1,2,3...

Author of 1,000 Gifts, Ann Voskamp, has challenged her readers to have 31 days of blessings in the month of October.

Some of you may recall it was a goal of mine to record 1,000 blessings of mine by the end of this year. I will confess, I am a far cry from having this complete. BUT, I do think keeping a list of your blessings is a wonderful discipline.

We are leaving Haiti in a little more than 2 weeks to be with our families through the holidays and continue to raise support for ourselves and Baptist Haiti Mission. I am beyond excited about this special time. Cool temperatures, blue jeans, pumpkin EVERYTHING, time with family...YES PLEASE! It is during this time of excitement over a trip to the states that I am oh so aware of my need to find JOY where I have been placed.

Trey and I are blessed to live in the beautiful country of Haiti and are so thankful for where He has called us to serve. When I discovered Voskamp's 31 days of JOY for the month of October, I knew I needed to jump on the bandwagon and get back out my pen and paper and start counting.

Ann's blog: www.aholyexperience.com, contains a Calendar for October. Each day she gives you a category of gifts to encourage you to think. I am not much of an "abstract thinker." I have enjoyed pushing myself to think a little bit deeper and really see a variety of gifts. I wanted to share them with you below:

Oct. 1 -3 Gifts Orange- *Pumpkin Spice candles and everything Fall! *The birds of paradise and other tropical flowers at bloom in our yard. *An orange frisbee with teeth marks all over it as a result of fun between Trey and Creole (the teeth marks belonging of course to Creole).

Oct. 2 -3 Gifts Falling- *America's Funniest Home Videos, watching how clumsy we can be, it's good to laugh at ourselves! *Watching our little neighbors learn to ride a bike, and knowing one day they will fall no more. *Rain as it hits our tin roof lulling us to sleep night after night.

Oct. 3 -A Gift caught, let-go, and mid-way- *Catching the gift of my Savior and His love for me. *Letting go of my plans for my life and chasing hard after Him to make His name known. *Falling time and time again as I press-onward to find my complete identity in Him.

Oct. 4 -3 Gifts Reaped- *Understanding word for word and having complete conversations with others in Creole (not everyday, but it is happening some). *Living life with my husband and best friend after years of praying and dreaming of him. *A long pony-tail after months of growing out my hair, now it's time for a cut!

Oct. 5 -Gifts Returned- *Skype calls and Facebook messages with my girlfriends. *House projects done for me by Trey, simply because he cares. *Plane tickets to return to America to spend time with family!

Oct. 6 -Gifts Redeemed- *Redeemed how I love to proclaim it! *Redeemed by the blood of the Lamb. *Redeemed, His child and forever I am!

Oct. 7- A Gift baked, stirred, eaten- *Chocolate chip cookies straight from the oven. *Hot chocolate while stirring marshmallow's in with every drink! *Conversation over the dinner table.

Oct. 8- 3 Gifts Prayed For- *A deeper love for my Lord and Savior. *A family that continues to grow. *A heart for the nations...

Oct. 9- 3 Gifts Praised For- *New mercies every morning. *A healthy body that can run and move. *He is God and I am not.

Oct. 10- 3 Hard Eucharisteo, the pursuit to see His blessings- *Miles of ocean between us and others. *Seasons of waiting & uncertainty. *Choosing JOY no matter how I feel.

Oct. 11- Gifts of Change- *The new ME in Christ, putting off the old and putting on the new. *Excitement for my sisters as they live in their college days. *Numerous untold gifts from our "change of address" last year.

Oct. 12- A Gift small, smaller, smallest- *Laughter and "randomosity" that comes from children. *Our small home that fits us just right. *The diamond on my finger that constantly reminds me of the love and commitment of my husband!

Oct. 13- 3 Gifts Read- *Reading Scripture in Creole and understanding. *Blogs of encouragement written by Sisters all over the world. *Messages inside dark chocolate...or maybe better yet simply the chocolate.

It's not too late, you have HALF a month left. Will you join me as I count?