Thankfulness

I am very thankful for the rain we are receiving right now!  Its been raining most of the afternoon and so far its 0.84 inches on the rain gauge!

I am also thankful for the cooler temperatures.  Mid-seventies for the high of the day is practically perfect!  Murphy and I had a delightful walk this morning when it was 68 degrees and the skies were overcast.

Earlier in the week, we celebrated Emily's birthday.  Andy had Monday off so we took Emily and a friend water skiing and tubing.  As we switched to the tube, Murphy took advantage of the opportunity and jumped off the boat onto it so even he got to go for a ride!

We had a great time together!  Well, all of us humans anyway.  Murphy was a lot less enthusiastic as the boat got farther and farther away from us.  And once we anchored the boat and started swimming off of it, he was even less sure of the fun of the outing.  So we put him back aboard, never expecting that he would jump onto the clump of grassy weeds that went floating by!  I sure wish I could share a picture of that with you!

Anyway, we had a great time together and, back to gratitude to our gracious God, I am so thankful for the blessing of a loving family and the fun times we have together.

Thankfulness

Its been another hot week here in Crystal Lake, IL but we did get some rain last weekend and the grass is a bit less brown than its been.  Praise God for that!

I'm also praising God for the talent and abilities He has given to our Emily who is giving a concert on the harpsichord tomorrow.  Its a noon concert, part of a concert series at a church in a neighboring community, and I am thankful that I will be able to attend and enjoy it.

And I am thankful for some improvement in the residual pain associated with my shingles as well as the drugs that help to ease the pain.  Finally, I am thankful for your prayers on my behalf and for a God who listens to them.

Thankfulness

Yesterday, the ladies of our church had lunch together and it was delightful!  I am thankful for each one of these precious sisters in Christ. The reason for our gathering was less delightful, however.  One of our number (and we are a very small church) is leaving us to move to North Carolina with her husband.  She will be sorely missed but I am thankful for the time she and her husband have been with us.

Yesterday, the temperature here in Crystal Lake, IL got up to 101 degrees.  I may sound like a broken record (now isn't that revealing my age category) but I am very grateful for our working air conditioning.

Finally, I am still fighting shingles and am on a pain medication that makes me sleepy and less efficient than normal...not that I am always on top of everything, mind you.  But I am especially thankful for the patience and loving kindness of my family at this time.

Thankfulness

We had a major thunderstorm last night and lost power just as we were getting ready for bed.  I am so very thankful that it came on again about 7 this morning.  We have a generator (which I am thankful for too) and Andy started it for me before he left but I don't like being the one who is responsible for the thing so I was glad that he could turn it off and set things up for commercial power, as he calls it, before he left too.  It just happened to be the one day a month that Andy goes in late to back up certain pieces of equipment at work.

I am also thankful that we had a certain tree in our yard taken down on Tuesday because we were concerned about the way it increasingly leaned over the garage.  Actually, the tree is not completely down but only the tall trunk remains.  It was so hot on Tuesday (100 degrees) and the men were being so careful not to let the branches fall on the garage that they ran out of time and are coming back to finish in a couple of weeks but I guess there was nothing to catch the wind last night.

Thirdly, I am thankful that the wasps who were apparently living in that tree and were swarming all around the back door once they discovered their home was gone have apparently left us in peace now.

Finally, I am thankful for the badly needed three inches of rain that fell last night!!  That is in addition to the 2.11 inches (according to Andy's rain gauge) that we got on Saturday.  The grass is still brown but some of the plants are looking a little happier now.

So what are you thanking God for today?  Please do share.

A Little Shade for the Flowers

I just came in from getting the mail.  Well, actually, I came in from getting the mail to get my camera and head back out to capture my neighbor's novel method of protecting her impatiens from our scorching 102 degree sun.  Maybe she's onto something but I just don't have that many umbrellas!

Thankfulness

This week I am thankful for improvement in my case of shingles.  Its not gone but its less painful and I am therefore sleeping better at night.  Thank you, God!

I am also very grateful for air conditioning in this week of daytime highs hovering around the 100 degree Fahrenheit mark.  And I am thankful for electricity to run the air conditioning.  Many are without power and suffering in the heat without a way to cool off.  I pray for relief for them very soon.

Finally, I am thankful for our country and the freedoms we enjoy in the U.S.  Its far from a perfect country.  That's my homeland in Heaven.  But as earthly countries go, its a pretty good one and I was pleased to celebrate its birthday yesterday.

What are you thanking God for this week?  Please do share!

Thankfulness

I am very thankful for some cooler temperatures in the forecast for the weekend.  Its been in the 90's here in our neck of the woods with heat indices even higher so temps in the lower 80's sound really good about now.  Especially since Andy, Murphy and I are going to a weekend "picnic" for the rescue group from which we adopted Murphy.  We're not sure of what exactly to expect but it will be more fun if we're not all sweltering!

Considering that my maximum preferred daytime high temperature is really right around 72, I am also thankful for some new clothes of a sort that are supposed to prevent sunburn and wick away perspiration to keep one cooler.  They will be most of my weekend wardrobe even with the cooler forecast.  And I got them all on sale; some even clearance!!

Finally, I've been thinking a lot about the blessing of family this week. Immediate family, extended family and church family, even the ones I have a bristling sort of relationship with, each individual is a personal blessing and an opportunity for me to grow in grace and peace.  Such wisdom and love God demonstrates in my life to give them to me!

Thankfulness

Today I am especially thankful for air conditioning as we head into another hot, hot weekend.

I am also thankful to be almost caught up on my weeding.  I don't know how it got ahead of me but its almost back under control.  Yay!

I've been working on a baby blanket for the baby of my nephew and his wife, a little girl due in July.  Its a lace pattern and I am thankful to be finally "getting it" about lace knitting....especially because there are a few more patterns in lace that I would like to try.

One more thing I am thinking about with gratitude today is the new direction in which our pastor has taken our study of the book of Romans.  His new method makes that book of doctrine so much more applicable to our own daily lives....as it should be.

What are you thinking of with gratitude to God today?  Please join in the thanksgiving!