It’s Tuesday so it’s time to count our blessings!! I’ve had a really nice week and so there is a lot to be thankful for.

37.  I am so thankful that I was able to go to church on Saturday night.  It was so wonderful being among my church family again and worshiping with them. It was such a blessing to see all my dear friends and to hear my Pastor’s sermon in person. 

38.  We had communion at church and that was an even bigger blessing. There is nothing like remembering what Jesus did for us and placing our sins before Him for forgiveness.  I didn’t realize that I was going on communion night and so having communion was just a huge blessing.

39.  I’m thankful that I’m having some better days.  I still have days where I wake up in horrible pain, but having the days where my pain is lower is huge! It gives me hope that I really may, at some point, be able to resume my life.

40.  Again, I’m thankful for my sister. She listens to my fears, she prays fervently for me, she never makes me feel ridiculous (even when I know I am), and she loves me.  She is a true blessing!

41. I am thankful for the birds who have returned and sing outside my window.  I love the cooing of the Mourning Dove and they sit under my window and coo in the mornings.  Such a sweet sound.  There have been a lot of other birds that chirp and sing and it just makes my heart sing along with them.

The Lord is so good and blesses me so much.  He is truly my greatest blessing of all.

God bless you – Julie

It’s Tuesday so it’s time to count our blessings!! I’ve had a really nice week and so there is a lot to be thankful for.

37.  I am so thankful that I was able to go to church on Saturday night.  It was so wonderful being among my church family again and worshiping with them. It was such a blessing to see all my dear friends and to hear my Pastor’s sermon in person. 

38.  We had communion at church and that was an even bigger blessing. There is nothing like remembering what Jesus did for us and placing our sins before Him for forgiveness.  I didn’t realize that I was going on communion night and so having communion was just a huge blessing.

39.  I’m thankful that I’m having some better days.  I still have days where I wake up in horrible pain, but having the days where my pain is lower is huge! It gives me hope that I really may, at some point, be able to resume my life.

40.  Again, I’m thankful for my sister. She listens to my fears, she prays fervently for me, she never makes me feel ridiculous (even when I know I am), and she loves me.  She is a true blessing!

41. I am thankful for the birds who have returned and sing outside my window.  I love the cooing of the Mourning Dove and they sit under my window and coo in the mornings.  Such a sweet sound.  There have been a lot of other birds that chirp and sing and it just makes my heart sing along with them.

The Lord is so good and blesses me so much.  He is truly my greatest blessing of all.

God bless you – Julie

I’ve missed the past two weeks of Counting Our Blessings – not because I wasn’t blessed but because I just wasn’t up to doing any posts during those two weeks.  However, I’M BACK!! I have so many blessings…I may have to either make this a super long post or save some of my blessings for next week.

28.  I’m thankful that I’ve had some days in the past week where I haven’t been so wracked with pain that I couldn’t even keep my eyes open. You don’t realize how truly blessed you are to feel good until you have pain 24/7. God has been SO good to give me a bit of relief this past week, which brings me to blessing number…

29.  I’m SO very thankful for my praying family and friends.  I know without a doubt that it’s the prayers of these wonderful prayer warriors that has made a difference for me. First, it really helps mentally to know that people are praying for you and, second, those prayers work and when you feel the prayers working, it’s amazing!  God is so faithful to hear the prayers of so many that are praying!

30. I was able to fix my son’s birthday’s meals, and for that, I’m very thankful.  We are very short on money so having a special cake and meal was their big thing this year.  To be able to make two cakes and two huge meals in the span of 4 days was truly a blessing.  It would have hurt my Mama’s heart not to be able to do this for them.  Thank goodness I could do the meal a little at a time over those 4 days, otherwise I couldn’t have done it.

31.  I’m so very, very thankful for my new recliner and my sweet hubby that got it for me.  It has made such a huge difference in my life.  I am sleeping better and because there aren’t all these boards and springs poking me everywhere! It has so much more support for my back. 

32.  I’m thankful for my sister who is such a huge prayer warrior and prays for me constantly.  There really is no greater blessing than having a blood sister who is also my sister in Christ.  She is such an encourager and always there to be my confidant.   She is a huge blessing!

33.  For my Bible which has been such a source of comfort and joy.  I can always pick up my Bible and find that the Lord loves and cares for me and walks this road with me.  He holds me up, answers my prayers, and is my Lord. The Word of God is such a wonderful blessing!

34.  For Pandora Radio – http://www.pandoral.com – that allows me to listen to the classic country songs I love on some days and the classic jazz that calms my heart, on other days.  How wonderful it is to hear beautiful music that touches my heart. 

35.  For the Pastors that teach me via the internet and TV.  I can listen to my Pastor, Mark Martin, Greg Laurie, David Jeremiah, John MacArthur, and Charles Stanley all from the comfort of my recliner.  It is such a joy to learn more about the Lord from these wonderful men of God!

36.  For all the dear readers of my blog who have left such encouraging comments and sent me sweet and loving emails.  So many of the times these comments were left on days when I really needed an encouraging word.  It really is a God thing!! You warm my heart and I’m so very thankful for each and every one of you!!

If you want to participate in the Counting Our Blessings, click on the Counting Our Blessings button and it will take you to A Homemakers Heart who started this wonderful weekly time to count our blessings!

Be sure and count your blessings! You’ll be amazed at how blessed you truly are!

God bless you – Julie

I’ve missed the past two weeks of Counting Our Blessings – not because I wasn’t blessed but because I just wasn’t up to doing any posts during those two weeks.  However, I’M BACK!! I have so many blessings…I may have to either make this a super long post or save some of my blessings for next week.

28.  I’m thankful that I’ve had some days in the past week where I haven’t been so wracked with pain that I couldn’t even keep my eyes open. You don’t realize how truly blessed you are to feel good until you have pain 24/7. God has been SO good to give me a bit of relief this past week, which brings me to blessing number…

29.  I’m SO very thankful for my praying family and friends.  I know without a doubt that it’s the prayers of these wonderful prayer warriors that has made a difference for me. First, it really helps mentally to know that people are praying for you and, second, those prayers work and when you feel the prayers working, it’s amazing!  God is so faithful to hear the prayers of so many that are praying!

30. I was able to fix my son’s birthday’s meals, and for that, I’m very thankful.  We are very short on money so having a special cake and meal was their big thing this year.  To be able to make two cakes and two huge meals in the span of 4 days was truly a blessing.  It would have hurt my Mama’s heart not to be able to do this for them.  Thank goodness I could do the meal a little at a time over those 4 days, otherwise I couldn’t have done it.

31.  I’m so very, very thankful for my new recliner and my sweet hubby that got it for me.  It has made such a huge difference in my life.  I am sleeping better and because there aren’t all these boards and springs poking me everywhere! It has so much more support for my back. 

32.  I’m thankful for my sister who is such a huge prayer warrior and prays for me constantly.  There really is no greater blessing than having a blood sister who is also my sister in Christ.  She is such an encourager and always there to be my confidant.   She is a huge blessing!

33.  For my Bible which has been such a source of comfort and joy.  I can always pick up my Bible and find that the Lord loves and cares for me and walks this road with me.  He holds me up, answers my prayers, and is my Lord. The Word of God is such a wonderful blessing!

34.  For Pandora Radio – http://www.pandoral.com – that allows me to listen to the classic country songs I love on some days and the classic jazz that calms my heart, on other days.  How wonderful it is to hear beautiful music that touches my heart. 

35.  For the Pastors that teach me via the internet and TV.  I can listen to my Pastor, Mark Martin, Greg Laurie, David Jeremiah, John MacArthur, and Charles Stanley all from the comfort of my recliner.  It is such a joy to learn more about the Lord from these wonderful men of God!

36.  For all the dear readers of my blog who have left such encouraging comments and sent me sweet and loving emails.  So many of the times these comments were left on days when I really needed an encouraging word.  It really is a God thing!! You warm my heart and I’m so very thankful for each and every one of you!!

If you want to participate in the Counting Our Blessings, click on the Counting Our Blessings button and it will take you to A Homemakers Heart who started this wonderful weekly time to count our blessings!

Be sure and count your blessings! You’ll be amazed at how blessed you truly are!

God bless you – Julie

Some weeks it’s easier to count our blessings than others, especially if we look at things from the natural rather than the spiritual.  This was one of those weeks and I’m digging deep to see where God’s hand was in these situations that in the natural are disasters and disappointments yet in the spiritual, miracles are there to be found.

16.  I’m SO thankful that I was able to drive my son to the emergency room in time after realizing he was having an allergic reaction to some medication he was given for the Influenza.  I’m very thankful for caring nurses and a knowledgeable doctor who gave my son the wonderful care and help that he needed.  I’m thankful that he didn’t have to be admitted and that he walked out of the hospital on his own two legs.  I’m thankful for my son.

17.  I’m thankful that my son is feeling better even though he is still very sick.  I’m thankful that he’s been able to sleep well since his trip to the hospital.  Going to the hospital gave him the help he needed to help get him over the worst part of this horrible Influenza.

18.  I’m thankful that I haven’t gotten sick.

19.  I’m thankful that my husband is feeling better and that my other son is completely over this illness.

20.  I’m thankful for the sun that is shining today after a weekend of snow and very cold temperatures.

What are you thankful for?  There is SO much we can be thankful for – even the little things add up!

God bless you – Julie

It’s that time again… Count Our Blessings Tuesday.  I have many things to be thankful for!

11.  That I was able to do a little more this week for my family.  I cooked a few meals this week that we all enjoyed.  I cooked old favorites (like spaghetti) and tried new recipes.  My family really enjoyed it and I was so thankful I could do it.  Yes, in fits and starts, but this is so huge because just a couple weeks ago, I couldn’t do it at all.

12.  For a wonderful Valentine’s Day with my hubby.  We didn’t do much, in fact, we stayed home and just talked, watched TV and sipped iced-tea together, but it was so nice.  I have to say, it was probably one of the nicest Valentines we’ve ever had.  One of the reasons is number 13…

13.  We’ve actually had a couple of quiet days this week without my MIL making the whole day miserable.  Valentines Day started off bad with her doing “her thing” but then she suddenly quieted down and napped and my hubby and I were able to spend a quiet afternoon together.  It was heavenly!

14.  For a quiet Sunday.  We have never had a quiet Sunday here.  Sunday’s have always been one of the hardest days here because of my MIL, however, Sunday was very nice.  We all kept saying, “It’s so nice!”…and it was.

15.  For so many answered prayers.  God is so wonderful and He cares so much.  There have been many issues that we have been praying about and we are seeing God’s hand working in so many of those areas.

What are you thankful for this week?

God bless you – Julie

I completely missed last Tuesday’s “Count Our Blesings”. I had a rather down week and just didn’t do much blogging.  I’m in a lot of pain, but I want to make sure I count my blessings and look up rather than to my troubles.

So here are the things I’m thankful for:

6.  I’m so thankful for my husband who takes such wonderful care of me and never makes me feel like a burden. He made his famous hoagie sandwich for us yesterday and today and that’s something to be really thankful for! (I’m not sure if it’s cheating to be thankful for something twice, but I am so thankful for my hubby, I had to say it twice!)

7.  My church family that checks in on me even though I haven’t been able to be there since Christmas. They include me as much as possible even though I’m stuck at home.

8.  My working hands. I can do my counted cross stitch, my crochet, write on my laptop, and take care of daily grooming.  My hands keep me involved in doing things even though I’m in pain.

9.  My Bible.  It comforts me, gives me wisdom, and makes me feel the Spirit of the Lord is sitting near.  How wonderful to have this beautiful book from our Lord!

10.  My quilts that I tuck around me each night as I go to sleep in my recliner.  They keep me warm, are soft and tuck in all those areas in the chair to keep the cold air out.

I really am blessed….

God bless you – Julie

I just love this! I saw this over at “A Homemaker’s Heart” and I knew I wanted to do this! God really does bless us so much and it’s really important – in fact, vital – to focus on all the blessings we have.  It makes us look at things different when we’re looking at our blessings instead of our hardships.  I have so much to be thankful for!

1.  The new Trenta size drink at Starbucks! YES! What could be better than 6 ounces more of my favorite iced coffee?  They make it just like I like it – 3 pumps of sweetner – and it’s just wonderful!

2.  My youngest son who went and got me said iced coffee after his physical therapy this morning.

3.  My hubby who is always concerned about me, brings me iced water, and loves me unconditionally. How wonderful is that?

4.  My oldest son who takes on so much responsibility for his family members who have ill health.  I’m thankful that he’s always willing to step up and help us with love and care.

5.  I’m also thankful for my little Yorkie, Holly, who keeps me company and loves me during this long process of healing.  She is always with me and has a loving look, a sweet kiss, or a little paw to the hand or face.  She also loves my constant brushing and bows in her hair. What a sweetie!

God has blessed me so much and I love to focus on my blessings. What do you feel blessed by in your life?

God bless you – Julie