"It is well to remember that the entire population of the universe, with one trifling exception, is composed of others." A.Holmes

Sunday, November 27, 2011

The Gift That Really Keeps On Giving, and it's FREE!

Our firstborn, our daughter~ and her husband. Thanksgiving day more than 3 decades ago ( very close to 4 decades but , shhh!) I was in the hospital after just giving birth to her, and now we celebrate Thanksgiving with her, her husband, their 4 children, and her husband's family.What a gathering, what a feast.Who could have known so many more blessings were to come when I held our tiny firstborn daughter in my arms and knew the very second I held her I would die for her if need be. Fortunately things have never come to that, and she has been a gift from God that gives back...kindness, love, fun...more blessings of the good kind than can be contained in this blog post. And she is the gift that keeps on giving of herself to her family and friends. This is how she chose to spend her birthday, bow-hunting for elk! Her husband snapped this picture of her while they were hunting. I was snug at home with their 4 children. Happy birthday daughter, gift from God. ~"Every good thing bestowed and every perfect gift is from above,coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow, " James 1:17 ~ The best gift is from God, who gave His Son that we might have eternal life. This is the gift for all eternity - free, bought with the shed blood of Jesus. You cannot do anything to earn this gift, this pearl of great price. You have nothing to offer at all. Truly, this is the undeserved, unmerited, gift that keeps on giving. "For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God." Ephesians 2:8 ~ "....the proof of your faith , being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ; and though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, obtaining as the outcome of your faith the salvation of your souls." I Peter 1:7-9

21 comments:

Debbie said...

I know you love your daughter and are thankful for her as I am mine. I am preparing to become a grandma, as you know :D, and I am also preparing to watch my daughter become a mommy. Now we will see how much of her own upbringing she will use on her children! :D I believe she will be a good mommy. Your daughter is a very good mommy!
Debbie

Southern Comfort said...

She sounds wonderful! I'm glad you have such a daughter to enjoy. 22 years ago, I spent my birthday in the hospital after giving birth to my daughter. I understand what a gift daughters (and sons) can be.

Anonymous said...

A. Joy is lovely both inside and out. What a blessing she and her family are to you. Happy to hear you all enjoyed Thanksgiving together. Hope AJ had a great time elk hunting.

cairncottage said...

When I read your post, I was reminded of the verses Psalm 127:3-5
3 Children are a heritage from the LORD,offspring are a reward from Him.
4 Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are children born in one’s youth.
5 Blessed is the man
whose quiver is full of them.

They ARE the best gift of all!
Ann @ http://christintheclouds.blogspot.com/

Karen said...

Such a lovely post and family! Birthday Blessings to your daughter.

Connie said...

Happy birthday to A. Joy! I hope she has a wonderful day. :)

Anonymous said...

Happy birthday to your daughter!

Blessings,

Amy

Pondside said...

A daughter is such a gift from God! I loved this post and reading about your appreciation for the gift of your firstborn. It seems that 'like mother, like daughter' applies here!

rkbsnana said...

What a pleasant post and what a Thanksgiving blessing you received. I love the verse in I Thessalonians you have posted under your heading. "Attend to business". Would like to add to mine. Have a blessed day.

rkbsnana said...

What a pleasant post and what a Thanksgiving blessing you received. I love the verse in I Thessalonians you have posted under your heading. "Attend to business". Would like to add to mine. Have a blessed day.

Antiques And Teacups said...

What a wonderful story...so true. A precious gift indeed. I just wish my kids & grandkids were closer! It's so nice to get to know you! I love your Miss Marple! Thanks for visiting!
Ruth

LindaSue said...

a good and perfect gift indeed - she is obviously a joy in more than her name.

Dolores said...

I love this birthday blessing post!
Happy Birthday to your beautiful daughter........such a handsome couple!!!
Hugs,

Wsprsweetly Of Cottages said...

What wonderful photo's of your daughter. Loving so much is a wonderful thing. She is lovely.
...and thank you so much for stopping by and leaving your sweet comment. I am not unhappy, just melancholy. You are always so kind to me. Thank you.

Paula said...

Hope your daughter had a wonderful birthday, Kathy! Thanks for sharing such a precious Thanksgiving memory with us.

xinex said...

Happy birthday to your daughter! She is so beautiful! Isn't it so true that our children and their families are the greatest gifts of all?...Christine

PeregrineBlue said...

d always been curious to see them together in a photo. i wondered who the parents of those lovely children were and now i see. they are beautiful kathy and you are part of that beauty.

i send you love on my first easy-going day at the new house. it's been a full week less one day for thanksgiving that we have been unpacking and putting things away.

Lady Jane said...

Not having a daughter of my own I enjoy my DIL, she is a gift to us. I think it is so cool to go elk hunting on your birthday. What a lovely post. Cheers. LJ

Eggs In My Pocket said...

So good to have family together and to share special times. blessings,Kathleen

A. Joy said...

Thanks Mom! Again ~ thanks so much for making the kids weekend and letting them stay with you and it sure was a lot of fun for us to have you with us for Thanksgiving! So glad you and Dad are still around and live so close! Love, Me, the almost 40 yr old.

Lady Jane said...

I am back to say hey cant wait to see that craft room and I am looking forward to your mini-ing!!! I read your daughters comment. You both are so blessed!!! LJ