I am thankful to the Lord, my God, for:
- a Baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger
- the familiarity and comfort of the Christmas story
- being able to talk on the phone with family members several states away
- sharing Christmas dinner with family members who live nearby
- looking forward to a new year
- a few hours of sunshine
- cardinals in the apple tree
- geese flying overhead
- memories of past holidays
- a sweet dream of my parents
- celebrating hubby's birthday
- spending the day with our son and his fiancée
- our veterinarian
- my well-loved and well-worn Bible
- being held by the Hope of the world
- cardinals, cheery red splashes in a brown and grey landscape
- Canada geese on pond banks
- the horses well-behaved for the farrier
- our LGD Cracker doing his job
- foggy fall mornings
- a delicious Thanksgiving dinner with family and friends
- the first Sunday of Advent
- hubby's time off from work
- telephones and email
- a warm weather weekend
- holding my new grandson for the first time
- safe travel
- that all the cats and chickens survived while I was gone
- a round bale for the horses
- rain to fill up the pond
- our warm home
- our furnace
- blankets
- coats and gloves
- shelter for our livestock and their warm winter coats
- baby pictures in my email
- pecans on the sidewalk at the courthouse
- one of the cats sliding under the barn door with a rat in his mouth
- the red-gold leaves of the oak trees on the hillside
- running into friends in town
- the lush field of grass for the horses to graze over the winter, supplementing their hay
- watching the half-thoroughbred filly race back to the barn in the evening for her grain
- a friend's son home from the hospital
- running into two friends while out doing errands this week
- the birth of our grandson this week
- a family birthday
- leaves changing color
- the earthy smell of autumn
- a late rose
- our youngest daughter's birthday last week
- our middle daughter's birthday this coming week
- an inspiring sunrise
- a lunch out with hubby
- wild turkeys at the side of the road
- autumn rains and cooler temperatures
- the light from a full moon
- visiting with a friend I hadn't seen for awhile
- hubby's recovery from surgery
- a starry, starry night
- Hubby's successful surgery
- our son's new job
- happy, free-ranging chickens
- autumn rain
- a fragrant load of just-baled hay
- autumn, my favorite season
- visiting with friends, neighbors and family
- a chance to be of service to a stranger
- a surprise
- foggy mornings
- changing leaves
- lunch with family
- praying for friends
- rain
- the changing of the seasons
- hot comfort food
- weather cool enough to need a jacket
- the harvest moon
- September rain
- the turning of the seasons
- old friends
- visiting with a neighbor
- that the county fair is over!
- a visit from our son and future daughter-in-law
- picture perfect mornings
- two eggs in the chicken coop from my old hens
- enough milk to make cheese
- the antics of my yard rooster
- our grandson's second birthday
- the landscape is still green in August
- that it's been a less-hot-than-normal summer
- homemade pizza
- the fall garden
- rainbows
- Ella's soft muzzle nibbling a treat from my hand
- the puppy's first accident-free day in the house
- sweet, cool mornings with a soft breeze
- vine-ripe tomatoes
- the Lord's mercy and grace
- flower buds full of promise and possibility
- sun-warmed, vine-ripe tomatoes
- the spicy scent of basil
- a full night's sleep
- another long day of rain in July
- a cattle egret standing in the rain-swollen creek
- Orion's Belt situated right on the horizon
- a bucket full of ripe tomatoes
- falling stars
- cooling rain on a very hot day
- running water
- air conditioning
- the grass in the pasture still holding up in mid-July
- celebrating our wedding anniversary
- watching the sun rise while walking the puppy
- the full moon shining through our windows
- record-breaking cool days in July
- a pair of blue herons flying overhead
- our oldest daughter's birthday this week
- blackberries beginning to ripen
- cheery sunflowers
- the first red tomatoes from the garden
- sweet corn in the freezer
- the scent of the mimosa tree in bloom
- the taste of yellow plums from our trees
- a great white egret in the pond
- playing with the kittens
- family times
- a wonderful weekend spent with our children and grandchildren
- our granddaughter's summer visit
- the sound of rain off in the distance
- a yellow swallowtail butterfly flitting across the yard
- catching up with a neighbor
- my Savior, Jesus Christ
- the Holy Spirit
- a friend's safe flight
- rain for my brother's drought-stricken neighborhood
- hearing the first cicada of summer
- getting up after falling in a hole
- baby tomatoes
- my husband
- my children
- my grandchildren
- our granddaughter's graduation from high school, and being able to watch her graduation online
- cool mornings when it's pleasant to work in the garden
- rain that waters the garden
- the mockingbird on its songpost, a dead tree next to the goat pen
- the men who carted off the metal from the barn
- listening to the birds in the quiet mornings
- summer plans
- foggy mornings
- our son's birthday
- good attitudes
- a fuzzy bumblebee on a clover blossom
- the bright golden sun rising behind a dark grey cloud bank
- morning fog in the hollows
- thunder and approaching rain
- the Indian blanket wildflowers in bloom
- anniversaries
- lots and lots of rain
- cool days
- the growing garden
- the call of a mourning dove
- fireflies dancing over the fields in the dark
- a gentle rain
- my mother, grandma, grandmother, and mother-in-law
- our daughters and granddaughters
- our "adopted" daughter (my riding buddy)
- my rosebush blooming
- seedlings and transplants growing in the garden
- hearing the call of the mourning dove
- a friend's 40th wedding anniversary
- crisp mornings with birdsong
- hearing "I love you"
- the fragrance of apple blossoms
- we did not lose any fruit trees over the winter
- the singing of the birds in the early morning
- wildflowers blooming in predictable succession
- a friend's generosity
- technology that allows us to keep in touch with family members and friends
- the first call of the whippoorwill in spring
- blossoms on the apple trees
- the blessing of going outside each morning and afternoon, walking down the hill and back up again, listening to the birds, checking the progress of the seasons, and petting the animals
- the privilege of prayer
- planning our family reunion
- the first monarch butterfly
- what might have been the last frost
- the first-time-flowering plum tree
- hard work and a good night's sleep
- the sweet scent of fruit trees in bloom
- a bluebird on a fencepost, seen through my kitchen window
- a redbud tree, beginning to burst into bloom
- my outside cat, come home after being missing for 48+ hours
- memories of my grandma
- blooming daffodils and forsythia
- a blue heron in the pond
- the blessing of sight
- scents that bring back happy memories
- the goat kids hopping and running in the goat pen
- lots of rain
- bursting buds on the plum trees
- frogsong in the dark
- a new home for one of the bucklings
- a grandchild on the way
- lunch and a visit with our son
- songbirds
- the smell of a newly-opened hay bale
- remembered hymns
- the smell of rain
- neighbors helping neighbors
- tiny purple henbit flowers in the brown lawn
- some family news
- catching up
- watching the sunrise and then the sunset on the same day
- the twittering of the songbirds in the morning
- the horses outlined in rich gold light in the late afternoon
- buds on the elm trees
- phone calls from our children
- a pink and purple sunset
- the full moon with a lacy veil of clouds
- the horses out in the hayfield, happily grazing
- being warm and not needing a jacket
- a flock of blackbirds flying across the moon
- a dozen little birds in the rafters of the barn during the cold weather
- snow on Ella's whiskers
- rabbit tracks in the snow
- the smell of a newly-opened round bale, reminding me of summer
- holding a purring cat
- gold-edged clouds at sunrise
- the goat kids growing so fast
- my dog Pete's little noises in the night when he dreams
- a video of our grandson learning to blow kisses
- dinner conversation with hubby
- one of the horses nickering at me each morning
- the smell of licorice
- birthday cards and a gift
- the Bible in my hand each morning
- peppermint hot cocoa in my rose coffee cup
- God's gift of sight
- His grace to me, so undeserving
- sunrise, pink and blue clouds streaked across the sky
- a cardinal, a bright spot in a winter landscape
- patient people around me
- waking up to thunder and lightning and rain
- sunbeams shining through the clouds
- raindrops hanging like jewels on the fencewires
- the monochromatic landscape in winter
- a new year
- my horse Ella, always the first one back to the barn when I call them
- the goat kids jumping on my back when I sit in their pen
- lunch with a good friend
- ducks on the pond
Silver Sunday
You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace;
the mountains and hills will burst into song before you,
and all the trees of the field will clap their hands.