Five Minute Friday: Laundry

Ah, Mt. Washmore.  I climb this mountain on a weekly basis! 

I don’t mind doing laundry, as it tells its own unique story of my family, one week at a time, year after year.  I miss the days of onesies, teeny tiny socks, small striped shirts, and footed pajamas…evidence of the two precious gifts God has given to me.  As I washed away spaghetti stains, I was thankful that we had food to eat (still am!).  Grass stains were evidence of outdoor play and fun times as a family.  Soon, pink leotards and white taekwondo pants found their way into the mix.  My children are growing and becoming the people God created them to be.  As I stand and fold, I pray for them and wonder what God has in store for their lives.  I pull my husband's dress shirts and slacks out of the dryer, and am thankful for how hard he works to provide for us.  Over the years, God has brought him back to us from every concert tour, safe and sound.  I never take that for granted.  Every now and then, I’ll pull his pants out and a blue sequin will be stuck to them, and it makes me smile.  My daughter is entering her pre-teen years and currently loves “bling” on her clothes.  I sense a new “chapter” starting…

Yes, laundry tells the story of family…we live and move and tumble through this life…

Together.


            

One Thousand Gifts

Today is a mile marker in the practice of counting His blessings!  Today is the day that I post my thousandth gift.  Life has been busy lately and I am well past one thousand in my journal, but I wanted to separate this gift out and take a moment to reflect on the journey so far.

As I look back through the pages and pages of counting,

I see an interesting mix of the "every day" things of life like 
#77   Windshield wipers 
#114  A reliable car
#159  Clean drinking water
#352  Fresh blackberries
#506  Iced coffee
#919  Blankets tucked in

I see pauses to marvel at His glorious creation
#1  My son's eyes pausing to look up and gaze at the night sky
#111  How she gets distracted by a V of geese when raking the leaves and races across the yard, staring at the sky, arms flapping
#273  The way prairie grass changes color in the sunlight
#399  Fourteen geese in a row, gliding with the current
#602  Watching waves build and crest
#819  Sandpipers scurrying along sea foam

I also see gifts that show His ever-faithful presence on our journey toward eternity
#142  Hearing my father read Luke 2
#151  Hearing her sing praise songs when she's supposed to be brushing her teeth
#228  How hard they work to memorize Scripture
#311  His grace on the hard days
#330  Prayer warriors
#444  Talking about the Lord while we picked (strawberries)
#509  That my son chose Philippians 4:13 as his life verse
#562  Nathan's baptism
#617  That she was a peacemaker on the playground

Somewhere in the mid-900's, I stopped putting the numbers on each line of my journal.  Knowing that I was approaching 1000, I wanted to do everything I could to keep that gift a surprise.  As the days and weeks went by and I continued to count, I wondered...what would it be?  Would it be an "every day" gift?  Would it be one that caught a glimpse of eternity?  To my delight, it ended up being both in one!  So without further delay...

1000.  Standing next to him in worship, harmonizing together

The Lord has blessed me with an amazing husband.  First and foremost, he loves the Lord with all of his heart, soul, mind and strength.  He works so hard to care for our family, and is a wonderful father to our children.  The Lord has blessed his gifting in music, and turned that into a full time ministry that our whole family can be a part of.  I look back over twenty four years of marriage (#987) and am so thankful for how He has knit us together.  I love to stand next to him in church on a weekly basis and sing with him, and I look forward to singing with him throughout eternity, when we praise our Lord and King together!

If you have enjoyed this journey with me, I invite you to stay tuned!  I am still counting, but will change the title of my weekly entries.  His mercies are new every morning, and His blessings are abundant!

One Thousand Gifts

It is amazing to me how quickly time flies.  I can't believe that my last post was near the end of May.  My summer was full of travel and moving into a new home.  Now the school year is in full swing, with a demanding schedule, and I am struggling to find time to write.  Through all of this though, I have continued to count.  I am well past 1000 (!), but have a plan on how I want to present them in this space.  Here are the final gifts leading up to 1000...

987.  Twenty four wonderful years of marriage

988.  His safe return from Arizona

989.  Watching children play "Telephone"...

990.  ...and giggle at the results

991.  The last day of school

992.  How well she recited her lines at the year-end program

993.  R.T. -- proud Marine, awesome principal, passionate man of God

994.  His wise advice to parents that he shared in his retirement speech

995.  The arrival of summer weather

996.  Beautiful dance recital costumes

997.  Tractors rumbling in the orchard

998.  Swinging with her in the park

999.  Listening to her giggle with a friend on Skype