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~