December Blessings

During the hustle and bustle of the holiday season it seems especially important to continue counting 1000 Gifts. So here’s the next installment of blessings on my Joy Dare series.

December 1. 3 Gifts White

1. Snow
2. Popcorn
3. Cotton

December 2. 3 Gifts Bright

1. Christmas lights
2. Sunshine
3. Hope

December 3. 3 Gifts Shining

1. Stars
2. Tinsel
3. Candlelight

December 4. A Gift Circling, Crowning, Crafted

1. Wreath
2. Tree-top angel
3. The beautiful quilted tree-skirt Laura made for me last year.

December 5. 3 Gifts Silver

1. My dad’s hair (December 5th is his birthday!)
2. Heirloom silverware
3. Strands of silver-colored beads on the Christmas tree

December 6. 3 Gifts Sweet

1. MawMaw Ezell (December 6th was her birthday!)
2. Gingerbread cookies, which Laura managed to make starting with an actual piece of ginger root, rather than the dry powder. Impressive, I thought.
3. Pecan pie made following Great-uncle Lawton’s recipe with the pecans my Dad shelled for me.

December 7. 3 Gifts from My Savior

1. Salvation
2. Life
3. Everything

December 8. A Gift Hung, Held, Heard

1. Stockings made by my mother the year I was nine. First there were 5. Years later she made more for the in-laws and the grandchildren as they joined the family. (In 1995 there were 3 in-laws and 3 grandchildren. Now there are 5 in-laws and 11 grandchildren. You can tell which ones are the originals in the picture because they are the ones that are faded.)
2. Lyle’s strong hand
3. Christmas carols

December 9. 3 Gifts Ugly-Beautiful

1. Melting snow
2. Fog
3. Drizzle

December 10. 3 Gifts Unframed Art

1. Pictures drawn by children
2. Words in a journal
3. Handmade gifts

December 11. 3 Gifts Ice Cold

1. Icicles on the eaves
2. Ice cream
3. Coke Zero

December 12. 3 Gifts Berry Red

1. Strawberry jam
2. Cranberries
3. Berry-scented candle

December 13. 3 Gifts Striped

1. Candy canes
2. Socks
3. Blank lines on a page

December 14. 3 Gifts Stamped

1. Letters
2. Christmas cards
3. Scrapbook

December 15. A Gift Gold, Scented, Bent Low

1. Ornament balls around my mantel nativity
2. Cinnamon pine-cones
3. Lilac bushes covered with snow

December 16. 3 Gifts Bethlehem-Unlikely

1. A king in a manger
2. A stable delivery room
3. Angels in the sheep field

December 17. 3 Gifts Frosted

1. Windows
2. Cookies
3. Bushes

That’s 51 more gifts counted, for a total of 234 on my way to counting 1000.