Wednesday, October 30, 2013

WOYWW: On Gratitude


There's really nothing worth noting on my desk this morning!
Except maybe for my pile of backgrounds which
I did last night while watching 
BBC's "Lark Rise to Candleford" on Youtube. 
I love the way they speak, the graciousness 
and the generosity of spirit in this series.

I read from the Psalms this morning:
Let my heart rejoice in your salvation.
Let me sing of the Lord,
"He has been good to me." 
Psalm 13:6

Yes, God is soooo good.
I have been surrounded with goodness.
I am up to # 2615 in counting my blessings,
but that doesn't begin to cover God's goodness!

There are so many things we take for granted.
I used to have multiple canker sores in my mouth.
I could not eat. I could not speak.

On one of those terrible occasions,
my good friend texted me several times,
"Praise the Lord," and she cited a bible verse.
She didn't know what I was feeling.
So I tried, singing praises with a mouthful
of open wounds.
I cried myself to sleep.

The thing is now, I am soooo grateful 
when I CAN eat, speak, SING!

My brother was so annoyed 
with the state of our country,
the corruption, getting caught by 
police at any whim of theirs,
that he immigrated to Canada.
When he was there,
he had to cook for himself,
clean his little studio,
iron his clothes,
get jobs that were not suitable for him,
like power washing a huge parking garage!
He finally got a job designing posters
in a casino (a job he would never have taken
here in the Philippines!)
One of his office mates,
on hearing the life he has here in the Philippines,
with a driver, househelp, etc.
they said, "WHAT are you doing here?"

AND, a big AND, he missed us, his family!

When he came back home,
he was soooo grateful for everything!
The house help, the police, being with family, etc etc.

We should not wait until things and people
are taken away,
before we realize
we are surrounded by God's goodness!
This is NOT just another day in our life!
This day is a GIFT!

Let us thank God when we open our eyes in the morning!
How many people cannot see the colors
surrounding us?
How many people wake up and CANNOT get up?
How many people don't even have faucets
to wash their face?
My son came from a mission to a place
where they did not have water for 2 months
because their pump (1 pump for 30 families!)
did not work!

Let our hearts rejoice because
1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9...........234,790.......56,734,221
and on and on and on.
Do you have a gratitude list?
Why not start one today?


Join me as I do 31 Days of posts,
writing from the HeART!
You'll find other fascinating posts
on The Nester, all doing a series of 31 Days!!!



Every week I choose one wonderful visitor
who leaves a comment
to receive an ATC from me.
I know it takes so much time and effort
to leave a comment
and I appreciate it soooo much!

This week,
Random.org chose
 #13, Carole Robb Bisson,
There's always lots
of inspiration going on
in her blog!

 

16 comments:

  1. Beautiful painting you've created very inspiring :) hugs Nikki 1

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  2. Love the verses and testimony you shared! I am so thankful for my salvation! Beautiful artwork, too! :)
    Sharon #7

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  3. Glad you are better now. It is the daily little things that we take for granted that we all should be grateful for I agree there. I live in Australia and know that I am very lucky to live in this wonderful country..
    Happy WOYWW
    Sandy :) #23

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  4. ah Patsy there are times when we cry ourselves to sleep but as we cling to the LORD we learn to love Him even more in the bright and dark ways a beautiful post thanks for sharing, Shaz in oz.x #8

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  5. Beautiful artwork and story about your brother it is so easy not to see what's in front of us!
    Jackie 27

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  6. Lovely ATC´s and great creative space!
    Have a nice day!
    Susan

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  7. Hi Patsy. You are so right that each day is a precious gift. I also treasure the opportunity God gives us to help others each day: not according to what we want to do, but what they need and God wills. Please could you pray for my son who is in deep despair and fearful due to depression? He cannot see all the joy and beauty around him because of this. Thank you so much for the inspiration of your blog and your earlier visit and kind thoughts for my mum. Julie Ann xx #20

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  8. What a nice idea...I would love an ATC, and I'd like to send one to you : )

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  9. Nothing can make us more grateful AND praiseful than a little perspective . . .

    Happy WOYWW to you,
    :)trisha
    #75 this week with
    a mess, bunting, and
    tiny book

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  10. Oh, beautiful again! I count your lovely art, posts of wisdom and friendship (though long distance!) as a blessing!

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  11. It is so true that no matter how bad things might seem, there is always much to be thankful for. Sometimes those bad things are just what we need to remind us of how blessed we are.

    Love your painting today, I want to hang it on my wall!

    Happy Woyww,

    Sandy #3

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  12. Oh what a beautiful post. Thank you so much for reminding me the things that I need to be grateful for and not focus on the pain. Hugs, Rasz #86

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  13. Such a lovely story you've shared. There is much to be grateful for and when things are down it is sometimes hard to remember that. There is MUCH to be grateful for, ALWAYS.

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  14. I love this post! Your artwork is heartwarming! Following you.....visiting from What's It Wednesday!

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  15. Oh, Patsy, I do hope your mouth has healed and that you're feeling better! How incredibly painful!

    I love your post! So rich and full of blessings that touched my heart so much! I'm so glad you shared this on my Counting Our Blessings link up! Your artwork is so beautiful and amazing...God truly has given you an wonderful gift and it's so wonderful that you use it for Him!

    Many blessings - Julie

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  16. I enjoyed reading down through your post today, Patsy. That is so interesting about your brother. The grass is not greener on the other side of the fence!!

    I do have a gratitude list but it is sorely neglected. I am thankful for so many things I am just having a hard time keeping up with it.

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I am so glad you dropped by! You are a blessing!
:^) Patsy