Counting the Gifts
In junior high, I kept a gratitude journal, recording 5 things I was thankful for every night before going to sleep. Eventually, I stopped as it became more of a journal of what I did that not, and was something I just did out of habit.
Fast forward to 2011 in the blogging world when some friends (like Gretchen and Anna), prompted by Ann Voskamp, have started listing 1000 simple gifts they find in the mundane. I thought it was a cool idea, but had no ambition of doing it myself. However, now I find myself crossing the starting line of motherhood. I know that finding joy in the midst of sick kids, toddlerhood, sleepless nights and difficult days will be challenging. What better time to start counting the gifts of God than as I start the hardest yet most rewarding journey of my life?
1 my husband being on the mend after spending all weekend with a nasty stomach bug
2 going to bed with a clean kitchen
3 nurses who care
4 clean sheets & a freshly made bed
5 a baby who sleeps in his crib
6 a mom at church with a (clean!) spare pacifier
7 baby smiles
8 burps that finally come out, explaining the fussiness
9 digital cameras
10 Internet, texting and picture mail, making us feel not so far away from family
11 pictures of my new niece
12 long talks with my sister-in-law, who's also a new mommy
13 "late" night talks with my husband
Fast forward to 2011 in the blogging world when some friends (like Gretchen and Anna), prompted by Ann Voskamp, have started listing 1000 simple gifts they find in the mundane. I thought it was a cool idea, but had no ambition of doing it myself. However, now I find myself crossing the starting line of motherhood. I know that finding joy in the midst of sick kids, toddlerhood, sleepless nights and difficult days will be challenging. What better time to start counting the gifts of God than as I start the hardest yet most rewarding journey of my life?
1 my husband being on the mend after spending all weekend with a nasty stomach bug
2 going to bed with a clean kitchen
3 nurses who care
4 clean sheets & a freshly made bed
5 a baby who sleeps in his crib
6 a mom at church with a (clean!) spare pacifier
7 baby smiles
8 burps that finally come out, explaining the fussiness
9 digital cameras
10 Internet, texting and picture mail, making us feel not so far away from family
11 pictures of my new niece
12 long talks with my sister-in-law, who's also a new mommy
13 "late" night talks with my husband
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