Gratitude on a Tuesday

March 8, 2011 / Sara Vincent / Leave a comment

When I was young, I always wanted a sister. Someone I could play with, confide in, share clothes and secrets and life with. For whatever reason, that wasn’t the Lord’s will for me.

But I was elated at the sonogram with our second pregnancy to find out that our oldest daughter would have a sister. And I was excited again at our third….and our fourth! (Okay, the fourth was a little anti-climactic, but I was still happy to confirm what we already assumed. 🙂 )

As I sat between all of them at church on Sunday, I thanked the Lord for the gift they are to each other and to me. I am thankful that they have each other and that, for the most part, they enjoy one another. It is a delight to watch them help each other, encourage each other, and even tease each other with jokes that are funny only to the six of us. And I am thankful they have each other to learn how to live life together, living with someone who knows you well…good and bad.

I pray that as the years go by, they will be able to see the gift they have in each other, to see how richly God has blessed each of them.

I was out of the house all day yesterday, so I’m joining in a day late with the counting of the endless gifts with the Gratitude Community….

1143. sisters for my girls

1144. dinner with friends

1145. Exchange City finally here

1146. confiding in my beloved

1147. knowing her birthdate

1148. days that aren’t perfect

1149. second-born playing piano lovely

1150. watching her try to teach the youngest

May we all seek the gifts He gives each day ~

~ Sara

Just a list…..

February 28, 2011 / Sara Vincent / 1 Comment

1130. “clean” sicknesses

1131. application in the mail

1132. groceries before more winter

1133. snow

1134. the chiropractor

1135. snuggly sickies

1136. lots of naps

1137. last Upward game

1138. messages on forgiveness and living Radical

1139. thunderstorm over still white snow

1140. husband who helps me talk, sort through, hard things

1141. sunshine

1142. agency application approved

Ann’s post is beautiful today. I hope you’ll click on over there and read it and be blessed as I was.

May your week be filled with thanks ~

~ Sara

Joy

February 21, 2011 / Sara Vincent / Leave a comment

“Instead of filling with expectations, the joy-filled expect nothing – and are filled.”

~ Ann Voskamp, One Thousand Gifts

I read her book, highlighting like crazy the words that speak to me. I confess, I was slow to take to it. Why do I feel bad admitting that? I have loved Ann’s words for years now, but it took a few chapters for me to sink into the book. Perhaps it was just where I was at when I started and where I’m at now. Life changes how we view things. So much truth, so much grace spill out on the pages and I am reminded, brought back to the center of things I have learned, grace I’ve experienced. I am reminded “without expectations, what can topple the surprising wonder of the moment?”

It is when I raise my expectations, demand something of God, of life, that I become frustrated, angry, impatient. But when I realize my right position, that I deserve none of it, then it truly is all grace and all a gift and every moment is open to wonder and how can I not give thanks?

1117. discussions of Haiti

Geese on the still-frozen pond

1118. him willing to lead, serve, sacrifice there

1119. open windows, doors

Warm enough we were out in short sleeves, but the water remained frozen.

1120. a break from school to enjoy a warm day in February

1121. zoo animals also eager to enjoy sunshine

1122. open sunroof

1123. 6:20 p.m. and still so light out

1124. birds flying north, sign of spring

1125. giant pearl moon hung on blue sky

The male lion was going to town on his tail!

1126. allergies in February

1127. still thinking of that dog on the second floor of the play house

1128. adoption applications

1129. phone calls that mean I’m actually doing something toward bringing her home

May your day be filled with unexpected joy!

~ Sara

Love and Thanks

February 14, 2011 / Sara Vincent / Leave a comment

On this Valentine’s Day, this day of love, my life is full of people, places, and things to be thankful for. My heart just overflows and I can’t help but give thanks to the Giver….

1099. beginning to to get some answers

1100. wild, abundant encouragement, support; we are blessed!

1101. files with our name on them

1102. God love that leaves me speechless and teary-eyed

1103. a photo of her

1104. dinner with a new friend who loves Haiti

1105. lemon bars made by the ten-year-old

1106. Cheshire moon in the middle of the night

1107. ballet sunsets

1108. peace

1109. good small group discussions

1110. friend’s new baby girl

1111. Valentine’s Day

1112. husband who leads

1113. special gifts

1114. beloved making Valentine’s dinner

1115. daughters cleaning the kitchen

1116. God who loves first

We love because He first loved us.

~ I John 4:19

Blink

February 7, 2011 / Sara Vincent / Leave a comment

This song, on the radio over the weekend, speaks to my soul and triggers my heart….

Blink

by Revive

Teach me to number my days
And count every moment before it slips away
Taking all the colors before they fade to gray
I don’t want to miss even just a second more of this

It happens in a blink
It happens in a flash
It happens in the time it takes to look back
I try to hold on tight, but there’s no stopping time
What is it I’ve done with my life
It happens in a blink (x2)

When it’s all said and done
No one remembers how far we have run
The only thing that matters is how we have loved
I don’t want to miss even just a second more of this

Slow down, slow down
Before today becomes our yesterday
Slow down, slow down
Before you turn around and it’s too late

It happens in a blink
it happens in a flash
it happens in the time it takes to look back
I try to hold on tight but there’s no stopping time
What is it I’ve done with my life
It happens in a blink

It reminds me of the value of counting, numbering the gifts. Every second, every moment, a gift. I don’t want to miss a single one.

*Counting the gifts and sharing some recently edited photos of a pre-Christmas trip to Crown Center in Kansas City

1085. cuddling with my oldest

1086. watching the oldest mature and grow as a sister and a leader

1087. learning to wait

1088. anticipation

1089. husband who takes girls sledding

1090. quiet afternoon at home

1091. home school basketball games

1092. husband who knows to bring nachos from the concession stand without even asking

1093. early Valentine’s with my beloved

1094. shared joy

1095. old friends and the Super Bowl

1096. thoughts of friends far away as they celebrate the Green Bay win

1097. spontaneous Sunday afternoon run

1098. a new week that will hopefully bring some answers

Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.

~ Psalm 90:12

A Simple List

January 31, 2011 / Sara Vincent / 1 Comment

Haiti-changed Husband home now three days….my head still swims a bit at what God is showing us. A simple list today, while I continue to sort things out.

1071. five blessed hours of silence

1072. three more sleeps

1073. dinner date with one of my favorite friends

1074. photos and texts from Haiti

1075. a productive, energized day

1076. ready for his return

1077. one last girls night

1078. a head rub from my mama

1079. running! outside! in the sun!!!

1080. quietness and sunrise as I drive

1081. he is home!!!

1082. wonder

1083. hope

1084. amazement at how He moves

Multitude Monday….

January 24, 2011January 24, 2011 / Sara Vincent / 2 Comments

After a sleepless Sunday night and a Monday morning of four very distracted students, I reflect on quotes that have carried me through the past few days…..

Sorrows come to stretch out spaces in the heart for joy. ~ Streams in the Desert, January 18

The moment we receive anything from the Lord worth fighting for, the Devil comes seeking to destroy us. ~ Streams in the Desert, January 21

We often wish that God would do some great thing in the world, and we look far and wide for just the right places and people. We must not forget to ask the Lord to make use of us, and to believe that our home might become the central point from which streams of blessing would flow forth. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

I reflect, and I give thanks. The reflection centers me, draws me back to truth. The thanks-giving takes my tired eyes off me and allows me to look up to the One who gives all gifts. He is good.

1046. three days to go nowhere

1047. fine arts competition

1048. first place

1049. second place

1050. best of show!

1051. Sunday school after-Christmas party

1052. lost camera

1053. found camera!

1054. sacrificially generous five year old

1055. real pointe shoes

1056. more snow

1057. the quiet stillness the follows the snowfall

1058. borrowed four wheel drive

1059. him all packed and ready

1060. safe travels

1061. texts and photos from Haiti

1062. days and evenings that do not go as planned

1063. being flexible

1064. child’s very first game basket

1065. “best offense” award

1066. her confidence building

1067. family night courtesy of Daddy

1068. knowing that we worship together before the throne, even though we are separated by 2000 plus miles

1069. hearing his voice

1070. knowing God holds it all in His hands

May every moment be filled with thanks….for His glory ~

~ Sara

* there are still so many photos that sit, waiting to be edited and shared….perhaps this week that will happen….for now, photos from my husband’s phone as he serves in Haiti.

Monday Evening

January 10, 2011 / Sara Vincent / 4 Comments

Every day is a gift, but some days just have a distinctive feel. Today was that way.

Snow fell soft through the night and we woke to several inches of white wonder. Activities were canceled all across town, promising a day at home. With a short to do list and no where to go, it was a day to slow a bit and feel the beauty of winter.

And tonight we sit, all together, in the living room, a rare treat of relaxing together on a weeknight. My heart is warmed by the blessing of this day.

1018. January sunshine

1019. 30 Day Shred

1020. Do Hard Things

1021. first day back at school

1022. a wonderful first week back at school

1023. a changed second born

1024. remote computer access

1025. sunset at ballet

1026. grocery shopping on Thursday night

1027. smoothies every day

1028. Google Reader on my phone

1029. new tires for the Sequoia

1030. a delightful week of school

1031. the return of Friday classes

1032. skating

1033. first Upward basketball game

1034. marking items off the to-do list, even if it is ever-so-slowly

1035. dinner with friends

1036. church and Sunday school

1037. small group gatherings

1038. prayers whispered at my child’s door

1039. SNOW!!!

1040. an easy finish after a rough start

1041. “snow cones”

1042. children playing outside

1043. hot soup in the crock pot

1044. canceled activities

1045. a quiet night at home

Praying your Monday was filled with the beauty of winter and that your week is filled with joy!

~ Sara

Starting Again

January 3, 2011 / Sara Vincent / 1 Comment

Early January. It’s a time of reflecting and resolutions, new lists and new goals. A first Monday in a new week, new month, new year. And as I sit in my husband’s office, preparing to move out last year’s files and bring in new, crisp, empty folders, I pray over this business, his work, our livelihood. I pray for our school year as we prepare to start our second semester tomorrow. I pray that our family will be as aware of God’s hand in our lives in 2011 as we were in 2010. And I give thanks for Ann and her gratitude community and whoever first helped me stumble upon her blog and the Holy Spirit who stirred me there and led me to start counting my own gifts. And as I cross the threshold of one thousand gifts today, I begin again. Good habits must be continued, renewed, while new habits are formed in this season of starting fresh. Can I encourage you to start today? Start counting His uncountable gifts. What better way to start the new year than by giving thanks?

0999. lazy days

1000. sleeping in

1001. children playing outside at night without coats on December 29

1002. house “un-Christmased”

1003. continuing to count the gifts

1004. sixty degrees at 8 am on December 30

1005. windows open as we approach the new year

1006. thunderstorms on New Year’s Eve

1007. waking up to ice/snow after 70 degrees yesterday

1008. reflecting and giving thanks with friends

1009. celebrating with our children

1010. rejoicing over a friend’s new house

1011. Voyage of the Dawn Treader

1012. mexican food with my favorite

1013. Sunday morning worship

1014. Sunday afternoon naps

1015. shoulder pain

1016. prepping for second semester

1017. a day to organize his office

May your day be filled with thanksgiving!

~ Sara

Reflecting

December 27, 2010December 27, 2010 / Sara Vincent / 3 Comments

It’s Monday morning. Life is moving at a slower pace today. It is 8:45 a.m. and (thankfully) the house is still so quiet.

As I sit here this morning I cannot help reflecting and praying.

I think of a friend who’s son is in routine surgery right now and even though it is perhaps mundane for the doctors, a mother’s heart breaks to see her child in pain.

I think of another friend, a couple from our Sunday school, who will today – and perhaps already have – deliver(ed) their child, their third. A child who has been washed in prayer by countless saints for healing, for miracles. But most of all, for God’s will. I pray for them as they begin an uncertain journey. I know they would appreciate your prayers as well.

I think this morning of my husband who today celebrates nearly three and a half decades on this earth. I think of how thankful I am for him, how he is my steady rock and my soft place to fall. I think of how I don’t ever want to do this life without him and how my life is changed because he was born 34 years ago today.

And I think today of my Savior, whose birth we celebrated with much fanfare and joy and anticipation just two days ago. I think of what it might have been like for Mary two thousand years ago. A two day old son. Was she just starting to come out of the exhausted fog of birth? Or was she just entering it? As she “treasured up all these things and pondered them”, surely she had no idea what lay ahead. I think of my Lord as a tiny infant. God, who took on skin and sin, so I might be clothed in righteousness. Him, who bound up all glory in an earthly tent, to show His faithfulness unto death.

Christmas is past. As we walk toward the new year, may we keep the heart of Christmas – the wonder, the delight, the thankfulness – at all that He has done, all that He has given.

0977. fifty degrees on the last day of autumn

0978. desperate, overwhelming exhaustion

0979. losing “the list”

0980. running buddy back on her feet

0981. Mahner-time for the girls

0982. client gifts delivered

0983. shopping DONE!

0984. geese in flight

0985. surprise email encouragement

0986. oreo cookie gifts

0987. an unexpected gift from a friend

0988. new blender

0989. gps that makes 34 deliveries so much easier

0990. days that will now get longer

0991. the freedom to sleep in

0992. Beloved home on Christmas Eve

0993. family celebrations

0994. anticipation

0995. singing Happy Birthday to Jesus

0996. slow Christmas morning

0997. leisurely days

0998. birthday of my best friend

Give praise to the LORD, proclaim his name;
make known among the nations what he has done.
Sing to him, sing praise to him;
tell of all his wonderful acts.
Glory in his holy name;
let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice.
Look to the LORD and his strength;
seek his face always. Remember the wonders he has done,
his miracles, and the judgments he pronounced,
you his servants, the descendants of Abraham,
his chosen ones, the children of Jacob.

~ Psalm 105:1-6

~ Sara