A Challenge by Ann Voscamp

  

 A challenge by Ann Voscamp….www.aholyexperience.com (author of One Thousand Gifts)

And, I, humble in spirit these past twenty-four months having walked a journey that only God can explain in His time….I accept her challenge and thank her for it.

To list daily one “gift from the heart”….in hopes that in the thanksgiving which comes from listing God’s daily blessings to me, I may draw closer to Him, kinder to you….

For the month of September, 2011

1)      Prayers before my feet hit the ground in the early morning’s light’

2)      Quiet blessings dropped down from heaven…sun’s rays, children’s laughter

3)      Homework at the family table

4)      Son’s dancing in the kitchen…and, he is quite good

5)      Husband bent over his Bible, reading glasses dancing on his head

6)      Joyful music as I work….The Prayer, Amazing Grace, Blessings

7)      A mother and father’s union joined 54 years

8)      Son changing the radio from secular rap to KLOVE without being asked

9)      Sons’ doing the right thing after a wrong thing

10)   Noble friend taking a stand on my behalf (PJA)

11)   Sunlight as I bathe washing me with golden joy

12)   Late night walk around the neighborhood with son…sweetness

13)   Amazing Grace…my chains are gone (CTomlin)

14)   Long talks with family at the kitchen table

15)   Friends holding one another’s hearts through child rearing (T&K)

16)   Husband and five children whom for my love knows no bounds

17)   Long talks with daughter at the kitchen table, on the front porch

18)   Yoga with sweet yoga friends

19)   Early morning phone calls with my mother

20)   The view out my window as I work…pink flowers, yellow leaves…

21)   Quiet night at home with kindness in our time

22)   Sweet Melissa….

23)   The ability to read…and, us passing on TV to do so

24)   Little visit on the phone with my sweet Daddy…

25)   Sharing in disappointments with my husband and having faith in God’s great providence

26)   The blessings of travel…

27)   Family laughter…dancing in the kitchen…

28)   Wonderful day learning about being motivated with our good friends (TK&A)

29)   Photos which bring such great joy and remembrance

30)   Our journey….this life…this is not our home…..

I keep the list out handy so that I can reflect…on the time God has given me…

I am grateful…

Blessings,

Lesa Sheryl Young

My Son Has Eyes that Window to His Precious Soul

My son has eyes that window to his precious soul…

I have always loved the quotes “the eyes are the windows to the soul”…..”the eyes mirror the heart of the self”….”the eyes speak truth when there are not words…”

My son has those kinds of eyes….

They sing blue when you look into them, the sweetest blue which is found in the promises of God, like rainbows, the ocean, the heavens….

Like my son’s eyes…

My son is a gentle soul, perhaps the gentlest soul I know.  Even at birth.  He is a twin and came first.  I remember quite clearly them laying him in the little isolate and his quiet,  when what I needed to hear was his loud-birth cry telling the world of his entry…but, I waited and there was no such cry.  I could barely see him…but, what I could was my son’s little head looking around as if for something…or someone..maybe his Mom? His brother?   I panicked and asked the doctor to please tell me what was wrong with my baby and I will never forget Dr. Hager’s words..

“Mom…he is perfectly fine.  He is waiting for you.  He knows your work is not yet done and awaits the arrival of his brother very patiently.  Once his brother is here, and he hears his cry, then your son will speak his own.”

And, he was right.

The moment his brother entered this world, my son raised his own voice in celebration!

He is a gentle soul.  Perhaps the gentlest soul I know.

Yet, he is not weak, in fact, if anything, he is strong…very strong.

Perhaps the strongest soul I know.

His is the kind of strength which comes from deep inside, where manhood is found.  His spirit took root in his heart very young…enabling him to see things which others miss…the value of being kind, coming to the rescue of a brother, sharing the secrets of a sister, telling the truth to his mother, standing tall with his father ….

I think God truly enjoys hearts like that of my son.

And, I think God uses those hearts like my son’s to remind us of His great love and compassion…..and call for all of us.

When I look at the eyes of my son, I see so many things I treasure..

I see dreams, aspirations…

I see a writer

I see a pilot

I see quiet strength

I see manly integrity

I see a courageous and brave warrior

I see a dependable brother

I see a precious son….

I see Jesus when I look into the eyes of my son

And, in that, I am blessed.

To be able to see how God uses the eyes to the soul of my son….is one of my most precious…

………Blessings,

Lesa