blessed and loved

For many years I have loved Numbers 6: 24-26:

The Lord bless you and keep you;

the Lord make his face to shine upon you

and be gracious to you;

the Lord lift up his countenance upon you

and give you peace.

The idea of God's grace and peace shining on my life

and His care surrounding me wherever I am

is very comforting.

Imagine my delight when I was given

Dayspring's Blessed and Loved gift set,

a collection of pretty items

themed around Numbers 6:24,

to review.

The products are truly lovely.

The journal has a sturdy, stylish cover

and is filled with good quality lines pages.

[The pen is not included.]

The perpetual calendar has an inspiring quotation or scripture

for each day of the year.

The cup is delicate

and comes with a coordinating coaster/cover.

The gift bag, of course, matches everything else perfectly.

I know for sure that I want to keep the cup,

but I haven't decided what I want to do with the other items.

I like them very much but would also enjoy

sharing the encouraging message and lovely products.

This gift set along with several others that are equally lovely

are being offered as this month's (In)spired deals

at a deeply discounted price.

Check them out. : )

Yes, Dayspring gave me these products to review

but don't worry, all the the opinions stated here are my very own.

ever grateful

Each month the lovely folks at Dayspring offer what they call (in)spired deals along with the opportunity for bloggers to sign up to receive a free product to review. Last month I signed up, and I received the lovely Ever Grateful Apron to review. The deadline for submitting my review was right in the middle of my vacation, and as I mentioned before, I thought that I'd have all the time in the world to blog while travelling which ended up being a false hope. So the deadline came and went, and my neglected little review languished in my drafts.

The ever grateful apron is truly beautiful. It has such fun, feminine details--scallops, ruffles, and cute prints--as well as the encouraging message "ever blessed, ever grateful" embroidered on it. Plus it's comfortable. I have enjoyed wearing it as I work in my kitchen. Though this apron was inspired by the holiday of Thanksgiving in the month of November, the reminder of God's great blessings and my opportunity to worship Him through gratitude is certainly applicable all year long!

In fact, what better time of year to dwell on gratitude than at Christmas time, when we contemplate God's love, coming down to live among us in the form of the baby Jesus? It was the greatest sacrifice, the greatest proof of love of all.

(This month's (in)spired deals focus on that love.)

This Christmas, in the middle of the whirl of holiday festivities, I want to always remember the root of the whole celebration: gratitude for God's magnificent Gift.

(By the way, all of the stuff in this post is my own opinion; nobody's forcing me to say anything.) : )

ask. seek. knock.

Today Brother brought me the tin of mints that usually resides in my purse. He looked up at me with trust and hope and asked: "Min? Peeeeeesh?" (translated: "mint please") He clapped his hands with joy and anticipation as I opened the tin and gave him a mint. I love when my children make requests that I can grant, and I love seeing their unrestrained joy in the gifts I give them. As I savored the memory of this interaction with Brother, the following verses came to mind, made poignantly clear:

"Ask, and it will be given to you;

seek, and you will find;

knock, and it will be opened to you.

For everyone who asks receives,

and he who seeks finds,

and to him who knocks it will be opened.

Or what man is there among you who,

when his son asks for a loaf,

will give him a stone?

Or if he asks for a fish,

he will not give him a snake, will he?

If you then, being evil,

know how to give good gifts to your children,

how much more will your Father who is in heaven

give what is good to those who ask Him!"

(Matthew 7:7-11)

I am so thankful for a Father to takes delight in answering my hopes and dreams, fears and requests. How much worry I would save myself if I always remembered His love and His desire to hear me!

This lesson, which was so vividly real to me this morning was already fading to the back of my mind when I sat down to blog this afternoon. Next on my list of blog-posts-to-write was a review of the product featured in DaySpring's May (in)spired deals that I had been generously sent. I began the ho-hum task of meeting the reviewers' requirements: including the correct links, the header, the photo... I even began to type what would have become a rather stiff and mechanical little article when I actually stopped and looked at the photo of the product I had been sent.

(insert jaw drop and stunned pause)

I do not believe that it was coincidence that this month I was sent the beautiful carved Ask, Seek, Knock wall hanging or that I "happened" to be writing my review today. The truth upon which I was meditating this morning was driven home with new force. I am planning to hang this new art in our master bedroom. My hope is that as I see it each day I will be reminded of God's passionate and tender care for me, of how He wants to answer, reveal, and open for me as I ask, seek, and knock.

Today I am thankful to be reviewing the above product. It was sent to me for free so that I could review it, and all of the stuff I said about it is my own opinion.