GRATEFUL for little things....

With Thanksgiving day behind , I woke up this morning still with thanksgiving thoughts on my mind. In my prayer this morning before I got up, I asked God to show and remind me what I need to be thankful for today.

Immediately God opened my senses and a lot of little, ordinary things I noticed but have not thanked God for them. Reminds me of the cliche - be careful what you pray for. Yesterday in my devotion , I  happened to remember the anchor verse Ephesians 5:20 - always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.-

Well , the word everything caught my mind this morning and I thought to myself , really Lord, even small things like soft pillow, warm bed , restful sleep, strength and energy to get out of bed ? That's part of everything! What about toothbrush, complete natural pearly white set of teeth; warm water & soap to clean my face, soft and clean towel to dry it? WOW, these are lots of things already to be grateful  for the first 3 minutes of my waking hour for the day. That's part of everything, isn't it?

Before I could even get out of the bathroom, I opened the shutter to let the sunshine in to my garden tub where most of the surviving summer plants winters , and guess what I found,  a late blooming pink and white trumpet vine bloom. What a pleasant surprise! I took a second look now with eyes and nose fully opened and saw it's delicate frills and swirls . Could not help but thank the Lord for it's beauty and it's unseasonal , unexpected bloom. ( Images below includes yellow single petal trumpet vine. The ones I gave you are the double petal yellow and pink variety)


This won't be a surprise to you when the next thing I thought of was grab a camera! Of course!!! But as I opened the bedroom door, 3 adoring but  hungry cats have been waiting for a long time for breakfast to be served. Well, so much for camera, the flower can wait while it's sweet smell is competing with the just flushed natural excrement . LOL. Camera , cats, foods... they are part of everything too, isn't it ?

The smell of fresh brewing coffee , toasting blue berry bagel smelled so distinctly today. I've not noticed the smell before until the food hits my tongue and taste it. I couldn't help but ask myself, is my chemo damaged senses on track and back to new normal? I ran my fingers through my head and felt my hair , face my eyebrows and lashes... they too are little things but they sure make me feel and look normal. Thank you Lord  for little things.

By now the cats are done with breakfast and it's time for catnap.They are equipped with GPS and position themselves where the sunshine is. Since it has been gloomy and rainy the past 2 days , I was delighted to see them perched by the bay window to enjoy the morning sun. By their posture I am almost certain that they too are grateful for the warmth of the sun. Thank you Lord for little things. Even your feline creature knows how to give you thanks....

             

Thanks for buddy Chazz and sunshine right in my heart!

Purr-fect , thanks for breakfast, time for nap... Zzzzzzzzzzzz

Thanks for full tummy and  warm sunshine Lord!

Alright, time for tickles before my nap....

late blooming, upright double petal trumpet vine

Single petal downward blooming trumpet vine

JR yellow double petal trumpet vine