gratitude part 2

October 2010

Taylor, 
       This notebook contains 200+ opportunities to hold everyday, ordinary expressions of gratitude for gifts from God. Your challenge these next 3 days is to recognize and pen (1 per page) at least 100 gifts for which you're grateful.

Love,
Mom

This message was written on the inside front cover of a little notebook my parents gave me on my 23rd birthday. Today I'm continuing to share those blessings I wrote down, explaining along the way how they still apply to my (now very different) life.

Photographs - still one of my favorite forms of artwork (my favorite is sketches, but Jake refuses to draw for me). I have primarily photographs hanging in my home; my favorites are black and white, or very muted colors.

Photography - this is one skill I really wish I had. Just for me. I have a Polaroid (the original kind!) that I love to take pictures on, but the film is expensive, and I'm horrible at it, so I don't do that very often. Maybe I should just take pictures anyway, for fun, and then one day I'd be decent?

Desks - I especially love old, cleared-off ones. Like, just keep your stuff in the drawers, people! But let's be honest, momming doesn't leave much time or space for such luxuries as sitting down and spending hours on written correspondence, or writing manuscripts, or the like.

Vanities - well, let's just say I love the idea of vanities. The concept of having a designated space to get ready for the day, to be feminine for a little while, and to store all your pretties. BUT. Living in a small home, I much prefer having the space available to, like, walk in. I've even already taken down my vanity I told you about a few months ago.

Bathtubs - at this point in my life I will specify that I mean free-standing bathtubs. Because now that I've lived with people - *cough cough* children - I 100% do NOT like sitting down to soak in a tub that has been who-knows-what in. Also, cleaning showers/tubs is my least favorite cleaning task of all. So I will save the luxurious soaks for when I'm again in a quaint little bed and breakfast that has a separate tub and shower and which I do NOT have to clean :)

Bubble baths - ha! See above.

Sweets (i.e. Oreo Cakesters) - um... who even knows what those are?? I'm guessing I discovered them at that little grocery store I visited on my weekend birthday trip. Nowadays I still LOVE sweets, but I'm really trying giving up refined sugars for good, because my 3*?-year-old metabolism is not quite the same as my 23-year-old metabolism was.

Food which is easily available to me - ok, now we're onto a topic that better lines up with my (hopefully) less-selfish older self. Did you know there's a famine in Yemen? And that
while accounting for the current levels of Humanitarian Food Assistance (HFA), 17% of the population analyzed (about 5 million people) are in IPC Phase 4 (Emergency) and 36% (about 10.8 million people) in IPC Phase 3 (Crisis). Of greatest concern are the 65,000 people in IPC Phase 5 (Catastrophe). Overall, this constitutes 15.9 million or 53% of the total population. It is estimated that in the absence of HFA, about 20 million people or 67% of the total population (including Internally Displaced People - IDPs) would be in need of urgent action to save lives and livelihoods. This includes 240,000 people in IPC Phase 5 (Catastrophe), i.e. threefold the actual number. [source: reliefweb.int]
So, yeah, I'm still so very grateful for my ridiculously easy access to food.

Jewelry - to wear - wow, so what was going on in my mind that I would jump from something so altruistic to jewelry?? Because when I say "jewelry," I do in fact mean fine jewelry. I do really appreciate artisan jewelry, especially when I can support someone like a single mother in Africa, but other than that I'm kind of a jewelry snob. Sorry. It comes from working for so long at the nicest jewelry store I've ever seen. I will say, though, that a recent (to me) sermon by David Platt was pretty convicting on this front, and I am much more aware of how show-offy my jewelry has the potential to seem. Not to mention, when I'm reminded of all the hurting in the world, I can't in good conscience spend a huge percentage of our income on such frivolous things.

Flowers - to arrange - At one point in my young adulthood, I worked at a flower shop. I actually even looked into buying a flower shop of my own, and being a full-time florist. That's still a dream of mine, if I ever need or want to own my own business. But for now, being a wife and mom and homeschooling is about all I can handle! (but here's a free tip: always go for a huge bunch of the same kind of flower. Fuller arrangements look more expensive, as do arrangements of all the same flower, unless you're an amazing florist. I love flowers from Costco, Trader Joe's, and even Wal-Mart. Just steer clear of mixed arrangements, especially when some of the flowers have been dyed an unnatural color!)

So now I'll again leave you with the Scripture printed in the bottom corner of every page of my notebook:

I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
John 10:10