Grateful For Hope

It’s been almost 7 months of Grateful Heart Fridays and I’ve been blessed by several of you and your Grateful Heart posts. In honor of this 7 months of cultivating our grateful hearts together, I have 2 new changes to the Grateful Heart Friday posts.

1. Each Grateful Heart Post must include a photo(s) of what you were most

grateful for from the past week.

2. We’re linking up! It’s been really encouraging for me to read several of your grateful heart posts and I thought it was time to extend that encouragement to others!

As I mentioned yesterday, I’ve been trying to capture some fun Spring photos of the kids to fill my wall of frames. Our first attempt took us to the beach - I was not too happy with the results!  So this week I took the children to The Gardens of The World, hoping to capture some fun photos in the garden. Well… I was about a week or two too early for the spectacular unveiling of Spring color, but one little cluster of color caught my eye. There is a path lined with cherry trees and they are all bare as though still trapped in Winter. But I saw something in one tree that honestly looked like someone glued some tissue paper to a branch. The whole tree was bare except for this spectacular cluster of bright pink lacey flowers. Immediately I thought of hope. I heard God’s voice of encouragement speak so loudly that in the mist of barrenness, Winter, and the desert, He offers hope that newness, Spring and life are just around the corner. The blush blossoms could not be missed, they were not discrete, they shouted “there is hope for amazing beauty in the midst of ashes, hang on.” I’m grateful for hope. This past week I’m grateful for a night in with two amazing girlfriends who sincerely asked how I am doing since our miscarriage and listened with opened hearts as I shared. I’m grateful for a night out with two other amazing girlfriends and their love and care for me. One dear friend bought me a necklace with a very, very, tiny heart on it. She said it was to honor our little heart that we lost. I am grateful for the promise of Spring. I’m grateful for a God who breathes new life into death. I’m grateful that I’m on this side of the resurrection of Jesus and I know that death never wins! I’m grateful that in addition to celebrating that everyday, we get to celebrate the greatest miracle ever in 2 short weeks!
     Now it’s your turn – take a few moments to reflect on all the blessings from this past week and cultivate your grateful heart!

1. Include a photo of what you’re most grateful for from this past week.

2. Grab a Grateful Heart Button on the right and add it to your Grateful Heart post

3. Link up and be blessed as you share your gratitude with others and grow as you read about their week and let’s cultivate Grateful Hearts together on Friday!