still giving thanks

My heart is full and as I bask in the mood of Thanksgiving...

I am STILL giving thanks, counting my blessings, CHOOSING gratitude...and this is the perspective...the frame of mind that I want to continue to carry into the Christmas season...into the new year...into my everyday, in fact.

Blessings and Thanks to you!

thankful

Pretend that this is the journal page you are working on this week...

What would you list as the things you are thankful for?  What images, pictures would you collage on this page to represent those things that stir gratitude in your heart?

Happy Thanksgiving!

a K, and a S

Finishing up November's journal...
the K page..K is for "Kneeling in gratitude for each and every"...
  Nov. 9th was my daughter's 18th birthday so I decided to journal 18 things I love about her...along with some collage bits...      

and the back...
  (dictionary scraps, gesso, Wild Honey Distress Ink, clip art, zig-zag tape, Broken China Distress Paint for texture)

and S is for "Small, and/or Significant gift given from His hand."
  (magazine pic that had great eyes...highlighted with a grunge-board frame painted with Broken China Distress Paint)

But I couldn't NOT :) -you know what I mean- include this quote that has been a huge help to me...PLUS the word of the year is SEE...and this quote is all about the eyes...looking...perspective...the way you see...

 
...and the last couple of  "pages"...tags...just for fun!

 

 I REALLY enjoyed this theme of giving thanks...and I now will carry these images and processing into December...mindfulness!  :)

Today, each day To Him, my Heavenly Father, Acknowledging, Appreciating, Naming, then Kneeling in gratitude for each and every Small and, or Significant gift given from His hand.

A is for...

The next page is A...
A is for "Appreciating, Acknowledging"...

and the back...
  (dictionary scraps, gesso, Rusty Hinge Distress Ink, clip art, washi tape, flower embellishment)

Then, N is for "Naming, then"...
  (Tim Holtz tissue paper, scrap with ransom letters-"take note", psalm 100 distress inked)

and on the other side...
  (dictionary scraps, gesso, Broken China Distress Ink, scrap paper, postage stamp doodled around, border added with Tim Holtz tiny staples)

Thankfulness really is a game-changer...Happy Thanksgiving everyone!  :)

THANKS

 So...its been a while...here is the acrostic I came up with for the word THANKS...its meant to be read like a sentence-ish...     :)

Today, each day...To
Him, my Heavenly Father, my God, my Lord and King
Acknowledging, Appreciating
Naming, then
Kneeling in gratitude for each and every
Small and/or Significant gift given from His Hand.

Here are how the "pages" are progressing as I journal on them, a bit here and there...as I can...

The first page...T...

and the back...
  (dictionary scrap glued down, gessoed, Distress Ink in Wild Honey , acrylic paint over drywall mesh tape   across the bottom corner, Tim Holtz clock stamped with black Archival Ink on vellum cut out and glued on with Glossy Accents...)

Next is H...
  (Distress Inks-Rusty Hinge & Gathered Twigs- sponged and textured on background, script stamped with Gathered Twigs Distress Ink in lower left corner, letters and words cut from magazines, glued down with clip art...words inspired by Ann Voskamp.)

and the back...
  (dictionary scrap, gesso, Distress Ink-this time Seedless Preserves, Peeled Paint Distress Paint over my own stencil, stamp on vellum, graphite pencil to highlight around stencil...)

 

 Fun, fun!  And as I have said before, I just love the meditative focus and process of "working" in my journal...or is it "playing" in my journal?...either way it is ALL GOOD!  :)
Give it a try...Enjoy!

still counting

Yes, still.....

...still counting.
                               counting. still.
Counting "gifts given" keeps me focused...eyes on The Giver...and as I look to Him, my heart is stilled, quieted...thankfulness is an amazing-and fun!-discipline.  What are you thankful for today?

loving the ordinary

I found this quote and as it mulled around in my mind, and affected my perspective, I decided it needed to grace a journal page... :)

The ordinary definitely takes up most of my day...and in effort toward mindfulness and gratitude, this is a good reminder...

I hope your ordinary day is marvelous!  :)

Enjoy.This.Day.

Don't ask me how or why this came up...all I know is I was reading something...I couldn't even tell you what it was now...anyway, it was strange how the punctuation JUMPED off the page and well, screamed at me. :)  We know that the purpose of punctuation is to emphasize, connect, abbreviate, etc...And it seems that we are taking a lot of artistic license with it these days (The title of this post is an example of now-trending punctuation)...All of this was rolling around in my head...and  I thought of punctuating my day...in an effort toward mindfulness, add a "space" here and there...Think about the "dots" or periods that we add to a sentence.  It tells us that one thought is finished and to "pause" before going on to the next.  Hmmm....what if I...do laundry.iron Mark's shirts.make lunch.  You get the idea.  Those dots are not empty but purposeful pauses.
       oooh...how about mindful moments to "LOOK" for God IN THE MIDST of my busy day?!?
                                                          ...to appreciate Him in this day that is a gift
                                                          ...to enjoy the work of His Hands-His creation

    

                                   
                                                        ...to read a Scripture-listen to His voice, His Word

                                  
                                                   ...to breathe deep
                                                   ...to thank Him for His very breath that gives me life

Punctuate!  :)

Enjoy.This.Day.His Gift To You.

Keep Counting

The discipline of gratitude (re-inspired by AnnVoskamp's book, One Thousand Gifts) has been so HUGE...so helpful in my walk of faith as I continue to "train" my thoughts...conform my heart.  Whether I am confused or hurt or busy or just don't know what to think, the act of counting "gifts given" helps set things right...set me right...get my focus back on God-where it needs to be-and pay attention to His Hand in my life, in my every day.  This morning as I was listening to the song "How He Loves Us", the words: "we are His portion. He is our prize, drawn to redemption by the grace in His eyes...I don't have time to maintain these regrets when I think about the way He loves us. Oh, how He loves us," reminded me that those regrets, confusion, hurts, etc distract me and do take time and energy to "maintain".   The mindfulness to look for God, to anticipate Him in the moments of my day helps me "seek the things which are above...setting my mind on things above" (Col. 3:1-2).  And so, I created this page in my April journal to remind me to keep counting...always giving thanks. (Eph. 5:20)

I filled the page with a list of everything I was thankful for.

 Then I put a gesso wash over that list and inked it with distress inks and a blending tool.

With acrylic paint, a stencil, and sequin waste I added texture, creating another layer.

                                  Finally, I arranged and glued in place the images and words.

"Oh, how He loves us!!!"  Hallelujah!