“Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!” ~Philippians 4:4

Or as the Message version says,

“Celebrate God all day, every day. I mean, revel in him! …Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers…”

In every situation, we can find reasons to complain — because, quite frankly, there are some really yucky things that happen in life. OR we can look for reasons to rejoice — because no matter what the situation, there is reason to rejoice because Christ is always with us! Rejoicing cultivates a heart of hope, and I believe gratitude is a way of rejoicing, so I keep counting…

1121 – a neighborhood pool to play in — and although we thought it would be closed most of the summer, it will only have to be closed for repairs for a couple of weeks

1122 – magnolia blossoms on my new little tree

1123 – fresh bell peppers as a yummy snack, and the promise of our own homegrown ones!

1124 – We are [mostly] done with our school year!

1125 – amazing things we’re learning about birds from the robins on our back porch

1126 – Kathryn and I got to hold a baby robin last week!

1127 – a nice rain, without any accompanying scary storms

1128 – Running into our former pastor (who married us) when we were out to eat — and learning that they’d read our featured adoption story because they receive Lifelines magazine since one of their children was adopted through Bethany 20-something years ago!

1129 – another good visit from my dad, complete with a bit of silliness

1130 – bittersweet moment: our baby robins flew the nest today!

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Still continuing to count my blessings…

1113 – My dad is 70 years old today.

(Hiking with Dad: 1980-something)

1114 – A few cooler days, because summer will be here soon enough!

1115 – Got the girls’ physicals done as required for our adoption homestudy.  (Ken and I still have to do ours)

1116 – Friends we can confide in.

1117 – Friends we can depend on to pray for us.

1118 – Safe travels.

1119 – Time with Ken to talk, to dream.

1120 – Funny texts from faithful friends.

Have you tried counting your “1000 gifts”? If not, I encourage you to try it! As gratitude becomes a habit, it truly transforms your thinking!

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More blessings to count…

1101  – Coffee last week with my friend Tina; we’ve been friends for at least three years, and this is the first time we’ve ever made it out of the house just the two of us for coffee!

1102 – Releasing our butterflies.

1103 – A rain barrel for watering my plants and trees.

1104 – Working in my garden, and having a garden to work in.

(a hot pink peony in my flower garden)

1105 – Getting out and exercising on the days I have a really hard time getting motivated.

1106 – Online friends for exercise accountability.

1107 – Keeping up on my goal to read the Bible in 90 days.

1108 – Kathryn’s most recent blog post didn’t get erased in the weird disappearing posts issue on blogger last week.

1109 – A husband willing to do things others may think “crazy” if they’re consistent with God’s word.

1110 – Hanging out with my sister and both nieces for a casual celebration of my dad’s upcoming 70th birthday.

1111 – So much family that lives so nearby.

1112 – Someone in Cairo, Egypt made my grandmother’s pound cake recipe; I think that’s sooo cool!

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Another good, fun visit from my Dad.

Watching the miracle of caterpillars-to-butterflies.

A robin nest on our back porch, and a peek at her pretty eggs.

A veggie garden, with a few varieties of heirloom tomatoes I’ve never tried.

Baking with my ten-year-old, using a recipe a few generations old.

Watching my daughters working together, both eager to plant me a tree for mother’s day.

Having a mom to celebrate, and celebrating being a mom.

Sweet text from a friend celebrating her first mother’s day, who told me I’m a great influence on her as a mom — an inspiring yet humbling thought!

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I’m continuing to count beyond one-thousand gifts…

A new photo of me and Ken (thanks to Lindsey); one or the other of us — or both — are usually behind the camera, so photos of the two of us together are few and far between.

Spring showers — when NOT accompanied by tornadoes.

The scary, dangerous storms skirted around us.

Unexpected times of prayer, like when I was up with a sick child, and the night the storms passed through.

A new sewing table (which I’m still working on getting organized)!

I live in a safe and [usually] quiet neighborhood.

Delightfully practical wisdom in one of the books I’m currently reading: Large Family Logistics. It’s not just for large families!

We sold and donated more stuff via Saturday’s yard sale and subsequent trip to Goodwill; this means continuing to simplify AND we raised $100 for the children at the Guma Na Yesu orphanage in Kenya.

Time to hang out with my mom during the yard sale.

Dinner at Moe’s with just me and Lindsey.

Ken had an opportunity to meet with a group of adoptive dads.

Date night with Ken included a husband-suggested trip to Joann Fabric store. (Love that man!)

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Still counting my gifts, as inspired by Ann’s Multitudes on Mondays…

Accomplishing a good week of exercising.

Good music, and comfortable earbuds for my iPhone.

Watching a robin bathe in the birdbath.

I’m featured today on Hip Homeschool Moms!

A really, really, really cute dog.

My dad spending the afternoon and night with us.

Laughing with my dad at a silly movie.

Heavenly-smelling lilac blossoms, more roses than I can count, and a plethora of peonies about to burst into bloom.

Sweet friends for my kids; play dates, snacks, and Go Fish.

Another family we know is moving towards becoming foster parents.

Attending my youngest niece’s bridal shower.

My husband loves Jesus at least as much as I do.

Visiting with Ken’s maternal grandma, who let me bring home eight different colors of irises we dug up from her fabulous old-fashioned flower garden. She is 88 years old, a widow for many years, and still works her garden nearly every day!

(One of the types of irises I got from MawMaw’s flower garden!)

Visiting with Ken’s paternal grandparents, who will celebrate 65 years of marriage next month. They are so sweet, and such a blessing!

The biggest blessing of all: He is risen!

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More than one-thousand gifts…

Cleaning, cleaning, cleaning, and continuing to simplify.

Kathryn loves her new (old) desk.

Silly ways my husband keeps me laughing. Example: stair sledding!

Ken and Kathryn had fun at the annual dad-daughter night for GA’s last week.

Intentional friendships.

Kathryn’s excitement about a fun new pair of striped shoes that she describes as part Converse, part flats.

Getting the empty bedroom set up as a nice guest room so my dad has a place to stay.

The mattress we bought did not slide off when we tied it on the roof of the car to get it home.

“Walk for Life” with friends.

(PLEASE NOTE: If you’d still like to contribute and help fund this great Christian pro-life crisis pregnancy center, you can do that ANY time throughout the year! Just click here!)

Being able to walk three miles — and realizing there’s no excuse not to do this on a regular basis!

A beautiful day for the Walk, following a very stormy night.

All the cute, simple dress and skirt sewing patterns I’ve been bookmarking. (Can’t wait to pick up my new sewing table and get started making friends with my sewing machine!)

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I hope I never stop counting gifts…

Getting a whole lot of things done while my family was away.

Lunch with my dad, my sister, and one of my nieces.

My family made it home safely.

I don’t live alone.

Lacy the WonderDog to keep me company.

Hearing stories of God’s faithfulness from my husband and daughter’s experience with “the least of these” in Dominican Republic.

Houseplants. And cute pots for them.

Brandon came over and cut the grass while Ken was away.

Ken didn’t have to come home to the big chore of grass cutting after an exhausting trip home.

Kathryn came home earlier than planned.

Simplifying.

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I don’t want to stop counting my gifts…

This week, our church sent off more than 400 students and leaders on spring break mission trips.

My dog isn’t obnoxious during storms, even though she’s scared.

Friends who understand when we tell them God has called us to something crazy.

My dad (who has much difficulty talking due to health issues) has started texting, and for the first time ever, I very much appreciate this technology.

Getting income-tax stuff done and submitted.

Adoption tax credits. (They rock!)

Fun ring-tones that suit the personalities of those I set them for. (Examples: theme song from old Woody Woodpecker cartoon when Ken calls me because he loves old cartoons and he kinda laughs like Woody! Another example: the “Smokey and the Bandit” song for my dad because we used to watch those movies together and he’d crack me up laughing.)

A good visit at my dad’s house, and being able to get him laughing when it was super-hard to figure out what he was trying to tell us. “I’d like to buy a vowel, Pat!”

My handy husband fixed the wii player when it stopped working.

Watching baby bald eagles hatch (via raptor cam!).

Spending time with my mom while antique shopping.

Getting some of my over-eager to-do list done already.

More spring cleaning and fun projects in store this week.

Safe flights.

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Still counting beyond one-thousand gifts…

Receiving info about and photos of our Compassion child Lucy in Kenya.

Living books — and how much I learn as I homeschool my kids!

A trip to the zoo!

I’ve seen elephants, giraffes, lions, zebras, and baboons in the wild.

Sisterly moments, cinnamon rolls for breakfast, a cute dog (who begs politely), and a newly rearranged living room.

Another year of wedded bliss and sweet words from my husband.

God always gives us a way out of temptation.

“…God is faithful and He will not allow you to be tempted [or tried] beyond what you are able [to endure], but with the temptation He will also provide a way of escape…” 1 Corinthians 10:13

Homeschool moms further down the road who are willing to share their wisdom.

Spontaneous dinner invitation from good friends.

Being safe and cozy inside on a stormy night.

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Still counting beyond one-thousand gifts….

1011) Peach tree blossoms

1012) my first camellia bloom of the year

1013) Intentionally spending at least a few minutes every day just talking to Ken when he gets home.

1014) Evenings when we’re all hanging out together.

1015) Saying “yes!” to God — and the book that’s encouraging me to do so.

1016) Our friend’s baby (Caroline) is doing well despite being born 8 weeks early.

1017) Walks with my sweetheart on a warm spring evening.

1018) Wasabi-coated peas from Trader Joe’s (totally addictive!)

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