Doesn’t the above statement make you want to search for those threads, to find the gleaming treasures he’s hidden among the ordinary moments of our days? Keeping a gratitude journal helps.
Just for fun I reviewed entries in my journal from the last three months. What follows is a short-list of treasures, found here and there through the summer of 2024.
1. On the internet: an APP called Merlin that will listen to the birds singing nearby and identify them by their calls. Such fun to hear an Eastern bluebird, for example, in the trees behind our house, and then spot his bright blue and peach feathers glowing in the late afternoon sun.
2. In our home: celebration of long-term friendships as we enjoyed two sets of houseguests—couples we’ve known for decades. Such joy percolates from the reminiscing, catching up, and laughter!
3. At a coffee shop: New friendship, as a young woman from church and I share our stories, encouragement, and prayer.
4. Next door: While I completed yard work one day (not one of my favorite things to do!), a large cluster of black-eyed Susans in our neighbors’ yard suddenly caught my eye and provided such a lovely sight. I found myself smiling.
5. From the rag bin: a new game created by our middle granddaughter–Island Tag. She and her little sister spread out numerous rags on the floor, and then we jump from one island to the next to chase or escape each other, providing MUCH laughter (and a good work-out for Nana)!
6. At DSW: Comfy sneakers I can even throw in the wash.
7. In a department store: A $150.00 raincoat for $38.73!
8. At a nearby garden center: fresh produce (delivered there each day, starting sometime in July)—sweet corn, tomatoes, squash, peaches, and more. Superbly delicious.
9. In an out-of-the-way place: a giant Thomas Dambo wood-sculpture called The Bird King (complete with a crown made of birdhouses), tucked among the trees on Vashon Island, Washington State.
Our daughter and family took us to visit him. Check Dambo’s website to see if there’s a sculpture near you. He and local volunteers have built them nearly world-wide.
10. In the Hoh Rainforest, also in Washington State: awe-inspiring sights around each bend of the path.
Do you suppose a Hobbit lives here?
11. At church, a Spirit-inspired truth from Romans 8:37, which says: “We are more than conquerors through him who loved us.” Our pastor made the point, we may have hardship, but with Jesus the hardships don’t have us.
12. During devo-time, encouragement to lift my spirit: “Though our prayers seem feeble and sometimes appear to have gone unheard, a word has gone forth. Spiritual agents from the throne room of the King of kings are mobilized against spiritual forces from the headquarters of evil, and there will be ultimate victory.”
I wonder, dear readers, what hidden treasures did you find over the summer? Please share an example or two in the comment section below!
And remember, “If you remember the dignity of the Giver, no gift will seem small or mean, for nothing can be valueless that is given by the Most High God” [3].
[1] Opening quote from Hard Places in the Way of Faith, quoted by L. B. Cowman in Streams in the Desert, 322.
[2] Elisabeth Elliot, A Lamp unto My Feet, 149.
[3] Thomas a Kempis
http://www.flickr.com; http://www.commons.wikimedia.org; http://www.flickr.com (Jodi Grundig); http://www.pxhere.com; Steve Ruegg; Nancy Ruegg (3); http://www.freerangestock.
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The island game reminded me of when my daughters were young, and we were at my parents’ house. They had black and white checked flooring in the kitchen. One of my daughters decided that we could only step on the black squares because the white squares were ooze we couldn’t fall in the ooze. Then she decided that it was okay to step there only if we had our ooze shoes on.
That led me to remember when my parents were at our house and my daughter had my dad riding the broom pretending it was a horse. LOL! Your story triggered some great memories for me. Thank you!
What a creative imagination your daughter has! So glad to trigger happy memories for you, Ruth. There’s much joy to be had in remembering (with gratitude) the delights of years past.
Lovely journal entries, Nancy, and great images, too. This is going to sound disgusting, but I showed my grandchildren how to go on “poopie” hunts in their three acre backyard. They each (6 yr, 3.5 yr,, 1.5 yr) get a small shovel and I carry the bucket. The treasures are provided by two labs and two dozen chickens. They just squeal with delight when they find some and shovel it in the bucket. Then they dig a hole where there’s no grass, help dump in the poopies, cover it, and excitedly jump all over the dirt pile to compress it and “make soil.” The first thing each of them want to do when we go outside is go on a poopie hunt! 🙂
That’s hilarious Nancy! Little do they know they’re helping you! I hope their joy in poopie hunts lasts for a very long time–till they’re adults taking their own young ones into the backyard with small shovels and buckets!
Love this! As my husband and I have gone through health challenges that past couple of years, we’ve increasingly learned to appreciate the ordinary moments in ordinary days.
You’re so right, Debi Sue–we don’t have to wait for special occasions to find joy. It’s frequently right in front of us! I’m sorry to hear about the health challenges you two face, but I love your attitude of appreciating the ordinary moments. That makes for strong spirits even when our bodies aren’t as cooperative as we’d like!
I used to keep a gratitude journal and you’ve inspired me to do so again with your journal entries here, Nancy. What great adventures you had this summer! But even though we didn’t go anywhere special, I give thanks every morning for the new day that God has provided, filled with promise and hope. May God bless you always!
It HAS been a busy summer for us this year–more so than usual. But there’s also much to be said for home, our own bed, the quiet of our neighborhood (one of the places we stayed was on a busy street), etc. That’s a good habit you’ve established, Martha, to thank God every morning for the new day God has provided. The older we get, the more we see each day as a gift (although heaven will the grandest gift of all)!
God is masterful at weaving our lives together.
Isn’t he though?! I marvel at his creativity and artistry, weaving unique tapestries of each of our lives, and also weaving us together in relationships. There’s treasure in contemplating the blessings of just that!
I have discovered more and more each day, what a treasure life is. Waking up each morning I thank Jesus for another day, for each one is a bonus.
As I said to Martha above, the older we get, the more we see each day as a gift (although heaven will the grandest gift of all)! SO much to be thankful for!
love reading this collection, You have brighten my day. I call this finding the hidden holy! I love watching the tiny white butterflies in the backyard. the large brown dog in the neighbor’s yard prance and play. The elderly lady ride her three wheeled bike around town. Paying attention is a powerful and rich practice isn’t it?
The hidden holy indeed! I enjoy the same things you listed, Jean, except we don’t have an elderly lady riding a three-wheeler in our neighborhood! We do have deer and fox that occasionally visit our backyard. I love watching them! You are so right: paying attention is a powerful and rich practice, ministering to mind, soul, and spirit–even body as the feel-good endorphins impact all aspects of our being. (Thank you, Lord, for those endorphins!)
Nancy, your journal collection with your gorgeous images remind me of so many things I am thankful for. Having my grandchildren living a golf cart ride down the hill from me allows me so many teaching opportunities. I have started singing lessons with our 8 and 5 year old granddaughters. It is so much fun!
How delightful to live so close to your grandchildren, Pam. Soon they’ll be driving that golf cart themselves to visit you at Sunshine Cottage (Did I remember the name correctly?!). Singing with your granddaughters DOES sound like fun. Won’t it be grand when they learn to sing in harmony!
You inspire me to be more organized in journaling, Nancy, especially as I notice that my memory isn’t as sharp as it used to be. This post is so precious! For me, among my summer blessings, are hearing our little grandson say my grandma name…or at least his version of it. So sweet! And watching Aaron’s joy as he shows us his latest sticker page that he completed. Bless you, my friend, and thank you for your encouragements that mean so much.
Thank you, Patty, for your encouragement. Please know my gratitude journal entries are short. I only write down an item or two each day, but just reviewing the day for the bright spots is spirit-lifting. / Oh yes–watching the little ones learn to talk is great fun, what with their own personal (and sometimes hilarious) pronunciations of words. / I’m so glad Aaron still enjoys sticker books–something fun and satisfying for him to do!
I am looking at a small, delicate woodwork I just purchased from a local maker’s fair yesterday. The artist took the sheet music of “Amazing Grace” (exactly as you would see it in a hymnal), gave the page a sort of old, wood-burned treatment, and then overlaid it with a wood stencil of the handwritten words “Amazing Grace”, alongside a cross and nail. I wasn’t looking for it; rather, I’d say it found me.
That sounds like a lovely reminder to keep within view. I hate to think where I’d be if not for God’s grace in my life!
Also, we don’t have any Dambo giants in South Carolina but we were lucky to be able to see the one in Breckenridge, CO when we lived there. Fantastic!
I’ll have to search for that one on Dambo’s website to see what it looks like. After our visit to the Bird King I discovered there are TWO of his scultpures just an hour and a half or so from our house. We never knew! Now that the weather is cooling down we’ll have to take a little day trip there!
Beautiful post! You are so right…a gratitude journal is a wonderful thing. It seems the more grateful we are, the more we ‘see’ around us to be grateful for. I love your journal entries. Thank you for sharing them with us!
Thank you, Linda. You are so right: gratitude begets gratitude as we begin to recognize how many blessings flow into our lives each day!
Nancy,
Great memories. We had a cruise to Honduras, visit the kids up north, and lits of grandbaby time.
Thank you, Gary
Gary Avants Forbear Productions * *garyavants66@gmail.com garyavants66@gmail.com
Honduras you say? I spent six weeks in Tegucigalpa, Honduras years ago! How about that! / Grandbaby time is certainly a treasure–soak up all you can!
Yes.
Gary Avants Forbear Productions * *garyavants66@gmail.com garyavants66@gmail.com
Beautiful threads, Nancy! Love the Vashon Island troll!!
Isn’t that sculpture wonderful? So much detail. I’d love to see a video of Dambo’s process from idea to design to construction. I also wonder how many volunteers it takes to create one of these giants!
Such a wonderful article that you have posted; please keep up your good work.
Thank you, Eternity! Praise God he keeps me supplied with possible topics and the perseverance to produce a post each week!
This is so wonderful Ms. Nancy. God bless you.
A not so hidden treasure that I’m so grateful for from my summer, is getting to spend quality time with my mother and grandmother who live pretty far away from me. They came to my city to see a doctor over my grandmother’s health and they ended up staying for a month, getting some much needed rest and pampering.
As a mom and grandmother myself, I can only imagine the supreme delight you provided for YOUR mom and grandmother, spending so much quality time with them. In the giving of your time and effort you discovered blessing–just as Jesus promised (Acts 20:35)!
I’m not sure if this qualifies as a ‘hidden treasure’ but last Saturday I drove to Hobby Lobby. When I arrived, I noticed that I didn’t have my cell phone with me. I knew I’d worry until I made sure that it was at my home, so I drove back and there it was! On my kitchen table. Cell phone retrieved I drove back to Hobby Lobby to do some fall décor shopping. When I was at the check-out the person beside me said my name. I turned and there was a friend I hadn’t seen for 13 years. Karen and I worked at the telephone company back in the early 1970s. She moved away to Winona Lake but through Facebook we got back in touch. What a treat to run into her right here in Mansfield where she was visiting her brother! If I hadn’t forgotten my cell phone, I would have missed out on this treasured friendship moment!
Your experience definitely qualifies as hidden treasure, Cheri. God provided the jewel of a friend-encounter in the middle of a slightly-postponed shopping errand. Thank you for sharing your story!
Oh those gorgeous vibrant colors … and A.B. Simpson all in one spot! Thanks for those prompts to gratitude … it never ceases to amaze me what we discover when we have His eyes to see.
Amen to that, Linda!
Goodness, what a feast! Those delightful re-purposed trolls! Hurray for Thomas Dambo, the good Dane visually redeeming the online version!
I’m gratefully remembering mama moose and her calf’s visitation, idling together beneath our pines. The gift of contained danger and wild beauty mere steps from our woodpile. “I will show [you] my wonders” ((Micah 7:15).
How delightful to receive a moose-and-calf visitation–as long as you’re inside and they’re outside! What a grand reality that God displays wonders for us to enjoy EVERY DAY!
What a sweet reminder to look to the everyday for hidden gems that God loves to give us continually. We celebrated our 50th anniversary a few weeks ago, and as we talked, John and I recounted the many blessings of these years together, how the Lord has led us on His adventure, and all that we have to look forward to in our later years. There’s a wonderful hope in seeing God in the details, the things I often miss because I can get too busy, too l loud, too unobservant. Thanks for this.
Happy belated anniversary, Dayle! What a worthwhile conversation you had with your husband, to celebrate the occasion. There’s much joy to be experienced in finding the hidden gems that God tucks here and there throughout our days. Like you I’ve been guilty of busyness and distraction, missing many of God’s delights. I’m trying to rectify that!
Amen. Nancy, this post overflows with summer refreshment. Thank you for sharing from your journal. My wife and I visited my family in Montana this summer, which is always a blessed trip. The exclamation point arrived when we personally met a fellow blogger and her husband for the first time. They live a short drive from my youngest daughter’s home.
So glad you found summer refreshment here, Richard. Isn’t it delightful to meet up with fellow bloggers? I’ve enjoyed that opportunity a couple of times. And one lived not too far from OUR daughter’s home!
Awesome! These treasures seem to make world feel just a bit smaller.
You’re so right!
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Your post is filled with magical treasures that are one of a kinds. Each day is like that when we’re connected to the One who created all of it. Our days grow shorter as we age, but the magic continues until the real treasure is revealed in our Father’s house. Thank you for sharing your memories with us.
Thank you, Kathy. My gratitude journal helps me look for the treasures of each day. It’s a delightful, attitude-changing practice. And you are so right–God will never run our of treasures to scatter throughout our days–hallelujah!
So do I. I hate to think about boxing it all up for another sale down the road.
I love that idea. My daily journal has been rather sporadic lately. This may be good motivation for me to keep at it. Thanks❤️