Summer 2014 Joys (3)

Even though I’ve been taking a break from blogging this summer, I must still count.  Count to be a constant reminder of the joy and gifts God gives.  I hope you’ve had a summer filled with bright flowers, unexpected moments that make you giddy, the sound of crickets at night, time with family, vacations, some stillness and rest.  I’m so looking at a new school year, new beginnings, new adventures!

#2167  new cushions for the back porch to sit on for future times to read and write and rest!

#2168  date night to Natty Greene’s, City Market and Maxie B’s

#2169  hearing kids stories about their stay with grandparents

#2170  kids watching a live barn raising in Lancaster, VA

#2171  grandparents taking our kids to see Sights and Sounds performance: Moses

#2172  grandparents teaching our kids how to serve by making almost 800 sandwiches for the small town fair

#2173  son volunteering with G at the Birthday Game booth

#2174  father in law’s reports negative

#2175  niece telling grandparents she “wants to be passed over next”

#2176  funnel cake

#2177  people watching

#2178  fun words to put on your bathroom wall

#2179  dinner on our family’s porch

#2180  fresh cut hydrangeas

#2181  a friend reminding me that I’m being obedient to Jesus in simple yet profound ways like helping teach my daughter how to babysit.

#2182  the listening ear from my friend and husband

#2183  the from the heart observations I needed to hear

#2184  surprise email from a friend inviting me and my favorite author to lunch

#2185  this time together

#2186  this friend who took the time to do this for me

#2187  God allowing or orchestrating this to happen.  There’s a reason for all things…even if it’s simply a pure gift because of His love.

#2188  feeling giddy

#2189  long talk with sis on the phone

#2190  these run Coca-Cola labels this summer!

#2191  an unexpected “free-time” afternoon to write

#2192  needed rain

#2193  entertainment from the hawk on the neighbor’s roof

#2194  picking blueberries with my kids and my friend from my friend’s family bushes.

#2195  eating a fresh berry right off the bush

#2196  a basket of berries

#2197  night at the pool with small group

#2198  Jennie Allen’s new vision podcast

#2199  a date on the calendar for IF:Table

#2200  connecting with other IF:Local leaders in NC

#2201  meeting at Maxie B’s with other leaders who have the same yet different passions

#2202  registered to go to Catalyst lab with IF team!!!

#2203  chopping and freezing fresh veggies with my mom-in-law from her garden

#2204  husband and his dad working on a project together in the garage

#2205  watching daughter singing and dancing around the house

#2206  17th anniversary with my husband

#2207  the flowers he gave me for our anniversary

#2208  son made high school soccer team

#2209  daughter performing in School House Rock, Jr the Musical

#2210  evenings at the pool with family and friends

#2211  going on a train ride

#2212  getting all emotional riding on the train by myself reading Speak: How your Story can Change the World

#2213  not getting motion sick on the train!

#2214  spending a few days at mom and dad’s with my sister’s fam too

#2215  playing kinetic sand with my new nephew

#2216  the feel of that sand yet it doesn’t make a mess!

#2217  shopping at consignment shop with mom and sis

#2218  going back to my childhood summer stomping ground…the neighborhood pool

#2219  watching our kids play in the same pool I lived in each summer growing up

#2220watching Daddy Mac playing in the pool with our kids

#2221  spending the afternoon with a friend I grew up with

#2222  ordering new gadgets for the camera

#2223  signed up and going to a day of writing, At the Barn, led by Emily Freeman

#2224  the exciting feeling of WHAT IF IT REALLY HAPPENS?

#2225  my evenings with my 20-something girls as we talk about real life stuff and they educate me the latest catch phrases

#2226  buying a new Bible for growing son

#2227  my roses that have been flower-less all summer now starting to bloom again

#2228  hitting some golf balls with daddy mac and the kids

#2229  conversations with 2 women, sharing my dream and passion and they two hear a whisper that they’re to be part of something too!

#2230  excitement of a “new year” that starts Aug. 25