UNEXPECTED BLESSINGS

Just finished our 30 minute walk this morning and what a blessing it was. 

 1st) it was a cool 59 degrees when we left the house - wonderful.

2nd) we decided to walk a different route this morning in order to pick-up more trash since the route we'd been walking is looking very good.  Unfortuately, there was a LOT of trash along the way and our bag was getting full.  We passed one house where the woman who lived there was standing by the curb talking to another woman in her vehicle.  We passed them and said, "Hello" and got a little way past and she hollered at us.  When we turned around she said, "Do you have quite a way to go?"  I said, "Yes, a little bit."  She said, "Here, let me take that stuff from you and throw it in my garbage since you are being so nice to pick up trash as you go."  We took her up on that offer!!  Her name was Myrtle.

 3rd) as we were coming up the opposite side of our own street, about a 1/2 block from home, a young man was out installing a boom box speaker in his trunk.  He saw us and said, "Do you need help picking up trash?  I'll help you."  We told him thanks but we were almost done and home.  He said his name was CJ and if we ever needed any help, loading something heavy, or whatever, just know on his door and he'd come help us!!!  When I commented about how nice that was he said, "I love to help the elderly."

So we not only had our cool walk, got our 30 minute walk, made our neighborhood look a little neater  AND made 2 new "friends" today.

My fb friend Joseph Watson had just posted these words this morning:
"our english word for church comes from the greek word 'ekklēsiā,' which means 'called out.' how ironic, then, that the greek thinking at the heart of western culture has given us the concept that church is about going IN to a building for a scheduled service and not about going out. wherever two or more are gathered in his name, there he is in the midst of them.

I thought about having just read this before starting this walk.  I believe little things we can do "outside our walls" and sometimes even "outside our comfort zone" applied to that being 'called out".

What do you think?

A GIFT from one of my GIFTS

My four children and 3 grandchildren are undoubtedly the biggest gifts my Lord & Savior has given me.  I cherish each and everyone of them with my whole heart.  The thing I find the most captivating is how very different and individual they each are!!!  God, in His wisdom, knew just what children and grandchildren I needed to make my life what He intended, and intends, it to be.

I began walking daily on July 7th and walked each and every day for 65 days until September 9th.  I began by walking .4 mile then increased it little by little until I was walking 1 mile a day and then up to 1.5 miles per day.  It was so hot that I would leave just as the sun rose each morning around 5:55 and watched as the days grew shorter and then I was leaving at 7:05 a.m.

My kids and my husband were all so proud of me doing this.  It was a blessed time for me as I walked and prayed each morning.  I have never been a tennis shoe wearing and so was just walking in a pair of black loafers.

NOW to the title of this post:  One of my GIFTS, daughter Jacque, called to tell me she was so proud of my walking each day and she had bought me a GIFT - a pair of tennis shoes!!!

They fit perfectly and I love them.  I never would have gotten them for myself because I wouldn't have known where to begin, or what to get!!!

Even though I've been unable to walk the last 12 days I truly hope to get back on schedule to walking each and every day and it will be even nicer and easier in this GIFT from my GIFT, Jacque.

Thanks sweetheart - I love you.

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I participated in Alphabet in August in the hopes of getting disciplined to blogging each day - well it didn't work :o)  Here it is the 21st and this in only my 5th blog for September and 2 of those were finished up Alphabet!!

A LOT has been going on and I have much to share and will attempt to catch up.