Thank yous....

I am reading a book called "One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are," by Ann Voskamp. This isn't an easy fiction read like I'm used to.



I'm a fiction reader. I love getting lost in the made-up story. I know it's lazy and trite. But I crave the escape.


This book is real. Real life to the fullest. This book is helping me escape right into my own life. I'm loving every moment. I would highly recommend it! Even though I am only on chapter 3.


This morning I was reading the book, a chapter delving into thankfulness, when Emma came down the stairs. It was 7:02am. Her hair was puffy and tangled and her eyes were scrunched as they decided from sleep to the lightness of the day. Her groggy voice said, "I slept right 'till seven." She has always been our clock-work kid with her self-imposed schedules.


She came close to my chair to look at the book in my hand.


"I'm reading about thankfulness. What are you thankful for?"




Without hesitation she said, "I'm thankful for my mom and dad."


"And I'm thankful for you." I said it with a smile while looking right into her eyes. Instead of looking down shyly like I was sure she would, she stared hard at me. Her eyes asked, "Really? Do you mean it?" And I responded back, "With all my heart, down to my toes. My socks are knocked off with how thankful I am for you."




"What else?" I probed.


"My brother and sister."


"I'm thankful for our warm house," I said. We were off and running on this game.


"I am thankful for the night." She said looking out the window beside us into the darkness. I pointed to the other window across the room where light was pushing through on the horizon.


"I'm thankful for the new day."


It was her turn now and she excitedly said, "I'm thankful for Christmas. But not because of the presents, but because of Jesus' birthday and we get to have a party. Jesus came to save us."


Where did that come from? It's February. But I loved hearing about what was on her heart. What she thinks about. Emma has never been a communicator. She started talking at 3 and a half years old and even now she doesn't share a lot with me. This peek into her mind was beautiful.


There in the glow of a new day's sunrise I felt thankful. And not just like an aura around me like the temperature of a room... sure to cool at the slightest upset. Then the "thankful feeling" would fade. This thankfulness that settled over me was like putting on a cozy sweater. No matter if things get crazy, the warmth will be with me all day.

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Wedding bells

We went to a lovely wedding on Saturday evening. It was the wedding of a longtime friend who now lives in Eugene and worked for Campus Crusade for a few years. Her parents are farmers and the wedding was outdoors under a big white tent decorated with white tables and chairs and simple daisy center pieces at the family farm. It started at 7:30 p.m. and the sun set with a beautiful display of colors as the bride came down the isle. The music was not traditional, but the pianist beautifully played the well-known tunes, including the theme song to Forest Gump. The bride's maids came from behind the house, quite a long distance, and the groom's men, wearing black pants and casual white short-sleeved shirts, went to meet them and escort them down the isle. The girls' dresses were simple eggshell blue knee length sundresses worn with flip flops.

The pastor who married the couple spoke about chemistry and love and commitment -- not too long, but very personal to the couple. I was mesmerized by the breathtaking sunset setting behind the couple across a field of blueberries. After the couple was pronounced husband and wife, the music started for them to walk down the isle. The couple always walks down the isle with big, silly smiles on their faces, but not this time. The music started, Lovely, sung by Tony Bennett and the couple started their first dance. They are excellent dancers and did a swinging number complete with spins and dips. I leaned over to my wonderful husband and said, "We are not that cool." He responded, "Not even close."

Another brilliant idea was when their first dance was complete, the cake was brought up on a table and the couple cut it and did the following traditional ritual of feeding it to one another. It was after that that the couple walked down the isle and the guests were free to mingle and partake in the dessert buffet. I had Marion Berry Cheesecake in case anyone is wondering.

It was a wonderful wedding, full of great ideas. Everything was well orchestrated and went off perfectly. The bride and groom had to be a little terrified when last week the rain came and stayed until Friday before the wedding. Also, it started raining again Sunday afternoon. The timing of the wedding was perfect and the weather and temperature was just right for an evening wedding.

I always love weddings. I think about my wedding day and how giddy and excited I was to be married to the most unbelievably amazing guy in the whole world. My wedding was not well orchestrated or planned and there are many things I wish I would have done differently. But hey, I was 21. I had NO idea what I was doing and really didn't want to listen to my mom's advice (sorry, Mom). And Martha was no help either. She says you need 12 months (AT LEAST) to plan a decent wedding. I had 3 months and $2,000 and 500 guests. When it comes down to it, it is just a day. A day that starts the rest of your lives as a married couple. It starts the real commitment and foundation that will last until death parts it. The good the bad and the ugly may come, but it is a date that marks a beginning.

Our friends were blissfully happy at their wedding. I pray they choose every day to make one another feel special like they did on that day. As Dr. Laura would say, "What have you done today to make his/her life worth living?" Wedding are such a good reminder of the young beautiful love I held for my beloved. If you are married, you had a wedding day and all the emotions that go along with it. It can be easy to get lost in the everyday and become stagnant or worse yet, unhappy, but there was a time when everything was bliss. Remember the bliss and hold on to it and make life worth living for your love today. Read More.. Read More..