An Attitude of Gratitude...

My dear sweet Ladies...

First, may I take a moment

to apologize for

"disappearing" for a few weeks...

Several of you have sent

kind and touching comments

and it may seem as though

I have been ignoring you...

For that, I am truly sorry...

Have you ever noticed

that sometimes when things seem

to be going along so smoothly and orderly...

"Life" throws us a "curve ball"...

And everything just seems

"out of sync..."

For the last week or so

The computer has been one of

the furthest things from my mind...

And yet, each day,

A little something "special"

would happen...

That I really wanted to give

thanks for...

So, this morning,

I was determined to set aside 

a few moments

to share these with my

wonderful friends...

A sweet comment from

my dear friend Judy...

Sharing about her husband

and his recovery from surgery...

Knowing that the road is long

but trusting that God is in control...

We continue to hold you both up
in our daily prayers...

My first "blog" award ever!

Given by a dear sweet lady, Melanie,

from the blog 

From Melanie's Home to Yours 

 

Thank you so much, Melanie,

I was so surprised and touched when

I found out that you had

chosen me...

And, dear friend,

as we both know...

God is so Good...

This came in His "perfect" timing...

just when I needed a little "liebe"...

 And then,
Oh, my!
I feel like it is my birthday!
Four give-aways
in a week!

Three from a lovely blog called
Victorian Motto Sampler Shoppe...

The pattern for this
beautiful sampler...

A package of hand-dyed cluny lace...

And the directions
for this adorable sampler!
I think I'll do this one for mom...
Please don't tell her!

Thanks so much, Nancy!

Then, from the
incredible "helpful hints" blog,
Living on A Dime

This amazing cookbook
"jam" packed with countless
frugal tips! 

Dear Ladies,
Did you ever notice how easy it is
to give thanks when something
wonderful happens to us?

And, yet,
Well, you know...

Yesterday, I was having
a little "pity party"
for myself...

Nobody else was invited,
of course...

I was just too busy
feeling sorry for myself
to send out invitations!

Then, in His infinite wisdom,
God gave me little glimpse
at my "attitude of gratitude" recently.

You see,
I have been rereading 
the amazing story of 
Corrie Ten Boom

Many of you may know
that Corrie and her family
had been arrested for hiding Jews
from the gestapo in the 1930s...

She and her sister, Betsy,
were sent to Ravensbruck,
the dreaded concentration camp
in the heart of Germany.

To paint a small picture of her world...
Fourteen hundred women were forced
to sleep in a concrete room made
to hold only 400...

The bedding hay was soiled and rancid...
 Eight putrid, overflowing toilets
served the entire room...
The fleas were overwhelming.

Exhausted, malnourished, diseased,
most of these women did not share
a common language. 

Corrie cried out to her sister, Betsy,

"How can we ever survive here?"

Betsy's simple, yet profound, response
taken from the pages of the tiny
New Testament that they had 
smuggled in with them... 

"Our Lord has given us the answer...
We can give thanks in all 
circumstances! We can start
right now to thank Him for every
single thing about this new barracks!" 

And so they thanked the Lord...

for being placed together...

for no inspection,
thus they were able to keep
their Bible...

And for the crowded quarters,
so that even more would hear
when they read the Scriptures...

They even found thanks for the fleas...
Corrie and her sister held nightly
worship services which would
have been quickly thwarted had
it not been for the fact that the
prison guards refused to enter
the disgusting, flea-infested 
barracks for an inspection.

Even the fleas were a miracle...

Oh, me, of little faith...

Dear Lord,
Thank you so very much
for my little
"attitude adjustment..."

"Rejoice evermore.

 Pray without ceasing.

 In every thing give thanks:

 for this is the will of God 

in Christ Jesus concerning you."

I Thessalonians 5: 16-18