"Counting 1000 Gifts" Continued ~ September 7th, 2012

"Trust in the Lord, and do good; Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness. Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart." Psalm 37:3-4

I know I have quoted these verses before...and I probably will again. They are worth repeating.  Today I am continuing my quest to count three new gifts each day, things for which I am thankful....blessings that are fresh and new and perhaps unexpected.  I am following the writing prompts of Ann Voskamp in her project "Count 1000 Gifts in 2012".  See www.AnnVoskamp.com for more details and how you can become involved.

Today's prompt is to think of "3 Gifts Given".  Perhaps this means that I am supposed to report 3 gifts that I have given.  However, today I have received  3 gifts, and I would rather share that with you.  It's really pretty amazing.

Three Gifts Given:





Today in the mail I received this gift:
"One Thousand Gifts", written by Ann Voskamp.
It is a gift from one of my dear facebook friends...one whom I have never
met personally...but she saw that I was sharing these daily gifts, and she
wanted me to have this book...from the originator of the whole idea of
"Counting 1000 Gifts" in  2012!  I can't wait to start reading it!!!
I did not ask for this gift...it was freely offered and sent....and I am in awe and mystified at the
thoughtfulness and generosity of this precious friend!  I will tell you that she comes from a family of givers, at least
I can tell you her sister has the same kind heart...for she blessed me with a wonderful gift a couple of years ago...again, totally unexpected and without expectation of receiving anything from me.  (Click on this link for more about that story)   I pray that God will give me the opportunity to meet these two sisters one day in person and be able to give them big hugs. I am always amazed when a total stranger (except for our friendship on Facebook) reaches out and blesses another just because... 




My 2nd gift "given" today was another total surprise!  This time from the Federal Government! Now THAT'S a GIFT!  When the Feds send you something totally unexpected...(and I still don't know where it came from or why I received it)...that's a miracle!  When I went to my mailbox today I was blessed with these two gifts:

The book previously mentioned, and a CHECK from the Dept. of Treasury!  Totally unexpected!  WOW!!  I still don't know why I received it...but I'm thankful no matter why!!!
God knew I needed it...and He saw to it that I received it.  Yes, In God We DO Trust!!!



Now, for my Gift's Given #3:

I didn't receive these today, but very recently.  My sweet #1 son is a gifted carpenter.  Now that the weather is cooling down some (and his day job has cut back his hours a little) he has started working in his workshop again.  He has heard me complaining that the doves have taken over my birdfeeder...sometimes there are 6 or 8 doves on there at once, hogging all the birdseed and keeping the smaller birds from being able to land on the feeder to get their share.  It's not that I don't want the doves to eat, I just want them to get back on the ground where they belong!  Doves are supposed to be ground-feeders.  SO, my son is experimenting with a couple of smaller designs of bird feeders, with the idea that hopefully the doves cannot land on them so easily and the other birds will have a chance.  I didn't get a picture of them with the birds on them, but so far the doves are still somehow managing to land and eat...only not quite as many at a time.  UPDATE 9-8-12: GO TO THE BOTTOM TO SEE AN UPDATED PICTURE

So, these are my Three Gifts "Given" for today.  They were given to me totally unexpectedly...and have blessed me in ways I cannot begin to express fully. 

All I can say is:

Thank you, Lord, for Your blessings on me.

"Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good; Blessed is the man (woman) who trusts in Him!"

Psalm 34:8

Hey! What's for dinner?