125
Artwork by a sponsored Compassion child

124
Learning to quilt!

123
Babies are so sweet!

122
Meaningful artwork on the carillon at Kansas University

121
The bell tower at my Alma Mater that I used to play

Artwork by a sponsored Compassion child

Learning to quilt!

Babies are so sweet!

Meaningful artwork on the carillon at Kansas University

The bell tower at my Alma Mater that I used to play

Redemption
Omni-Presence
Omniscience
Forgiveness
Mercy
Grace
Love
A beautiful Tiger

This one was being pushy and greedy

I gave food to this one because he wasn’t being pushy

Colorful Sheep

Kangaroos

Sea Lions

I’ve been blessed to see Jeremy several times this fall

Fun times with Sarah in Lawrence, KS

Chris got to go horseback riding in the mountains with friends

People that appreciate the gifts & potential of our kids

Crazy times with friends — I’m especially thankful Sasha wasn’t hurt
when she rolled her car three times. Thank you Lord.

Jesus welcomes the little children to come unto Him

Some of the wonderful Advocates on my team — Autumn, Mindy and Carly

Silly times with Caitlin

New friendships among the Child Advocates — Sarah & Carly

Special friends like Cris — from Compassion’s country office in the Dominican Republic

Massive Bison

Multi-colored Sheep

Sheep Dog

Baby goats in a bucket

Funny Creatures
Goofy fun on the road (touring the Wyoming Frontier Prison)

Family reunion!

My sister, Robyn, with one of her grandkids

Babies!

Smart kids — Sarah giving computer advice to my sister

Playing games and beating these guys!

Some of my sister’s grandchildren

My records show I’ve gotten 507 children sponsored; Compassion’s records show 516. Woohoo! And who are these extra children whose names I don’t know?

Great views in the Big Horns

Late summer flowers

A beautiful sunset over the Big Horns

A great place for devotions — I was discouraged and sensed God’s call to me to “come away” to the mountains. He clearly met me there and brightened my spirits, too.

I had the opportunity to return to my home town of Raytown, MO, recently. It sure stirred up a lot of memories and thankfulness.
It’s always fun to get together with high school friends

Donna, a childhood friend I hadn’t seen for 35 years or so — we still remembered and giggled about all the goofy things we used to do.

Blue Ridge Elementary School — I received a good education here

My other grade school, Westridge Elementary School — also excellent

Paul and I were married here 34 years ago this month

Sanctuary

This is my childhood home, which unfortunately has seen better days

I’m thankful for my childhood town of Raytown, MO

I’ve always had a love of nature, and especially of animals. I’m thankful for all these funny creatures.
Our beloved Holly, who died a few years ago

We have lots of dogs in the back of pickup trucks in our town

A playful otter, seen in Alaska

A beautiful butterfly, found in the bottom of a trash can

A friendly cow

Horses in the shape of a heart

Turkeys

A friendly horse

Creation is such an interesting variety of beauty, glory and power! How do flowers open? What keeps a volcano from erupting for hundreds of years? Why do some leaves come in green and others red? God is amazing!
Sand ripples and moss

Roses

Mt. Hood

Japanese Gardens — Portland

We have a lot of beautiful birds at our feeder, such as these finches

A cute little chickadee at the feeder

I love our little western town!

We often have deer in our front yard

Our son, Chris, makes the best smoothies!

Hiking near the falls — beautiful weather and views

My Compassion manager, Ian, organized a wonderful retreat for us!

Multnomah Falls

My friend, Jane, and I at the falls

Blogging friend, Jill (“Girls Just Want to Have Fun”)

AC friends waiting for the glorious sunset

Ripples in the evening sky!

Sunset over the Columbia River

Compassion International Area Coordinators — NW Region

Area Coordinators
Daisies

Scripture Plaque

Flowering bushes

Beautiful leaves

Tiger Lilies

Multi-colored Pansies

Chapel at Multnomah College

Great food and fellowship!

Excellent seminar about coaching — supporting and listening to others

Sunset

Sunrise

The Cross

Our Town

Transportation

In keeping with Brad’s suggestion that we remember to thank God for the little things, I want to add to my list the following things. These are considered the “little” (or normal) things in life — but actually, they’re huge. Ask someone living in poverty if shoes are necessary, or food, shelter, clothing and medications.

Enold
Brad pointed out that his Compassion child, Sabato, needed a new pair of shoes, which Brad’s family supplied. It caused me to get up out of my chair and go look at the photos of our Compassion children, and I discovered that Enold, of Haiti, did not have very good shoes on either. I’m sending money to Compassion with a request that it be used for shoes for him. How many “little” blessings around us do we take for granted? We have such an abundance of them! But many involve issues of life and death — food, shelter, clothing, medications. I’m thankful I can help supply these needs for children in poverty through a company that I trust implicitly — Compassion International.
In the meantime, regarding my needs being supplied –
Medications for all our health needs

More clothes than we need

More than adequate shelter

An abundance of food

Also — a big thanks to Ann for starting this Gratitude Community, for sharing her tears and thanks with me (I’ve shared many over her beautiful blog), and for the warm welcome!
Brad Ruggles wrote an excellent post about Thanklessness. Take a close look at the shoes in the photo he posted of his Compassion child. After reading that, I was inspired to add “shoes” to my list of Endless Thanks. I also noticed that my child in Haiti has worn shoes in his photo, too, so I’m sending money to Enold for new shoes. Thanks, Brad, for the reminder of things I’ve taken for granted, such as an overabundance of shoes like these:
Crocs

Crocs
Boots

Dress Shoes

Slippers

Walkin’ Shoes

Sandals

A nice walking path close to home

Deer in the sunrise

Funny scenes on my walks, such as this dog with a huge log in his mouth. His owner says he picks it up every morning and carries it for his walk, then leaves it behind for the next time.

The Big Horn Mountains

Canada Geese flying over my pathway, honking loudly

Beth Moore Bible Study on Esther — today

Positive comments and support from friends!
Sunshine today, finally!

My blog friend, Chris, is reporting that he is doing better today after a tough weekend from treatment for Lyme’s Disease. Yeah!
God is good!
I’m so ready, finally, to join this group — the Gratitude Community! The challenge began with Ann Voskamp, and was a challenge (to herself) to come up with One Thousand Gifts from God for which she was thankful. True to gratitude, it didn’t stop at one thousand, but became a list of Endless Gifts.
And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. — Colossians 3:15-17 (ESV)
And so, I begin my list of Endless Thanks in the form of this blog. Take a closer look at the verses above. I love them. We even had them read at our wedding. Our Pastor, Tom, just reminded us Sunday of the solid advice they contain:
As these fall in place — Peace, God’s Word, Purpose, Thankfulness — we will find that everything in our lives points to Christ. He is central; He rules and controls our very thoughts. We can then realize that illusive dream — abundant life — and certainly a peaceful and joyful life of Endless Thanks. Finally, I need to mention that Tom has been battling a mysterious fever and fatigue that has been holding him in illness for over 45 days, since he returned from ministry in Asia, so he knows what he’s talking about. This is what has come out of that pain, and these scriptures have given Tom the courage he needed to experience peace in the midst of the trials.