Dare, on a quest to count One Thousand Gifts I am thankful for.

A Gift in a Plate, Pot, Package

160. Leftover pizza.
161. Chicken cooking in Italian sauce.
162. A birthday gift for a little girl.

3 Gifts Hard Giving Thanks For

163. Strong-willed boys.
164. Fading memories of a loved one.
165. Hot and humid weather.

A Gift Worn, White, Whispered

166. A comfortable skirt.
167. Curd rice.
168. Sweet entreaties.

3 Gifts found in Church

169. An atmosphere of worship.
170. Inspiration for the week ahead.
171. Fellowship with friends.

3 Gifts in today’s Work

172. Clean Dishes.
173. A long walk with the kids.
174. Ebooks, neatly organized.

A Gift at 8AM, 12PM, 8PM

175. The Proverbs 31 Bible study.
176. Singing and exercising with my sons.
177. My husband teaching our sons to read {priceless :)}.

3 Gifts Blue

178. A view of blue skies on my morning run.
179. The lids on my kitchen storage containers.
180. The progress bar on my Kindle for PC app.

3 Gifts you Gave today

181. My attention.
182. A bowl of oatmeal.
183. A tight kiss.

Are you in the habit of counting your blessings? I mean, literally counting them 1, 2, 3… Would you consider joining me on this journey? Would you dare to live fully, right where you are?

Through a week of travel, sickness and attempts to get the kids back on a schedule, I count on… Thanking God, one day at a time; participating in May’s Joy Dare.

3 Gifts about You

133. Faith in God.
134. Love for my family.
135. Eagerness to learn something new.

3 Gifts found in His Word

136. “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)

137. “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” (Jeremiah 1:5)

138. “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.” (Psalm 23:1)

A Gift in a Box, a Bag, a Book

139. My father-in-law’s Dake Annotated Reference Bible, still in its box.
140. Snacks for the kids.
141. A huge volume of The Complete Works of William Shakespeare.

3 Gifts Unexpected

142. Workbooks for the kids.
143. An afternoon nap.
144. A can of honey.

3 Gifts from your Childhood

145. A love for reading.
146. Doting grandaunts.
147. An education.

A Gift Sweet, Sour, Salty

148. Chocolate chip cookies.
149. Tamarind paste.
150. Banana chips.

3 Gifts found in Little People

151. Little hands eager to help.
152. Little feet running, jumping, climbing, falling.
153. Little lips quick to utter “I love you”.

3 Gifts that made you Laugh

154. The cost of education, these days. {sarcasm intended ;)}
155. My husband’s excitement on playing a basketball game after a decade… and winning!
156. Asking the kids to thank God for one thing, and Judah proudly exclaims, “Thank you Jesus.. for one thing“.

3 Gifts found in Community

157. Honesty.
158. A listening ear.
159. Prayer support.

Are you in the habit of counting your blessings? I mean, literally counting them 1, 2, 3… Would you consider joining me on this journey? Would you dare to live fully, right where you are?

Amid the chaos that’s been life for the past few weeks, counting my daily blessings is what keeps me sane. When life starts to overwhelm me, this list reminds me that it’s the little things that truly matter. So, I count on… one thing at a time; thanking God for the simplest blessings that brighten up my day as part of May’s Joy Dare.

3 Gifts inside a Closet

112. My wedding shoes.
113. New toys saved up for later.
114. Five bags of outgrown clothes to be donated.

3 Gifts found in the Dark

115. Peace and tranquility.
116. A moment to enjoy the cool evening breeze.
117. Silhouettes of my family as we wait out a power cut.

A Gift Outside, Inside, Upside down

118. Clothes drying on the clothes line outside.
119. Husband working from home.
120. Our room as we pack for a vacation.

3 Gifts about your Parents

121. My mother’s heart of service.
122. My father’s love for music.
123. The gift of life God gave me, through them.

3 Gifts held in your Hand today

124. A son who wasn’t feeling so well.
125. My handbag.
126. A coconut I struggled to grate.

3 Gifts found in your Mother

127. Her dedication to share God’s word.
128. The love she has for my sons.
129. Her willingness to help those around her.

A Gift Picked up, Put away, Put back

130. A broken toy wheel.
131. Clean, folded laundry.
132. Leftover banana chips.

Are you in the habit of counting your blessings? I mean, literally counting them 1, 2, 3… Would you consider joining me on this journey? Would you dare to live fully, right where you are?

Counting my blessings for the past month has changed how I perceive my life – in more ways than I could have possibly imagined. It’s the little things that truly matter; and when we take time to thank God for them, we find that we’re surrounded by more blessings than we can possibly count! You can download May’s Joy Dare here.

Continuing to count the little things that enrich my life…

3 Gifts Tasted

91. Coffee {Pure Bliss}.
92. Chocolate chip cookies.
93. Hot & spicy gravy.

3 Gifts Flat

94. Smooth marble flooring.
95. The kitchen counter.
96. A closed laptop.

3 Gifts found in Difficult People

97. Patience learnt.
98. Anger controlled.
99. Forgiveness freely given.

3 Gifts before 9AM

100. 3 kids, sound asleep.
101. Rays of sunshine streaming into our living room.
102. My husband, our breadwinner.

A Gift in a Sign, a Smile, a Snack

103. Heartbeats – a sign that they’re still breathing.
104. A tender smile from my beloved, for my eyes only :).
105. Leftover pasta.

3 Gifts found in Christ

106. Unconditional love.
107. Undeserved grace.
108. Strength in my weakness.

3 Gifts about your Home

109. The front balcony.
110. A spacious room for the kids.
111. Ample storage space.

Are you in the habit of counting your blessings? I mean, literally counting them 1, 2, 3… Would you consider joining me on this journey? Would you dare to live fully, right where you are?