Thursday, August 2, 2012

AUGUST JOY DARE

This Joy Dare continues to grow as I give triple-thanks daily.  This month I will be bold enough to publish my responses daily instead of at the end of the month.
 #640- #733   out of 1000.

#640-642:: Three Gifts White: Fluffy clouds, journal pages before I write on them with my purple ink, the purity of One without sin, Jesus Christ.

643-645:: Gifts eaten: fresh vegetables from the garden, my morning yogurt, morsels of God's presence as I chew on His Word.
646-648::Gifts at 10AM: Second breakfast with hubby; 1PM: Studying God's Word   10PM Cheering on Olympic finalists.

649-651::Gifts sitting: Morning prayer, Bible study preparation, Sitting on my garden bench on a beautiful day.
652-654:: Gifts outside: Beautiful days in the garden;  Inside: Worshipping the Lord in Community;  Upside down: God's Word... we must first die to self in order to live freely in Him ... and it works!
Fresh from the garden.

655-657:: Gifts in water: Cut flowers in pretty vases; Birds splashing in the birdbath; fish and frogs in the pond.
658-660:: Gifts in His Word: Our salvation history, The Bread of life, Promise of eternal life for those who believe that Jesus is God.

661-663:: Gifts in Summer: Evenings on the back porch, warm days, a beautiful garden with fresh vegetables.

My most favorite summer place
664-666:: Gifts Hole:dug for the post that will hold the new bird feeder;  Whole: Eating a juicy peach without slicing it;  Half:Uneaten part of watermelon in the fridge.

667-669:: Hard Eucharistios: Saying 'yes' when God asks for a hard journey to feed His flock; giving thanks when I feel like crying; knowing God is carving out a path for me that I do not yet see.
670-672:: Gifts of metal: Our lovely porch chairs; Rose pruners; tooth fillings.
673-675:: Gifts half hidden: My future; the amish farm behind blooming trees; God's presence when I am not seeing clearly.

Just a few of my badges.
I was surprised to find this.
676-678:: Gifts in Green: Thick grass; Autumn Joy Sedem before it turns pink; My Girl Scout badge sash that I found in a box.
679-681:: Gifts in a Ring: A sign of life-commitment between a husband and wife;  in a Curve: my body shape that is what it is, all me; in a Sphere: My influence.  Each of us has a circle of friends and neighbors which might be called a 'sphere of influence.'

Ugly-beautiful AND useful!
682-684:: Gifts Ugly-beautiful: Heirloom tomatoes that have ugly cracks with  blotches but they have a beautiful taste; Bright blue and purple drooping bachelor buttons after a very hard rain; Amish made 'dainties' hanger. It is ugly but does a beautiful job with hand washables.

685-687:: Gifts of family: Hubby and siblings and extended family are pillars of support 24/7/365; church friends; my women's group.
688-690:: Gifts in the morning: Sun melting the dew off the roses; A big orange ball on the horizon; bug, frog and bird noises filling a 'quiet' space.
Cloth 'skin' on doll.
Cloth on paper for clothes.
20 cards for 60 cents!
This box is really old!

 691-693:: Gift Red: An old box filled with a doll and clothes made by my aunt who turns 100 next month;
Gift Read: Ann Voskamp's "A Holy Experience" blog (see sidebar for blog site); Gift Written: My own blog (see sidebar).
694-696:: Gifts in church: A safe place to worship and praise the Lord; A moment to receive the true Bread of life, the holy sacrament of the Eucharist; dear people who have become family to us.
Our little church

697-699:: Gifts of serving: Sharing God's Holy Word as a Bible study leader; Helping others eat better by helping at the food bank; giving daily thanks to the Lord, thy God so that I may be a better servant.
700-702:: Gift Straight: Prov. 3:6 God's path for me as I walk in circles; Gift Turned: My head toward God when I truly want to listen;  Gift Curved: My garden as it winds down the house and curves around the back yard.

703-705:: Gifts in Light: Dancing colors as the sun penetrates our stained glass window at church; My rose bush filled with tissue-thin red blooms; Extra moments to read when the evening darkness comes too soon.
I have installed this in four homes

706-708:: Gifts Old: Most of my furniture, antiques, which I have lugged all over the U.S. with each move; My precious aunt who turns 100 next month; My dad who is 97 and still goes to the office daily.

The roses are translucent.
709-711:: Gifts Moving: The industrial size lawn mower that trims the weeds around the meadow below us; ME after an incredible day stocking shelves at the food bank!  A car instead of the horse and buggy our neighbors use.
712-714:: Gifts Fragile: Glass goblets inherited from my husband's mother; Life - especially if we do not care for our bodies as we should; Rose petals.

715-717:: Gifts Cut: Potatoes from the garden for a dreamy salad;   Sewn: Curtains I made; Buttoned:The "Sunday" shirt my husband wears to church.
718-720:: Gifts New: Re-blooming roses after a July lull; each morning I wake up; fun socks.
721-723:: Gifts Long Awaited: A maturing garden after three years; A new location and more volunteers for our town's food pantry; Cleaned and fixed mail box pods in our small community.
Send bloom.  The roses stopped for a month,
regrouped and bloomed better than ever!
724-726:: Gift One: Blue moon (we've had five this year) ; Gifts Two: Hubby spontaneously dancing with me in the kitchen; Gifts Three (in one): God: Father, Son, Holy Spirit.
My 'point'n shoot' camera captured this moon
in spite of darkness and cloud cover.
727-729:: Gifts very small: Tiny bees swarming our Sedum, Autumn Joy; Flower seeds I'm saving for next year; ants eating a tomato that fell to the ground.
730-732:: Miracles: My birth in the U.S.A; Life; Living a fruitful life.