Thankful Thursday - Cooler Weather

Thankful Thursday is a weekly exercise in practicing thankfulness.  This month's hostess, Iris at Grace Alone, is thankful for cooler weather.  Me too!  Although I don't live in the desert like she does, I also suffer through July and August's heat.  I do not like to sweat! I do not like to even "glisten" as we Southern ladies like to say.

In thinking about thankfulness this week, I realized there are so many things that bring me joy. I have been blessed with many major things:  health, spouse, children, family and friends, wonderful jobs, many interests and passions.  I give the Lord praise for these blessings continually.

However, there are so many little joys and pleasures in this wonderful life! Things that add richness and color to our existence. I'm so thankful God did not make this world boring!  He gave it color, fragrance, variety  in all the species of plants and animals.  He made sunsets and rainbows!

This is not a new idea. Blogger Ann Voskamp has a  meme on Mondays called Multitude Monday, One Thousand Gifts that encourages readers to journal the gifts you are grateful for, from the big to the little.

She has inspired me to list some of my little joys:

• California Raspberry nail polish from OPI.  It makes me smile.
• Glimpses of wildflowers entangled with the weeds lining the roadside as I drive to work.  Today, there were flowers that were such a vibrant yellow!
• The color yellow - I'm so glad God made it!
• Blue hydrangeas - it just makes the world so pretty.
• My favorite gold hoop earrings - they go with everything and as long as I've had them, they're still shiny!
• Citrus - The fragrance when you peel an orange or slice into a lemon.
• The flavor of an early morning cup of hot tea.
• Gentle breezes - I love to be outdoors when the wind is blowing.
• Chocolate - need I say more?
• Memories - I have so many precious memories, experiences I wouldn't trade for a million dollars. My children's adorable baby voices (I can still hear them all these years later!)
• Lip gloss
• Crickets chirping
• Trees - I never met a tree that I didn't like.
• Splashing my feet as I sit on a dock on a lake

I could go on and on listing (and my regular readers know that I probably will continue). But I would like to leave you with this thought:

"Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows." James 1:17

Every blessing, big or little comes from Him.  Thank you, Father!