Christmas Gifts

Gifts counted, 
some small and quiet, 
others hard and tear stained. 

These few rise to the surface to share for your eyes too. Numbered past 1400 and even then I know hundreds were offered but escaped my inked list! Blessed, so blessed.

~ sharing cake, coffee, and faith blessed friendship in front of the Christmas tree

~ silver strands at greying temples, ribbons of tribute to long life

~ winter moonlight glitters silver on water's dark surface

~ Earth's global lights become a beacon in the universe

~ women's bonds and Bible searching in covenant relationship

~ crimson and indigo berries winter's suspended beauty, nature's chilled sustenance

~ hours  of quiet

~ women's charity that empowers independence


~ the wisps of dreams, bits of soul tales lingering into waking moments

~ memories of the silver cross suspended at mama's heart

~ voices, cards, posts sending faith filled Christmas joy

~ "Come thou font of every blessing, tune my heart to sing thy grace; streams of mercy, never ceasing, call for songs of loudest praise." Nettleton

Merry Christmas!

November: Invitation to Gratitude {Transforming Power of Gratitude}

November 8: Invitation to Gratitude {Transforming Power of Gratitude}

"Gratitude bestows reverence, allowing us to encounter everyday epiphanies, those transcendent moments of awe that change forever how we experience life and the world." 

Sarah Van Breathnach

I began recording just one blessing that I noticed each day. That small step primed my mind to be more vigilant, more attentive, cued to my world with a different eye. The daily notations increased and seemed to stream from the pencil, my hand urgent to record quickly lest I forget some one gift before I had scribbled them all down at the end of the day. One daily recording, became a multitude of daily gifts. I pursued the practice of listing daily blessings for nearly a year, reaching a goal of one thousand recorded gifts. One thousand. The weight of the journal with the number of pages filled was stunning. The tangible evidence of this new spiritual discipline. 

The deeper reward, 

the more constant outcome, 

was the heightened sensitivity of my soul 

and the groundbreaking transformation of my demeanor and perception of daily living. 

Even without daily listing of blessings I still saw them daily. I noted the abundance daily. I praised God's presence in those blessings daily. 

I continue to add to the list periodically, recording full pages at a time. Today there are hundreds more with nearly fifty praise and thanksgiving scripture verses intertwined with the bounty of blessings. But it was the initial daily listing that successfully trained my heart and my eyes to internalize a habit of maintaining a grateful heart, an awareness of God's hand in all things, in all places, at all times. Gratefully, that remains the blessing carved deep into my soul.

"...if a joyful heart is good medicine, then giving thanks is my daily prescription." Ann Voskamp

"Without gratitude there is no joy." Brene' Brown

View Dr. Brene' Brown's interview on the topic of JOY here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RKV0BWSPfOw

Additional Posts in An Invitation to Gratitude Series:

Day 1 Attentive Listening
Day 2 Boundless love
Day 3 Time Away
Day 4 New Roads
Day 5 Legacy
Day 6 Indian Summer

Linking with the Weekend Whispers, Still Saturday, Coffee for the Heart, and Tell His Story. 

Click on the buttons below to read posts by these communities of faith filled writers.

I Fed You in the Land of Drought

It was I who fed you in the wilderness,
    in the land of drought.

Hosea 13:5

Across the landscape of living most of us tread across years of 

personal drought and seasons of personal wilderness. 

The scorched seasons of scarcity or trial 

or loss take different dimensions 

but all are no less filled with suffering. 

For we the faithful, it is not a solitary journey.

Woven through every portion of the searing experience, 

God’s presence shepherds, encouraging, and girds the heart.

The Creator gifted the desert plants with structures

that insure their survival in formidable seasons.

The gifts of the Holy Spirit strengthen our character 

to provide faithful endurance 

through our lean or burdened times. 

Thanks be to God, life’s periods of drought 

are followed by renewing rains, flowering bounty 

and wilderness regions eventually transform into 

productive and inhabitable territory.

~

A portion of today's gratitude list:

• the Lord’s provisions in all seasons
• Psalm 34:4 “...He delivered me from my fears”
• Hosea 13:5 “It was I who fed you in the wilderness ...”
• for those around us who serve as ‘angels’ for the Lord
• scripture’s guide and assurance through troubling hours
• Psalm 23 “...for thou art with me”
• prayer's relational power

The Bounty of the Lord: Gratitude

“Come, though font of every blessing,

tune my heart to sing thy grace;

streams of mercy, never ceasing,

call for songs of loudest praise.”

Nettleton

~

Quiet, deep attention these recent days. 

Quiet attention to God's streaming grace 

across the decades. 

Quiet attention as I walk, 

as I remember, as I bow.

Blessings past and present, 

so abundant every year. 

These, lifted in humble praise 

on the eve of the 60th birthday:

Tears in remembrance of God’s moments of powerful presence

Husbands joy as oncologists reports good health, hands held in shared prayer

Daughter’s shared gaze over the heads of beautiful grandsons

Toddler grandson’s volunteered hugs

Husband’s constant goodness

Father’s aging voice still placing long distance calls

Gratitude for those sent by the Lord to inspire and encourage my faith

Parents, family; the legacy

Health granted across these many decades

Amen, amen.

Lisa

The Bounty of the LORD

The gifting occurs hourly, across every life. God’s palm openly streaming tributes to the world and the people of His creation. An outpouring of such magnitude, its voice (were it to have a voice), would deafen the globe. At intervals in our living we take heed of the gifts. We pause, lift eyes, and give acclaim to all that has streamed from those open palms. Thanksgiving, a day spoken for each year by the blessed and the thankful. A day to gather in and circle round to honor the bounty that is our God’s provision and creation.

I'm linking with these sites to join the beauty of each community. Click any button if you would like to visit.

Miraculous Signs Revealed

His miraculous signs ...revealed his glory 

and his disciples put their faith in him. 

John 2:11

Miraculous signs [sometimes] and day to day blessings [often] .... they present themselves with increasing abundance with intention focused on the seeing of them. The anniversary of a full  year marking in a journal these daily blessings and sometimes-miracles arrived and I am not done with the looking for them. I am not done anticipating them. I am not done noting what God has wrought this day that is working for good. I am not done believing there is more joy coming from his hands. I am not done building faith based on the Holy Trinity's presence in my life. I am not done being  certain that
he is not done with me.

Prayerfully noting with thanksgiving:

954 ~ tender stories shared among faith filled women in Beth Moore Bible Study

955 ~ rain , thunder, wind; moving winter out for spring's reign

957 ~ machines and tools and those blessed with the gift of creating them

961 ~ kind professional affirmation

962 ~ public parks, green spaces, boulevard medians, nature preserves, arboretums, gardens; all displaying spring's ethereal green 

963 ~ momentary lull in tasks, hours to regenerate

 Click on the links below to see more photos

 posted by faith filled photographers: 

SUNDAY , Snapshot and Scripture, Still Saturday, 
and more gratitude being offered at:

His Royal Blue Stole

Artist: S. Burns 1913

Light dawning 

far on the stormy horizon,
his royal blue stole; 

those always caught my eye first. 

I am the good shepherd; 

I know my sheep

and my sheep know me ~

John 10:14

I recall the painting hanging in the upstairs hallway at one time and then later... was it near her small secretary? A familiar portrayal of a favorite Psalm. Most likely a replication of an illustration found in a Bible. But the paint, the rich color of oil luster in rising ridges of brush strokes, the shade of blue, the bird of prey hovering overhead: all drew the eye and the heart into the the perilous moment of the shepherd’s determined rescue. 

It is a simple hand painted work, dated 1913. Found in an antique store somewhere up in the far north woods. Over decades of time, after the chain of legacy settled, this painting of my mother’s came to be mine. After more time and a maturing of my aesthetic sensibilities, hanging such an overtly religious painting in my home studio, became the right thing to do.

I have wondered, did mother see herself in this image as I see myself? 

Did she see herself just as I have clinging to the cliffs of life’s desperate moments; 

rocks slippery, body bruised, hands and feet cut, the struggle raging so long?   

I know she had her share of storms, as every life does. 

The Lord is my shepherd... I will fear no evil; for you are with me;

  Psalm 23: 1, 4

I know too, that she honed a deep faith across the years. Studying diligently, serving compassionately, and teaching faithfully. In sum I know it was faith that gave her the wisdom to lift her eyes in search of her Lord’s outstretched hand in every challenge. 

Knowing that, is precious knowledge,

as much a part of her legacy to me, as was this simple painting of faith. 

For the former I am bone deep, heart full, grateful.

Below; my recent recordings among the mounting pages that list the gifts bestowed on my life each day. Counted along with Ann and those linking at Holy Experience

920 mother’s legacy of faith, her example, the momentos passed down that evidence of her belief

924 laughter shared with daughter over her babies’ humorous antics

928 spring green, tender, new grass spreading across the earth

929 opportunity to kneel, bare my heart’s errors, receive grace

930 iris petals, lavender transparency against dusky light

...with humble gratitude to the Lord

Transforming Water to Wine, A Battered Heart to Wholeness

"Transformation" Lisa Moreland, Oil on canvas, 2009

I inserted a new element to the still-life that we were painting. As the instructor came by my easel she asked, “Why would you want to add a cross?”. “It represents miracles.”, was my audible response. “So many.”, was my soul’s gratitude-filled response. 


Certainly the original one, Jesus’ first, to the delight of wedding guests in Cana that day. Jars of water transformed to the highest quality wine. And certainly all the other recorded miracles that transformed disease to health, repugnant living to second chances, hunger to feasting, and persecution to freedom. A singularly holy gift of transformation was offered that day. A gift that would reach across centuries and into human souls world wide. A wine-red redemption offered by the sacrifice of Christ.

My gratitude-filled soul knows well the work of this holy transformation. Adversity after sin, sin followed by vengence reigned down year after year, loss upon loss. An beaten and battered heart barely crawled across the living that still had to be done.  The Holy Spirit remained true. Our Lord remained vigilant. Angels were sent. Face to the floor prayers were heard and worked out by our Lord across across the years, bearing miracles. Miracles of restoration, a return to wholeness, and gifts unexpected.  

Today the listing of gifts includes these, the transformed water, saved soul variety of holy blessings. Amen

846 ~ deep gratefulness for being transformed by daily encounters with Christ

847 ~ gratitude Lord that you could make something beautiful out of all this suffering

848 ~ thanksgiving Lord for being more than the sum of my past mistakes

849 ~ gratitude Lord for your power within me that enabled me to endure and overcome more than I could ever imagine ~ Eph. 3:20

850 ~ gratitude for the spiritual nourishment offered as adversity is overcome ~ Rev. 2:17

God-Incidences...When He's Been There All Along

"I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land, I will never leave you until I have done what I promised you."           Genesis 28:15

There are three of us on the couch. Me in bifocals, them in diapers.  Me spattered with the remnants of the day's meals, sneezes, and floor play. Beside me my daughter's two precious bundles; hoped for, prayed for, for years. They are entrusted to my care from time to time. Two fraternal gifts carried heavy for 30 some weeks; mothered tenderly now for almost 15 months.


It is dusk. We are cozy. They are glistening with the sheen of infant beauty after baths and pajamas. Settled against one another on the nursery couch we watch Baby's Praise Collection DVD to wind down after a toddler's marathon energy day. It is a precious moment, sweet with with all that is important to childhood.


It happens in a blink. I briefly turn to the side table. Peripheral vision reveals a pajama-ed, toppling twin, overboard somersault fashion. Landing face up crying in ... what? Startled scare? Internal injury?

[My heart leaps to prayer.

Dear Lord, be present here! Dear Lord, this treasure here!]

I place quiet twin on the floor. Hoover over the toppled one who reaches for Grandma. Scooping him into arms and onto lap, I scan breathing rate, posture, limbs.

[Dear Lord, is all well?]

Beyond the holding I notice the long, over sized, floor pillow at my feet. A new one added to the room just today. Casually placed at the base of the couch. The one that cushioned the child's head-long fall. The one that oh so coincidentally is stitched with this toppled child's name on it. I stare. I dare, to wonder were these incidents divinely lead?

 [Were you here Lord all along? For this child? For the purpose he yet needs to fulfill? For this grandma who prayed for these care-giving hours to be blessed with safety?]

Little one calms, sniffles in the curve of head, arms, and lap that encircles him. He breathes easy, sits comfortably, quiets. No undo harm appears to be present.

[I close eyes to whisper...

Thanksgiving Lord for the gifts of this moment. For the good fortune of lithe little bodies that withstand toddler tumbles. For unexpected circumstances that intercede against harm. I choose to see your hand on this moment Lord. I linger here amidst these [now] clamoring toddlers, to raise my heart in thanksgiving Lord.]

Delightedly pleased to join others at the Gratitude Community, God-Incidences, and SUNDAY links. Grateful for the telling over there of God's hand on every life.

About the quiet here this past month...

The quiet here began unintended. I refer to an absence of blog postings for the past many weeks.
I had notes on the edges of bulletins, several in fact, for the postings I was planning for the weeks ahead. Photos earmarked just for the holy season upon us.
And then this. There were joyous preparations for the holidays [all of them, November thru January 1] at home; the first time for me in several years. Think of using my own turkey platter [an antique pattern just like mama's]. Think of the anxiousness of replicating my mother-in-law's to-die-for cornbread dressing for the sweetheart who LOVES that dressing. Think of one year old twin grandsons, here for their first package-opening Christmas.

So it began like that. Just several days or so, away, distracted by this dither of excitement.

Intruding upon this course of a brief blogging reprieve there came 'Dasher'. Not the reindeer variety, the computer crashing variety. Truly. Dashed, I was told, to irretrievable bits. Now my husband is superb in this arena. So new replacement 'stuff' was secured in a timely manner. But, dear reader, it's not a PC. The MAC is not in a computer 'language' that I have honed for two decades. Photo albums, editing, document access, ----you must know what I mean.

This is where my blogging pace met it's match and was thus silenced for yet an even-more-unintended bit of time. Some weeks have passed. I write tonight using the new MAC.

Now, hoping to continue to move forward across the new computer learning curve, but posting thoughts all the same.

Finally, a heart-full statement of gratitude for the Holy moments of three holidays serving my precious family, turkey platter and all;
hushed, holy moments that were gratefully experienced even if not written about here. My ever open Gratitude Journal lists two dozen or so additional blessings from those oh so wondrous days.

So pleased to place print on this page once again.

Magnify Him with Thanksgiving



Magnify Him with Thanksgiving... Psalm 69:30 KJV



Vibrant fall colors
speak to the bounty of God’s gifts just as the vibrant musical talent of a very young Christian singing artist Rhema Marvanne speaks to the depth of faith. Read Rhema’s story and share in her joy as she uses her stagger musical gift to sing: I Thank God.

Recording God’s gifts with the treasure trove of beautiful women in the Gratitude Community. Today I'm sharing selected blessings that nurtured faith.

Magnify the Lord with thanksgiving [for]:

faith stories that affirm belief (79).

Sunday school teaching that brings peals of laughter (116),

hands making gifts of love for pilgrims on a spiritual retreat (120).

hymns sung with joy and reverence (121).

groups devoted to missions, study and prayer (223).

powerful teaching in Sunday’s sermon (249).

the Spirit within that seeks God (376).

Holy Communion followed by prayer at the kneeling rail (459).

an opportunity to teach women’s Bible study class (550)

Spirit lead scripture to compose prayer (575)

hearing a ‘quiet voice’ urging me to listen for the benefit of another (630).

traditional preparations for Advent (678)

A Blessing Can Have a Long Legacy

Gratitude for a blessing can have a long legacy. It can be written across the soul early in life, raised high and often, knowing full well its precious value. It feels meager to record it once on my current listing of gifts. Blessing number 681 has brought knee-bending thanksgiving for almost fifty years.

#681 Thanksgiving Lord, for a full lifespan with my father.

A 1959 transport lands on a mid-west international runway. The door opens. The young Lieutenant onboard has been away from home for a year, flown halfway around the world to return. He doesn’t wait, jumps off the plane with duffle bag in hand and runs to the four young children racing for his arms.

In 1966, at the same international airport, a commercial airliner arrives from LA. Several passengers are on the final leg of their travel from Saigon including the same soldier, a Major now, wearing pilot’s wings on his uniform.  Mama is teary with joy but allows us, dad’s six kids, to reach him first, to tackle our father at the gate. This was the first of two more homecomings over the next three years from that small divided Asian nation.

Our father was a soldier, a Veteran of war. Even so, I never knew that he received the Bronze Star until well into adulthood. Today our soldier is 82 years young. Every Veterans Day I call my humble soldier to tell him how honored I am by the service he gave in the years of his prime and how blessed I feel to have had him present  these many decades since. He always deflects my words by saying we all served, the whole family. It weighs heavy on him, those years, the impact they had on us all.

There was a cost. But there was also growth. I clung to God early. I learned faith in childhood through trials beyond childhood concerns. I experienced the strength that can come only from the Spirit within and the depth of joy that only the hand of God can deliver.

My heart deep thanks to all members of the Armed Forces this week of  Veterans Day 2011.

Renewed by the Spirit's Work

He saved us through a second birth,
renewed us by the Spirit's work...
Titus 3:5


Scarlet leaves of autumn,
flags of waning life, nutrition withheld from leafed out growth. Yet, the evergreen limbs of this southern shrub, unfurls a glorious autumn offering of new growth in wine-hued spires at its tips.

New growth can arrive in the autumn of life.

Second chances, deeper thought, revisited experience, new lenses through which to see ~

Renewed by the Spirit’s work,
Salvation arrives from God’s persistent encouragement for faith.







God's gifts unfurl through the seasons of life. My gratitude matures with living and the offer of His holy mercies year after year. I'm writing down those mercies with the Gratitude Community, so the the heart can be strengthened yet again: mentioned here #656 - 660.

~ quiet evenings at home
~ a life season of peace filled days
~ gratitude for God's warnings, for His unshakable pursuit of our hearts
~ gratitude for time, more time to grow in faith
~ for opportunities to humbly, gently encourage others to deeper faith

A Year of Drought

Like satin,

petals perfectly formed,
gently unfold,
layer by layer

in fragrant display of

buttery splendor
just in time
for autumn's reign.

Our region carries the burden of harsh drought scourged summers. Unrelenting heat burdens daily life and crushes the green right out of our landscapes. Hope hungry inhabitants scan nightly weather reports for a bit of a drizzle that might fall their way. Any plant species lacking the 'grit' of deep, water efficient roots literally become dust.

Then...wait for it [believe me, we do], fall gently begins. 108 chills to 90 and eventually 70 something. Occasional overcast days promise rain, somewhere. And. it. comes. Foliage revives, roots swell, and buds form offering up a final fall burst of green and bloom.

The wait rewarded, thirst quenched.

Is it not so for the heart rooted in Christ?

But blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord,

whose confidence is in him.

He will be like a tree planted by the water

that sends out its roots by the stream.

It does not fear when heat comes;

its leaves are always green.

It has no worries in a year of drought

and never fails to bear fruit. ~ Jeremiah 17:7-8

Gratitude fills page after page, fills life day by day, fills prayer hour by hour:

636. half moon gleaming in October sky
637. acorns, all varieties littering woodland's floor, offering food storage for winter meals
638. Cardinal stark red against shaded green
640. fall air crisp each morning
648. heavy ground drenching rain
652. Monarch butterflies stop a moment during their transcontinental migration
655. overcast cloud cover and humid air soothes sun scorched land

Amen

{This post is dedicated with much admiration to my friend @Higher Choices.}

'First Love' for God Flows as a Fountain

Faith flows

much like a fountain

within the heart;

a persistent

high spirited 

flowing.

The heart flows with love for God sustained by the rains of grace that fall in response to a genuine seeking for God. Time spent pursuing our Lord through the spiritual sustenance of prayer, worship, service, and thanksgiving invites the rains of grace that fill our hearts with flowing faith.

In the absence of intimate time with him Our Lord laments,

“…You have forsaken your first love.” Rev. 2:4

In the absence of spiritual sustenance the heart loses the high spirited flow of faith. Eyes cannot see His blessings. The heart cannot love Him passionately. Ears will not hear holy words of assurance and promise. Hands will not serve with thanksgiving. Therefore...

“… sanctify the Lord God in your hearts…” 1 Peter 3:1

“We sanctify the Lord God in our hearts when we with sincerity and fervency adore him,… when we rely upon his power, trust to his faithfulness, submit to his wisdom, imitate his holiness, and give him the glory due to his most illustrious perfections.” 

Matthew Henry Whole Bible Commentary

Giving Him the glory and sustaining a highspirited flow of faith, in part, through the Gratitude Journal:

607. Christian friends of deep knowledge and conviction

612. opportunities to be steeped in scripture

615. the oncologist offers a prayer for us

617. prayer experiences with special women

627. Excerpt from: Joyful, Joyful, We adore Thee  written by J. van Dyke, 1907

Field and forest, vale and mountain,
Flow’ry meadow, flashing sea,
Singing bird and flowing fountain
Call us to rejoice in Thee.

{Musings gained from the week’s Bible class, Sunday’s service, and deeper independent study. Linking with Hear It Sunday and the Gratitude communities.}

Miracles Defined by the Beholder

Madonna, Kimball Art Museum Fort Worth, TX

Miracles are defined by the beholder. Only the one who knows the back story can identify that there is miraculous energy imbedded in seemingly common events.

Only such a beholder can identify long-ago dream content that is now occurring in real time; prophetic foreshadowing now firmly believed as having been prophetic.

Only the beholder can witness to verbal remarks that display a dramatic change of heart when compared to preceding history.

Only the beholder can witness to the comfortable, bonded, even affectionate interchange between those who no longer are burdened by the despair of estrangement.

Only the beholder can witness to a long journey of pain and trauma that has reached a plateau, turned the corner, and taken on elements of joy, laughter, and deep regeneration.

I am the humble beholder of such miracles. I have experienced the great good grace of our Lord working toward wholeness for His people. In an earlier time in circumstances only God ultimately understands, my child and I were estranged.

Today many years past pain and unceasing prayer, the child has become a beautiful woman devotedly mothering her own babies. We have found and recognize ourselves within each other; divinely bonded by common characteristics, shared preferences, remembered history. Together we talk over morning coffee, we share magazines and books, we laugh about our pets, we critique houses on HGTV, fuss over her grandfather, and we’re equally besotted with her precious babies.

Blessedly, we have reached a new plateau, turned a corner, and we dream joyously of the future we intend to share.

“I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten … And ye shall eat in plenty, and be satisfied, and praise the name of the LORD your God, that hath dealt wondrously with you…” Joel 2:25-26 KJV

Posting here to join the Gratitude Community, numerous journal entries trace some of the miracles mentioned in today’s post and my occasions for bowing before the Lord in unending thanksgiving.

45 ~ Daughter calls with baby updates

46 ~ Grandsons’ mirror Mama's and Nana’s azure blue eyes

86 ~ Daughter and son in-law banter over supper dishes and baby bottles

198 ~ Daughter’s voice soothing her babies

205 ~ Opportunities to tell her stories of her own babyhood

265 ~ Opportunities to pray over my grandchildren

269 ~ Mother - daughter early morning coffee and laughter as babes play

272 ~ Making memories with grandma visits

289 ~ Long visits, the heart swells, wounds heal  

462 ~ Gratitude Lord to be with daughter and babes for memory precious visit

474 ~ Early mornings in the glider swing with babes & their mama

556 ~ Grandsons’ babbling over the phone