A Thousand Little Gifts: Joy on the Homestead

A while and what seems like a whole different life ago, I read a book by Anne Voskamp called One Thousand Gifts: A Dare To Live Fully Right Where You Are ( http://amzn.to/2ghkWnT). Without spoiling the book--because it's certainly worth the read--the author started to learn grattitude on her homestead through keeping track of all the little gifts around her.

To be mindful of her blessings (particularly when times were hard/frustrating/her children were screaming), she recorded lists of them as she went through the day. #25: Soap bubbles reflecting minute rainbows. #97: dandelion fluff on a warm summer breeze. #132: the sound of forks clinking against bowls, and son on.

At the time I was introduced to this idea, I was currently in a chapter of life that was discouraging, exhausting, and disheartening. It was very easy for me to miss the thousand and one beautiful things around me with the hazy cloud that was over my head, but starting my own list of happy, beautiful, funny, or delightful things really helped me along the way.

I am now more than seven years past that weird time, but I've still kept up with recording the things that I love as I observe them. I think it has made me much more aware of the Father's constant provision in my life. And I think it's a far more worthy use of my mental energy to hunt for the lovely in every day than to fixate on the thousand and one potential frustrations. Both are there, in abundance, but I get to choose which one fills up my inner world. And today, I choose joy!

So here's ten of today's little gifts, in no certain order, and in photo form.

#1: I love that I have no idea what these flowers are--just that they are in the pea family. They sprang up in a pink mist all over the land after a good rain, and I can't help but smile when I see them.

#2 We've been getting misty mornings lately, which means every spider web is visible before the sun rises fully.

#3 We haven't bought eggs since we got the chickens! And I don't have to just trust the carton that they are pasture-raised, free-range, organic, and responsibly raised this time.

#4: Rabbit poop, healing and enriching our future garden one cocoa-puff pile at a time._

#5 Our weekly, homemade yogurt!

#6All of Andrew's building projects, slowly getting infrastructure established, bit by bit.

#7 Charred bubbles on outdoor-cooked naan.

#8 Found a gorgeous box turtle and got to teach my boy about it (he called it "Tuhtuhh").

#9: Missouri, you got yourself some WEIRD looking moths. How does this thing even fly??

#10: This crazy orchid has been blooming since December, and it somehow survived the cross-country move on tea, neglect, and fresh country air. And kitten, apparently.

If any of you are willing, I would love to see your own small gifts of the day as well! Tag it "dailyjoy" and I'll check it out and comment!

As always, thanks for reading. Have a wonderful day!

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