On January 5, Ann Voskamp posted about her Joy Dare challenge for the year. I decided to participate in her challenge for 2 reasons:
first, it gives me more opportunities to focus on thankfulness, and
second, because she has unique things each day to search for as blessings.
Each day in my Blessings posts I am writing about something from my day (or my life in Uganda)....electricity, the ability to drive, visiting a babies home, etc. But Ann challenges us to find blessings in different ways: 3 things blue, something I'm making, one gift that made me quiet, etc.
In an effort to not "crowd" my blog, I am posting my Joy Dare challenges each day on facebook (well, each day that we actually have power AND internet!). But since this blog is my journal as well, I decided that once a month I want to post all my gifts from that month in one post. THIS is the post for January.
Be sure to visit A Holy Experience to read more about the Joy Dare challenge. It's never too late to start counting your blessings.
Three things about myself that I'm grateful for:
#1 I love Jesus and His Word.
#2 I love my family.
#3 I'm a hard worker.
#4 A gift outside: the clouds in the beautiful Ugandan sky
#5 A gift inside: children laughing and playing
#6 A gift on a plate: irish and rice...my favorite Ugandan meal
Three lines you overheard that were graces:
#7. "Don't tell mommy. Let's surprise her!" (overheard as Annie and Garrett were drawing me pictures)
#8. Benji hollering into the house, "Melissa and Laura you've GOTTA come see this!" (about a jet that was flying low overhead)
#9. Sitting on the computer after reading to the kiddos I overheard Garrett saying, "Good night, Nate. See ya tomorrow!"
#10 One gift old: friends that I've had during junior high, high school, and college that I'm still able to keep up with on facebook!
#11 One gift new: new friends made since moving to Uganda.
#12 One gift blue: new curtains in our family room!
#13 Something I'm reading: The Church Can Change the World by Jimmy Seibert
#14 Something I'm making: grilled cheese for the first time in Uganda!
#15 Something I'm seeing: beautiful Acholi people at the grocery store today...and sweet Acholi children on the road outside my house!
#16 One thing in my bag: Stingeze that someone from a missions trip left last summer. So helpful when the mosquitos bite!
#17 One thing in my fridge: our power is on right now, so our fridge is working...and we have COLD water
#18 One thing in my heart: my oldest kiddos, Katelyn and Josh, that I love with all my heart and miss very much!
Three graces from people you love:
#19 Melissa and Laura taking clothes off the line and Benji and Scott handling the other load.
#20 Scott bathing off all the Ugandan dirt layered on Nate, Annie, and Garrett....from just one day of playing outside!
#21 Garrett telling me sweet stories about Max and Ruby. He had his face painted red and white from playing at a friend's house. woo pig sooie!
#22 A light that caught you:
#23 A reflection that surprised you:
#24 A shadow that fell lovely:
#25 A gift in your hand: Annie loves to hold my hand and have me rub my hand up and down her arm. I love that girlie and her quirky ways.
#26 A gift you walked by: we were walking around our yard (we've only lived here a few days) and we discovered a mango tree! Yep...right in our yard!!
#27 A gift you sat with: I went to coffee today with Melissa, Becky Forester, and Sarah (from Watoto Babies' Home here in Gulu). It was great to have coffee and hang out with friends. AND Sarah and I talked about our family volunteering at the babies' home!
#28 A gift that's sour: the orange tree growing in our yard. The oranges will get sweeter as they ripen...but they're still more sour than American oranges!
#29 A gift that's sweet: snuggling in my bed with Garrett...before the sun even came up.
#30 A gift that's Just. Right.: A bag of Christmas gifts from America...including my 2012 Mary Engelbreit day-by-day calendar (a Christmas tradition from my mom)
Three yellow things that strike you as fresh mercy:
#31. Burts Bees chapstick that came in my Christmas bag from America. Once you use Burts Bees....nothing else will do.
#32. The beautiful yellow, orange, and pink sunrise this morning.
#33. Freshly made passion fruit juice with our lunch!
Something above you, something below you, and something beside you:
These are all shown in this picture.
#34.The tree above us...offering shade and coolness.
#35. The chairs below us...bought recently so we can sit outside and visit
#36. And the family who sits beside me...chatting and laughing.
3 sounds you hear:
#37. kids playing and laughing in the swimming pool (see the blog post Blessings 365: Day 13)
#37. kids playing and laughing in the swimming pool (see the blog post Blessings 365: Day 13)
#38. Phineas and Ferb: Across the 2nd Dimension playing on the mac - super cute movie...great family fun!
#39. the generator running outside - we now have electricity for a few hours...even when power is out!
3 ways you glimpsed the startling grace of God:
#40. a friend from high school...who I have been thinking about and praying for for years...finding me on facebook! YAY!
#41. Nate and Annie playing Phineas and Ferb for 2 hours....with blocks and dice! Wonderful imaginations!
#42. Sweet boys with super-cute haircuts....Nate and Garrett!
#43. One thing I wore: I wore a skirt from The Spero Project to church. And I've lost so much weight I could zip it up all the way! woo hoo!
#44.One thing I gave away: kisses and hugs to my kiddos as I left to run to the grocery store.
#45. One thing I shared: During church I shared biscuits (cookies) with a little Acholi girl who was sitting next to me (her name was Amira Franka). Such a cutie!!
3 ways I witnessed happiness today:
#46. Annie jumping and twirling around right after a shower. The happiness of cool wet hair on a hot afternoon!
#46. Annie jumping and twirling around right after a shower. The happiness of cool wet hair on a hot afternoon!
#47. Severus whining at the door to go potty outside. The happiness of no accidents in the house!
#48. Nate and Garrett grabbing the blocks box and running to build a castle. The happiness of being brothers!
#49 One gift that made me laugh: Annie was looking everywhere for the book she's been reading...and I got on facebook. She walks up to me and says, "Really, mom, really? You can get on facebook when I'm in the middle of a tragedy?" Ah, so thankful for dramatic 8 year olds!
#50. One gift that made me pray: my adult kiddos...Katelyn and Josh...back in America. I love them and miss them so much and every time I think of them I pray for them!
#51. One gift that made me quiet: the joy of reading a good book...started The Hunger Games today.
Three gifts from God's word:
#52. Ps. 25: 4-5 (my life verses) Show me your ways, oh Lord; teach me your paths. Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the day long.
#53. 1 Thess. 5: 16-18 Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, giving thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
#54. John 15:5 I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is who bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.
#55 A grace in the kitchen: Melissa and Laura sitting and chatting with me while we made pancakes!
#56 A grace in the weather: a nice cloudy afternoon which made the 100°F (38°C) temps not seem quite so hot!
#57 A grace that might never have been: special special friends from BFBC...Jonathan and Nicole....who are expecting their first baby any day. If we hadn't gone to BFBC, we never would have met them.
Three gifts you saw only when you got up close:
#58 I see these flowers every day as I hang up laundry. I love their beautiful pinkish-purple color. But it was only after looking a little closer that I saw the tiny white dot on the middle of each flower!
#59. The freckles on Annie’s nose.
#60. I glanced at the ground while walking inside:
Then, with a closer look I noticed a little black spot on the ground (in the middle of the picture above). As I bent closer to look I saw this beautiful butterfly:
#61. One thing in the sky: millions of stars
#62. One thing from your memory: family vacations....to Sea World, Colorado, Petit Jean, Great Wolf Lodge, and more.
#63. One thing that’s ugly-beautiful: the heat of the afternoon...but the beauty and coolness of sitting under the shade tree
#64. One grace wrinkled: pages of the well-loved book that I’m reading to Annie (again)
#65. One grace smoothed: pages of a brand new book....just arrived from America!
#66. One grace unfolded: while unpacking boxes I found a picture drawn for me by my sweet Garrett...folded up and tucked inside a book.
Three gifts found in Christ:
#67. Joy
#68. Grace
#69. Unconditional love
Three gifts blue:
#70. Scott’s eyes
#71. The crystal blue cloudless sky
#72. The Blue Wave bottles that we get our drinking water from.
#73. One grace borrowed: recipe books from a friend
#74. One grace found: fresh green beans at our market
#75. One grace inherited: the love of books...inherited from my mom!
#76. A gift before 9 am: Garrett and Nate usually play together and (sometimes) tend to leave Annie out. Because Garrett is sick today, I looked out my window and saw Annie and Nate playing happily together:
#77. A gift before noon: Annie loves to plan plays. Theatrical plays. They rarely ever make it to the stage because most of the fun is in the planning. Today’s play was Karate Girl (or Karote Gole, as the ticket says). I snapped a picture of my ticket for tonight’s play. So thankful for her fun imagination (even if we DO need to work on her spelling skills!!). I love how the Karate Girl is kicking her leg!
#78. A gift after dark: reading out loud to our kiddos each night!
Three gifts that might never have been:
#79. Being a part of God’s work in Gulu...if we’d gone back to America after a hard year in Kampala we would have missed it.
#80. Our 6 precious kiddos who are with us in Uganda....we wouldn’t have them if we’d stopped our family with just Katelyn and Josh.
#81. Meeting (and eventually marrying) Scott...might not have happened if I hadn't had that birthday party for my sister - or if Scott hadn't shown up 30 minutes early!
Three graces found in your friends:
#82: Yummy new recipes, shared by friends to get me out of the cooking rut I’ve been in.
#83. A sweet baby girl born to awesome friends today. (see #57)
#84. Notes of encouragement written on my facebook wall from friends in America.
#85. A song heard: I walked into a friend’s house and heard "Desert Song" playing. That song has ministered to me greatly during the past year!
#86. A soft word: hearing my sick little Garrett softly call my name from the couch.
#87. Where you saw light: I was up very early this morning. Too early. I was working on something on the computer and I glanced out the window and saw the sun just beginning to peek from behind the trees. A glorious light of orange, yellow, and pink. My camera could not even do it justice...
Three old things seen new:
#88. The joy of homeschooling. I’ve been doing this for many years, but sometimes I get overwhelmed with the blessing of having my children with me all day and being the one who gets to watch them discover the world of learning!
#89. My relationship with my family in America. Living on the other side of the world has made me appreciate my parents and siblings so much more!! It’s easy to take your family for granted when you see and talk to them all the time. I am SO excited about furlough and just HANGING OUT with my family!! Talking, laughing, playing games, whatever!!
#90. The blessings we have in America. It might take moving to a third world country to fully understand how good we have it in America. Simple things, like the ability to click on the light switch and be fairly certain you will have power, turning on the faucet and knowing that clean water will come out, and knowing that there will most likely be food on the table at supper, are luxuries that most of the world doesn’t enjoy. Restaurants, radio stations, TV shows, libraries, Walmart, Target....all are things that I see in a totally new light after living in Uganda for a year.
#91. A gift found on a paper: When we moved into our house in Gulu, we were given a house warming picture by our friend Ruth. Such a beautiful painting!
#92. A gift found in a person: Nate’s sweet way of playing alone...talking to himself and conquering the world (right in our back yard!).
#93. A gift found in a picture:
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| YAY!! Pictures were posted of our friends' baby!! Isn't she precious?? Sweet baby Lily! Can't wait to meet her in person some day! |
Would you like to join the Joy Dare Challenge? Head over to A Holy Experience to read more details. Here's a link to the calendar with the challenge for the month of February. Also, be sure to follow my daily Joy Dare posts on facebook (if you want to!).
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