A Gift Worn, Given Away and Shared

Gifts come in many sizes, shapes and colors. They can from many places or people. Gifts can be received or better yet given away and shared. Today’s challenge is a gift worn, given away and shared. My favorites!!  

At our house there is a tradition of Santa Claus gifts. Now, I’m not talking about Santa filling a stocking. While he does that as well, there are times when he will leave gifts under the tree for the adults. Usually, these “Santa” gifts are a joke in response to something silly that happened throughout the year. Like the year my sweet sister-in-law received a tube of Fix-A-Flat after running over a boat anchor earlier in the year. Yeah, THOSE kinds of gifts. So when I saw a Santa gift under the tree this year for ME, I started thinking back over the year to see if I could remember some knucklehead move I made.  Not clearly remembering one, I opened the gift with trepidation, shocked to find the most beautiful, soft, homemade knitted scarf in a beautiful oatmeal color. This wasn’t a gag gift after all, but a thoughtful gift from someone who cared enough to make me something so wonderful.  I was so completely surprised and moved by this treasured gift. Wearing it wrapped cozily around my neck, reminds me that someone cares enough to have made it for me.

A gift given away was a pair of mittens I made this past December. I worked hard on them, ripping out stitches many times to make sure they were perfect.  They were a beautiful dusty blue and had cables on the backs. Every night I worked on them, chatting with my roommate and watching tv.  Watching my roommate’s eyes when I handed them to her was a beautiful priceless gift! I just love surprising my loved ones.

So for a gift share, it’s time for sappy, sentimental, gaggy, romantic  – Anna plug your ears!!!  The first night I went out to eat with Joe, the wonderful guy I am seeing, we shared a burger. What a night!  It was silly and romantic, sweet and easy. How is that a gift? It is so different from what I have experienced lately.  It has been a long time since I have felt this way and sharing that burger represents all the things we hope to share in the future. 

3 Startling Graces of God

Good morning Beautiful Friends. Today is an emotional day in my world. Seven years ago today I lost my beloved Mama and eight years ago today, my beautiful Grandmother.  We also lost an uncle a few years before that on this day and a young boy in the community committed suicide just a year ago today. This day represents a day of loss and pain and heartache in my world. It is a day of unanswered questions and grief. To look for the startling graces of God today is asking a lot and will take some deep digging.

The first Grace of God that comes to mind is how He eases pain over time. This goes hand in hand with the tremendous loss I am feeling today. I have noticed that as the years go by, the pain becomes easier to bear. While I will never forget my Mama or my Grandma, the pain is much less than it was immediately after their deaths. Talk about startling Grace!!! Those first few days, weeks and months after their deaths were a blur of life, pain, and tears. I wasn’t sure I could go on, especially after my Mama passed. But God kept the light of their spirit very much alive in my heart and soul while slowly easing the pain of their loss. If that isn’t God’s beautiful, startling Grace, I don’t know what is.

Another Startling Grace that comes to mind is the word “Enough”.  Throughout the last year there have been many times I felt I was at the end of my rope, that I didn’t have anything to carry me through or help me go on.  So many times I didn’t have enough money for things or had to make a difficult choice between 2 necessities. It was in those times that someone would appear out of nowhere to offer help, a rebate check would come in the mail, or a better option came along.  God provided exactly what I needed exactly when I needed it, never too little nor too much, always just ENOUGH.  What a true blessing!

The third (but nowhere near final) Starling Grace I have discovered today is the peace I feel in my heart with life in general. For years I suffered with anxiety and depression. While there is still some of that lurking in the dark recesses of my heart and mind, my Faith and His Grace have brought a peace to my heart that I have never known.  I worry less about little things, allowing me to focus on and enjoy the important things. I still stress over money, being alone, the house, etc., but I don’t lose sleep over it and I can enjoy those moments that bring me such joy. 

Wow, who would have thought that on a day full of nostalgia and reflection, God’s Beautiful, Startling Grace would be so clear and obvious. I am so grateful for my loving God and Savior, for His love for me and for His grace. I know that even though my Mama and Grandma are not with me physically, they are here in spirit. And the best thing yet is I know I will see them again one day and there will be much rejoicing in Heaven.

God Bless you my Dear Sweet Friends…  Look for God’s Startling Grace in YOUR life and hop over to Miss Anna’s Blog at A Messy Indulgence and see how she is doing counting her blessings.

Love to all… Sheila

Three Things About Yourself You are Grateful For....

Wow… talk about a tough challenge!! We’re talking about me here!  You know, the one who for most of her life has thought she wasn’t good enough for anyone. Me, with the naturally curly hair we only half-jokingly call “The Beast”, my nemesis since it grew out this way at around age 12. Me, with the baby belly I can’t get rid of.  Me, with the corny laugh and weird smile, suffering from anxiety and procrastination issues.  Me, the vertically challenged, self-conscious one who battles a severe inferiority complex every single day …. You expect ME to find three things I am grateful for about myself??? Really?? Could this challenge be any tougher??? Well, I guess since I agreed to this (Miss Anna), I have to follow through.

First, I guess I do like that I seem to attract kids (and sometimes adults) for no apparent reason. I have many kids that I have “adopted” over the years and they keep coming back. One has even invited me to her wedding!!  I love these kids as my own and they have brought me so much joy. From Mexican Movie nights to trips to the Mall, I am so very grateful they are a part of my life and I am glad that for whatever reason they have adopted me as well.

Another thing about myself that I am grateful for is my ability to learn quickly and teach myself new things. Throughout my life I have taught myself many new skills and hobbies. Photography, knitting, quilting and cross-stitch all have been a part of my life at some point, enhancing and enriching my life and those of others.

The last aspect of myself that I am grateful for is my ability to empathize with others. Being able to put myself in another’s shoes and understand where they are coming from has brought me great joy and to others. I like being able to understand and help others going through tough times.

So I guess there is more to like about myself than I thought. Maybe this challenge will be a good thing. What do you think… can you come up with 3 things you are grateful for about yourself???  

Something Above, Below, Beside

Good Morning Sweet Friends… I hope today finds you all healthy and happy. Thanks so much for joining me on my journey of Gratitude. Today’s challenge is something above, below, and beside.  So many gifts can fall into these broad and general categories.

The roof above my head is one of the greatest gift to me. I get to live in my childhood home where so many memories have been made.  The rafters ring with the echo of laughter of my friends and I from sleepovers long ago. The roof helps hold in all the warmth and love my family have left here over the years.  This house, and the roof over it, is treasured beyond belief.

I am having a bit of trouble with the Below part of this challenge. I think I am going to have to go with the fresh turned dirt of my garden in the spring. The hope this brings to my heart is immense. The earth coming alive, seeds bursting forth, all provide a boost to the spirit.

And my favorite gift of all, the family and friends that walk beside me. The love, support, and encouragement they give me are priceless. They have helped me when I’m down and cheered me on when I was struggling. They walk beside me and provide comfort and love and I do not know what I would do without them. 

Three more beautiful gifts, adding to my Attitude of Gratitude. I hope you are searching for and recognizing your own wonderful gifts. Join me tomorrow for Day 3 of counting my blessings. 

3 Yellow Gifts of Fresh Mercy…

So my Sweet Cousin Anna threw this blogging challenge at me, and I am so grateful she did. I have wanted to get back to blogging, but my life has been in complete chaos for nearly a year and writing was the last thing on my mind. Now that life is stabilizing a bit, I decided it’s a good time to get back into it and Miss Anna came up with the idea of blogging our gifts, those little things that bring us joy when we see them. What a great idea!!!

Ann VosKamp is one of my very favorite authors of all time.  She wrote the book “1000 Gifts” and along with it she created the Joy Dare challenge. That is what Anna and I have decided to follow. Ann’s style and content capture my heart and make my soul scream “YES!!!” She believes in an Attitude of Gratitude and that is how I strive to live my life. The last year has made that incredibly difficult. My partner of 10 years moved out, leaving me with the entire responsibility of the house and yard, along with the heartache of the ending relationship. Our parting is for the best, for both of us, and I don’t mind being alone, caring for the house and the yard. The adjustment period has lasted much longer than I anticipated both emotionally and financially, and many times I have been overwhelmed, nearly ready to give up.

Finally though, I am getting back to where I want to be, so when Miss Anna sent me the message last night about counting our blessings together, my heart and mind leapt at the chance.  So, welcome to my new and revised blog, counting out the gifts God has given me….

We missed the first 10 days of the challenge and thought that going back and trying to catch up would be too much to start with, so we will start with the 11th and go forward from there…

So Today is January 11, 2016, and today’s challenge is 3 Yellow Gifts of Fresh Mercy.

The first gift of yellow I can think of is my Mama’s yellow finches. For so many years, my Sweet Mama fed these finches outside her kitchen window. They brought her so much joy.  In the winter, the finches lose their yellow coloring and turn a dull gray/brown. But in the early spring, when the snow starts to melt and the earth starts to warm, the finches start to change back to yellow.  Slowly she would see the signs of new, bright yellow feathers emerging from beneath those dull colored ones. And when she did, she would pull a stool over and lift up her beloved grandbabies to show them. “Look”, she’d say, “when the finches turn yellow, you know that spring is here” and they would look in awe at these beautiful little creatures and watch as they brought the signs of spring. Today, living in her home, I still feed the finches, and we still watch for those yellow feathers to peek out, telling us that warmer weather will soon be here.

The second gift of yellow that I have is the shirt that my roommate was wearing this morning. Seems silly I know, but I saw that shirt and couldn’t help but smile. It was so bright and sunshiny looking on a day I knew would be freezing cold and a Monday to boot. It amazes me how something so little can bring such joy.

The third yellow gift was tougher to find. I am not particularly fond of the color yellow so I don’t surround myself with much of it, but after much thinking and pondering, I figured it out... Minions.. little silly yellow cartoon minions are a phenomenal gift. They make me laugh, and not just little giggles, great big belly laughs and how can there be any greater gift than that.

So there are three of the many wonderful gifts I am grateful for today. Check out my cousin’s blog over at A Messy Indulgence and see what she is grateful for too. And come back tomorrow for the next set of gifts... until then God Bless~