Multitude Monday, Take 282

"The gospel reminds me first that what I actually deserve from God is a full cup churning with the torments of His wrath. This is the cup that would be mine to drink if I were given what I deserve each day. With this understanding in mind, I see that to be handed a completely empty cup from God would be cause enough for infinite gratitude. If there were merely the tiniest drop of blessing continued in that otherwise empty cup, I should be blown away by the unbelievable kindness of God toward me. That God, in fact, has given me a cup that is full of "every spiritual blessing in Christ," and this without the slightest admixture of wrath, leaves me truly dumbfounded with inexpressible joy. As for my specific earthly circumstances of plenty or want, I can see them always as infinite improvements on the hell I deserve." (Milton Vincent, A Gospel Primer for Christians)

Thanking God this week for...

4919. Steve's patience and compassion when I'm in a funk
4920. dinner outside
4921. over a hundred kindergartners dressed to the nines and dancing the tango
4922. boys forgetting about candy and getting excited about grapefruit
4923. neighborhood totally leafed-out and green

4924. birds singing in our backyard
4925. house refinanced, interest rate cut by more than half
4926. property tax decrease
4927. Brussels sprouts chips
4928. clean kitchen floor

4929. boys cheerfully helping empty the dishwasher
4930. homemade Larabars
4931. photo book of May-August 2012, and the time spent looking through it with the boys
4932. slow internet forcing me to give thanks instead
4933. time to verbally process in my journal and move from angst to prayer

4934. phone chat with a friend
4935. fun and exhausting workout
4936. one-on-one time with a dear friend
4937. getting to hear her life story
4938. His hand preserving her life and drawing her to himself

4939. sore muscles
4940. a walk with a friend and her girlie
4941. Elijah picking his feet up, balancing on his bike for a long time
4942. Grammy sending squirrelly kids on a scavenger hunt while we skyped
4943. Steve's opportunity to spend time with guys

4944. fan blowing fresh air in our window all night
4945. friends fighting to trust in the midst of their grief and pain
4946. leeks
4947. memories of three-year-old Elijah "reading" My Lucky Day from memory
4948. boxes of old cards and letters

4949. having His Word written down and preserved for us
4950. access to my own copy in my first language
4951. the ability to read and understand it
4952. His Spirit who illuminates it for me
4953. cinnamon sweet potato fritters--Freaking. Amazing.