Exhaling at Home (Opus Gloriae)

Multitude Monday... on a Tuesday :- /

Because Monday was just nuts....

I'll let these words draw their own pictures. In your own silence.

I am grateful for....

61. bare morning light in a still-silent house

62. steam rising silently from a mug of steaming chamomile

63. silent prayer from deep within

64. silent tears rising gently from that prayer

65. the utter power of the silent Word

66. the silent peace of leaning into Truth

67. the silent joy of allowing ourselves to be seen by Him... completely

68. the silent thrill of His glance

69. the silent strength of being oned with ALL

70. the silent determination to do all He asks of me this day

 

We are MADE for gratitude

We are made for gratitude, because all is gift. We have received everything, and there is nothing that we have not received, nothing that came from ourselves. We can do all things in Christ, if we know that it all comes from Him, if we know the abundance with which we have been blessed.

Can we "need" a thing, with our plates overflowing with His lovingkindness?

41. a safe drive home in a wintry blast

42. a glass half-full, when I'm tempted to think it is half-empty

43. a surprise, sincere "thank you" just for doing what is before me

44. a daughter who can create this just to keep the snowplows from dismantling the mailbox (it says "love" in the languages of all the blood in our bloodstreams)

45. a son who does this, because he loves it

46. a son who can have this much fun at Old Navy (it's all off the rack, including sunglasses)

47. a daughter who is no longer a tween but a real teen, growing into a responsible young lady

 
 
48. her twin, equally lovely, who can have us laughing and crying and laughing again within five minutes

49. a son who can have this much fun with some poster board, tape, and aluminum foil

50. a son who decides to make his own replica of the liturgical calendar to have by his bed

.

 

Advent Gratitude

We NEED to be grateful. We are made for gratitude, because everything is gift.

And a grateful heart cannot fail.

So. We count our blessings. And keep counting, even when we can't feel them.

31. Advent's anticipation

32. Advent wreath fire, growing

33. Advent preparation

34. Advent desire

35. Advent remembering

 

36. Advent glow

37. Advent snow

38. Advent practice

39. Advent Bells

40. Advent smells

Gratitude for Thanksgiving

It's Monday. And I'm still giving thanks. Especially this week, as we prepare for Thanksgiving. And I'm having my children exercise their own gratitude attitudes by creating their own list of 10 things, to be shared, if they choose, as we gather around the table on Thursday.

For now, here's my enfeebled attempt:

21. Peace. There is war everywhere, and we pray for peace. For now, we are allowed to live in peace, without immediate danger or fear for ourselves or our children or our property. Thank You, Lord.

22. Abundance. Prosperity. Some are feeling the constriction of tough economic times, most are working hard to provide for their families, all I know are stretching every dollar to meet the bills. And still, we have to recognize that here, however bad it feels, we are prosperous. We are warm and well-fed in spite of the difficulties we face. We are not living in cardboard boxes or digging in dumpsters to fill the gnawing. Much of the world can hardly imagine our prosperity. Thank You, Lord.

23. Technology. Yes. The blogosphere, the Internet, email; these things allow us to connect with others we might never otherwise have met, to support and teach one another so much (like those in the Gratitude Community!), to live within a real family of believers and pray-ers. Thank You, Lord.

24. Electricity. I like to live without it, to shut off the lights and let the warm glow of candle fill my nostrils and soften every edge, to shut down the hum of all things consuming, to focus on people and not stuff. We do not have anything electric in our living/dining room except the lamps and we like to shut them off and enjoy the quiet. But. When we do that it is a conscious decision, and I am very conscious that it can all be turned back on in an instant. And the food is still being preserved by the refrigerator and the phone will still ring if there is a need and the computer is still holding on to all my precious data. Electricity keeps my calendar in order, our food fresh and easily cooked, and allows us to reach out to a very large world beyond our reach otherwise. Thank You, Lord.

25. Our National Heritage. It is a brief heritage, in comparison to many countries, but rich. Including the establishment of Thanksgiving (to whom to the godless think we are giving thanks?), and a history of generosity and selflessness in the face of difficulty. Thank You, Lord.

26. Representative Government. Because checks and balances work, even when they work poorly. But we still vote in this country, if we choose to (and thank you to all who DID vote this month!). Thank You, Lord.

27. Others' needs. Because others' needs force us out of ourselves, to reach out in support and love, to transcend our "I" by giving ourselves away and pouring ourselves out over the needs of others. Because if others did not need, we would just demand. Thank You, Lord.

28. Others' wants. Because they help us see the realities of our own wants, to recognize that there is a difference between what we need and what we want. Because if others did not want, we would all become hopelessly tyrranical. Thank You, Lord.

29. Warm food on the table, warm wine in the cups, warm welcome in each heart. Because the warmth we feel from others is really God-love reaching through them to us. Thank You, Lord.

30. Family gatherings. For all the sit-com noise ridiculing extended families, families are our "home," and there is still "no place like home." Thank You, Lord.

A blessed and peaceful Thanksgiving weekend to you and all those you love.

Gratitude 101, continued

 

Continuing my list from last week, until I reach at least 1000 gifts...

11. Stringed instruments that vie for play time in our living room.

12. Ebony and ivory. Dressed in black lacquer.

13. The joy the bodhran brings to our feet.

14. The lift the fife brings to our hearts.

15. The energy the harmonica brings to our work.

16. The husband's eclectic taste in music, that keeps us guessing, and his way of lifting us with the words, "You know what this party needs?" and the children answering, "MUSIC!" Even when it's just a normal Monday afternoon...

17. The 17 year old's zeal for Broadway tunes, especially when he has been invited to play in the pit.

18. The beautiful distraction of the 20 year old's moving from one instrument to another, playing familiar tunes to relax her stress.

19. The tentative explorations of the 9 year old as he discovers for himself the capacities of each instrument, and his own capacities for making them sing.

20. The bonding element of our 7 children singing in 4 part harmony. Because they like it.

Gratitude 101

"Say thank you," we teach our children from the time they can begin to imitate even the least interpretable syllables. And we repeat these words many times a week; to our children, our spouses, the person who hands us our receipt at the grocery store, the receptionist who hands us our bill at the doctor's, the young man who remembers to hold the door for us as we enter the building (and what a pleasant surprise if that young man happens to be our own son!).

And to the Lord. We thank the Lord daily. But have our eyes been opened to all for which we should be thankful?

That is really the purpose of this "exercise." This exercise is really more of an "active prayer." An exercise in SEEing. An exercising in acknowledging the glorious Truth that ALL IS GRACE.

So, I'm beginning my own list here. Today. My list of 1000 gifts. And I feel confident that my list will expand beyond the confines of that challenge.

I begin with the "big stuff" (not necessarily in order of importance):

1. Life. Out of all the possibilities of humanity God could have created, He created me.

2. The Word. Incarnate, written and living, sacramental and nourishing. 

3. Faith. True Faith. Faith in the Truth (Who also happens to be the Way and the Life).

4. Love. We come from Love, we are returning to Love, and Love is rescuing us every step of the way.

5. Freedom. Political, personal, spiritual. Freedom in Christ.

6. Family. We are never alone, not for one moment of our existence. Some of us are less alone than others ;-) 

7. Children. They prove God hasn't given up on us yet. 

8. Laughter. I'm sure this is the "original music," sung before the "original sin."

9. Work. Our way of serving Him by serving others, our way of being creative and useful.

10. Emptiness. It is emptiness that keeps us reaching for more, until we realize only HE can fill us.

Yes. I'm more grateful than I recognized for each of these things and all that they imply. And THAT is a profoundly satisfying way to begin the week!

I pray you are grateful as well.