“A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.” {Proverbs 17:22}
I’ve had several occasions lately where I’ve told a friend a story about something that happened to me and then they ask me if that was a true story. There is really no way I could ever be creative enough to make up the things I encounter in everyday life. God sure does know how to humor me! This was especially evident this evening with a myriad of funny things that happened all right in a row. Every 20 minutes, something hilarious happened.
And we all know that I love to laugh.
So all I can say is…God is so good. What gifts.
3199. a surprise evening off–swim & catching up
3200. long heart-to-hearts searching the depths and foundations. so good for a soul.
3201. working out what He has worked in
3202. a nap!
3203. the brevity of life, as described by lou grant
3204. “do you like flatbread?”
3205. stoplights. wow, people can’t drive without them–especially in the rain
3206. hearing how God has blessed abundantly beyond imagination!
3207. playing arpeggiated loveliness with 2 over 3 debussy. ahhh.
3208. tiramisu cheesecake from the cheesecake factory, reunions for old friends, and meeting new friends
3209. seeing sunday school teachers preparing with passion
3210. channa
3211. meeting new brothers and sisters in Christ and fellowshipping with old ones
3212. sweet friends with kind words
3213. God perfectly timing my day, as requested
3214. reminders of His providence and love that it’s such a small world
3215. five years with the sugar blood {click here if you care to read more}
3216. what heights of love!
3217. sal’s rolls
3218. hearing the Gospel so clearly proclaimed, bbq, and sweet fellowship ♥
3219. a breath-taking sunset–even if it was outside the dollar tree in woodhill
3220. hearing one talk of her love for Christ and being encouraged by her close walk with Him
3221. kristen eating a breadstick and hugs before she leaves for omaha ♥
3222. “soul finger” coming on while i was pumping gas and my upper body automatically moving in various directions #bandprobs
3223. crepes with jeremy and him putting into words what i had been trying to figure out for nearly a week. what a gift.
3224. the protective hand of God in the rain as this scuzzball made two saturday office runs
3225. the beautiful Christ-centered ceremony of rachel & jake~and their flower girl asking me if the bubbles cost money
3226. gambling at mcdonald’s discussion in sunday school. aunt janna and her medium monopoly diet cokes. hehe!
3227. tightness of the world not letting roots go deeper–Christ will dig in your heart and aerate it!
3228. missing erin REALLY bad.
3229. finishing same kind of different as me in one day
3230. hugging my sweet family’s necks. God is so good to me. ♥
3231. spending time with my mema and papa, shedding a few tears, but laughing so much more. love them so.
3232. that house. that home. those memories. the love. the people. the Lord who gave it all. {2 corinthians 4:16-5:7}
3233. closing one chapter–a long one–with hopes and prayers for the next.
3234. skeeters big enough to carry you away, butter beans on a buffet, crops stretching forever through a vast field, the south.
3235. mema’s chicken salad
3236. a soaking wet hug from clayton
3237. a teary-eyed thank you and sweet hug from papa
3238. being with the saints at midway and hearing how the Lord is at work in HUGE huge ways!
3239. celebrating mema & papa’s 60th wedding anniversary. ♥ love them so.
3240. roger’s. rutabagas. for real.
3241. seeing clayton’s new house (and giving him a plastic knife and spoon to eat with. lol!)
3242. my heart literally hurting because people are hurting
3243. goodbyes. they never get easier.
3244. being reminded that i am here to glorify God by serving others
3245. moving kerry in…peach pizza, a cup of commonwealth, and thrifting
3246. the habitation of His house {psalm 26:8}
3247. a sunny afternoon with bonhoeffer
3248. mercy and grace to the woman bent over {luke 13:10-17}
3249. quite the sight outside the church window
3250. dinner with chan and the ‘rents and running into caveman and the hunters. such providence!
“To see the glory, name the graces.”
Since reading One Thousand Gifts, I started my own journal of grace-gifts God blesses me with every day. I will spare listing all of them here, but I will try to share some of my favorites every Monday.
As I wrote before, when I take the time to write down how I’ve seen God at work in my life, I’m forgetting not. God becomes bigger in my eyes. It’s like a collection of trophies of thousands of ways He’s proved His love for me though I am so undeserving. And looking back at these only makes me trust Him more.
It’s been a long time since I’ve listed my gifts here…I’m talking 4 months long time. As in, I was still wearing a jacket for the first part of these. It was still cold. But you’ve gotta start somewhere!
These are more for my records and reiterated joy than yours, but why not praise Him in the multitude–even for the little things!
3039. the amputee dancing man face-planting on the porch. my, my.
3040. routines thrown off. hooking up speakers, dustballs in my hair, and lining people out.
3041. “sarah, sarah wainright has registered for your meeting.” –HOLD THAT DOOR OPEN!
3042. free venti SKCDL with Lt. WC!
3043. watching my mom conduct her last Fayette County Honors Chorus. children’s voices >>>
3044. an enthusiastic “SARAH!” from down the hallway.
3045. letting people know how I’ve been praying for them and hoping they can see the Lord at work in them
3046. snatching kerry and spontaneously having dinner at shakertown
3047. passion play #6 with charla
3048. God loving me in my cranky mess this morning–and loving me too much to leave me that way by smacking my pride with a lesson on flexibility in sunday school
3049. pulling out my (not-so) artsy side
3050. grace to dive back into recording gifts
3051. friends who show love by going above and beyond and putting up with my forgetfulness
3052. not one free minute.
3053. being invited to a Bible Study by one of my flute students because “it’s always good to add one more person to Bible Study…AND we’re in Psalms!” (love it.)
3054. being completely overwhelmed by God’s grace. as if saving grace wasn’t enough.
3055. sounds of screen & stage concert as asbury–gorgeous clarinets and piccolo!
3056. a thank-you card to brighten my day from box 7–transforming band nerds for the glory of God 🙂
3057. so many hugs and kisses from missionaries and other BFM friends
3058. phoebing it up!
3059. love from the hatchers
3060. getting to play with those percussion kids
3061. refreshing, encouraging Christ-centered chat over frozen custard
3062. a Christ-exalting wedding
3063. mom’s very last concert
3064. the sweet friendship of rachel
3065. God giving me the grace to get out of my comfort zone
3066. zesty ginger wings with erin (HU. HU. HA!)
3067. designing things for fun rather than money
3068. laughing hysterically on halifax with erin and kerry
3069. story time!
3070. thinking outside of myself for a change
3071. visiting with paul and barb at their home eating DQ. precious times.
3072. realizing how blessed i am. wow.
3073. guy at stoplight playing ukelele…um.
3074. hearing station kids make beautiful music
3075. seeing lots of work finally come together
3076. laughing at culvers with friends
3077. celebrating my granny’s 94th birthday at shakertown with the girls
3078. band banquet–meeting and making new friends
3079. waveland picnic with erin where a bird pooed on my head
3080. touring amazon
3081. mom’s very last day of school
3082. hearing tanner basically preach the Gospel for LCA’s commencement speech
3083. spending time with old band friends, picking up like we never even left off!
3084. running into kerry at the grocery
3085. meeting the mallorys for dinner and froyo~phantom, phil wickham, frickles, froyo, and fabulous friends!
3086. a “way to go, God” sunset on the way home down my ironworks pike wrong turn
3087. such a sweet, refreshing week getting to spend time with alicia conrad!
3088. dinner with aunt janna
3089. ♪ You made a way for me.
3090. first swim of the season
3091. getting to fellowship with more lca kids & parents. how kind of God to let me watch them grow up.
3092. nicknames that stick
3093. that God would love a sinner like me and stoop down to show me mercy
3094. hugs from my girls at logan’s party
3095. playing flute as an act of worship
3096. dinner with rileys, estes’, and dawsons
3097. realizing how much someone means to you
3098. a meaningful hug
3099. tears the whole way home
3100. ♪ You are wonderful and what else can my soul say?
3101. a new flute student by my old flute teacher. life comes full circle. (crazy, too, that their neighborhood donato’s is still in my phone from high school)
3102. lunch with mrs. b!
3103. psalm 62:1 smacking me right dab in the middle of my heart
3104. God always working, answering prayer, and revealing (clearly!) His will…all for the sake of His fame.
3105. being all weepy. just awful. but He keeps every tear. unbelievable.
3106. kristen singing “another one bites the dust” in the middle of krispy kreme
3107. meeting miss emma grace
3108. laughing with aunt janna at a friday night family table
3109. celebrating at laura and jerid’s pinterest-perfect, CHRIST-centered wedding
3110. passing by the great american brass band festival
3111. see-you-laters to those four little squirts {hard eucharisteo}
3112. hannah’s heart of gratitude and praise
3113. calmed nerves
3114. a kind, very patient person who cared about more than herself and a product.
3115. “so do you have kids?”
3116. mango. please take me to trinidad.
3117. a first lovely sightread flute duet. what a joy!
3118. homemade meatloaf & corn on the cob
3119. 17 laps = 101 sugar!
3120. God making the sun go backwards in isaiah 38
3121. my ate’s birthday
3122. seeing dr. patel and my A1c dropping! love her!
3123. nonstop busy at work
3125. introducing lindsey to frickles at fava’s…’twas an adventure indeed!
3125. brunch at windy corner with charla
3126. that amazing chevy chase barista who knew a girl’s dad’s order for her surprise father’s day gift AND both orders behind me…all in the midst of renovation. crazy!
3127. sunshine! jumping out of the pool and taking a nap full of sun kisses to dry off
3128. “no, i’m not grilling shelby” -my neighbor referring to a deceased guinea pig
3129. organ fixed
3130. a godly heritage
3131. {hebrews 11:11} oh to consider Him faithful and cling to His promises
3132. patience tried. nasty, depraved heart exposed. grace found in the Gospel. still robed in the righteousness of Christ.
3133. a flute duet with sadie
3134. sanctification by being on hold and *patiently* waiting on someone
3135. hearing kids play on practice pads…and laughing at their funny conversations (john cheese)
3136. ♪ no longer dead, we are alive! ♪
3137. “good morning, Jesus. Oh…”
3138. homemade enchiladas + isaiah 40 + sunset swim + kids scoop of graeters mocha chip
3139. getting gifts together for friends!
3140. grace to make it through the busiest friday yet
3141. roadtripping to mt. sterling with mom, aly, and mama neal. the amish at wendys. oh my.
3142. chills from the rich, warm sound of the troopers!
3143. watching erin do her thing and hugs after the show!
3144. rachel’s shower…a broken ribbon! (=1 child!)
3145. being reunited with old friends
3146. chipotle running out of forks and ate improvising with knives. LOL!
3147. celebrating mom’s retirement at church
3148. the gift of another day of life, the grace to wake up, strong coffee, and loudly singing passion songs
3149. knowing you’ve been sovereignly placed
3150. strawberry butter
3151. isaiah 40:26. NOT ONE.
3152. gaither afternoon: prozac for the ears
3153. watching a clip of one of my favorite marimba players mid-day!
3154. 10 cards, 20 treble clefs, 20 music notes, 10 snazzy W’s, and lots of ink. maildrop time!
3155. monsters u with my little cousin
3156. crepes with ellen!
3157. purging and cleaning
3158. celebrating our friends’ 50th anniversary and meeting a new friend. SUCH a small world.
3159. God reaffirming His love for me when I woke up with a bad case of the mondays.
3160. the sound of percolating coffee
3161. pineapple chow
3162. getting to wish my mema a happy birthday. love her.
3163. south carolina peaches, blueberries, and almonds atop homemade waffles
3164. john williams conducting lincoln with the national symphony orchestra
3165. neil diamond singing “sweet caroline”
3166. small things made great when done with His great love {a. voskamp post: must read}
3167. smashing tomato with mom for lunch
3168. my drink with “white lip” at starbucks. LOL!
3169. psalm 107:9 ~ satisfies & fills
3170. ghetto home movie. lincoln, kmea, sweatshirt, and decaf hazelnut
3171. crepes with ashley!
3172. talking for four hours at the crepe place. FOUR!
3173. seeing kerry and spending the day with her. SUCH a nice surprise!
3174. the most vivid, full, double rainbow ever
3175. mom and dad celebrating 29 years
3176. “i like my honey on a biscuit”
3177. cracker barrel post-sunday evening service
3178. 5000 tweets
3179. flute duets with two stages of students
3180. “my mission in life is to not let you be (anonymous). i have to find you a man” -HA! one of my favorite friends
3181. kind, helpful people
3182. forgetting not {psalm 103}
3183. encouraging thank you’s from cards i had sent
3184. the brevity of life–psalm 90–this day won’t come again. don’t waste it.
3185. fellowship with sisters. prayers answered–and so many more offered for our new friend
3186. getting to take a little afternoon walk since the mailman left me with six pieces of wrong mail
3187. gelato with aunt janna
3188. ingur fried rice! {recipe here}
3189. a card from a precious friend
3190. laughs in the lone ranger with the ‘rents at movie tavern
3191. a grateful waitress. so sweet.
3192. a scrumptious summer dinner and walk to graeter’s at sunset for some bourbon ball ice cream with the cousins
3193. grace for the teary moments with faith He is in control
3194. a lovely shower for rachel. such sweet people.
3195. the Gospel. it never gets old. “the Judge paid our punishment”
3196. spending the afternoon wallet-shopping with sadie
3197. laughs over food at steak ‘n shake
3198. knowing greater things are yet to come and still to be done in this city
“To see the glory, name the graces.”
Since reading One Thousand Gifts, I started my own journal of grace-gifts God blesses me with every day. I will spare listing all of them here, but I will try to share some of my favorites every Monday.
It is a delightful and profitable occupation to mark the hand of God in the lives of ancient saints, and to observe His goodness in delivering them, His mercy in pardoning them, and His faithfulness in keeping His covenant with them. But would it not be even more interesting and profitable for us to remark the hand of God in our own lives? Ought we not to look upon our own history as being at least as full of God, as full of His goodness and of His truth, as much a proof of His faithfulness and veracity, as the lives of any of the saints who have gone before?
We do our Lord an injustice when we suppose that He wrought all His mighty acts, and showed Himself strong for those in the early time, but doth not perform wonders or lay bare His arm for the saints who are now upon the earth.
Let us review our own lives. Surely in these we may discover some happy incidents, refreshing to ourselves and glorifying to our God. Have you had no deliverances? Have you passed through no rivers, supported by the divine presence? Have you walked through no fires unharmed? Have you had no manifestations? Have you had no choice favors? The God who gave Solomon the desire of his heart, hath He never listened to you and answered your requests? That God of lavish bounty of whom David sang, “Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things,” hath He never satiated you with fatness? Have you never been made to lie down in green pastures? Have you never been led by the still waters?
Surely the goodness of God has been the same to us as to the saints of old. Let us, then, weave His mercies into a song. Let us take the pure gold of thankfulness, and the jewels of praise and make them into another crown for the head of Jesus. Let our souls give forth music as sweet and as exhilarating as came from David’s harp, while we praise the Lord whose mercy endureth forever. {C.H. Spurgeon in Morning & Evening | July 9, morning}
I think my favorite devotional is Charles H. Spurgeon’s Morning & Evening. He takes one verse and treats it as a precious diamond, examining every little facet to make the often overlooked parts appreciated, which, in turn makes the diamond even more beautiful as a whole.
“Forget not all His benefits.” That’s a command.
Lately I’ve allowed myself to be too busy to recount God’s faithfulness. What a sorry thing to put on the back burner. I can say from experience that listing out the little and big ways God has shown you grace really does bring you more joy. But the beautiful thing is this: though I have not been faithful to thank God for the countless gifts He’s blessed me with, He’s still continued to shower me with them.
“If we are faithless, He remains faithful—for He cannot deny Himself.” {2 Timothy 2:13}
When I take the time to write down how I’ve seen God at work in my life, I’m forgetting not. God becomes bigger in my eyes. It’s like a collection of trophies of thousands of ways He’s proved His love for me though I am so undeserving. And looking back at these only makes me trust Him more.
So here’s to a renewed commitment for writing down His love-gifts. Perhaps you will join me?
3222. “soul finger” coming on while i was pumping gas and my upper body automatically moving in various directions #bandprobs
3226. gambling at mcdonald’s discussion in sunday school. aunt janna and her medium monopoly diet cokes. hehe!
Sarah Caroline 