Judah loves showing us his artwork. Most of the time, I have no idea what it is. However, he can picture an airplane from a jumbled mess of scribbled lines or a puppy dog in a sort of square like shape. Because it is his artwork, he knows every detail and the purpose of every dot and the value in every scribbled line. Of course, Gary and I think it is adorable because our son drew it. But, lets be honest, his work isn’t quite ready to hang in the gallery of a museum. What I love most about Judah’s artwork isn’t the work itself, but rather it is Judah’s “ta-dah” moment or “Mommy, look what I did!” Judah’s presentation is the best. Why? He is so proud. He is so excited to share. He only sees his very best work.

Right now, as I type this, I am looking at a picture that Judah colored for me on Mother’s Day. It is a mom and her son looking sweetly at each other. The boy is colored solid ORANGE. Judah thinks orange is the color for boys. It is the funniest thing. The mommy is colored with multiple colors. Judah knows that I love a lot of colors. When I look at that piece, I don’t pay any attention to the fact that he didn’t stay in ANY line at all. He also didn’t bother putting any effort into coloring other parts of the picture. But, what I do notice is that Judah knows me. And, he was so excited to give it to me.

Judah’s love for his artwork reminded me of this verse.”You created the deepest parts of my being. You put me together inside my mother’s body. How you made me is amazing and wonderful. I praise you for that. What you have done is wonderful. I know that very well,” states Psalm139:13-14 (NIRV) We are God’s greatest works of art. And, Oh how He loves us. Like Judah knows the details of his rather interesting work, God knows every detail, the purpose of every dot, and the value in every scribbled line of His work. He knows us and He is excited to present us and call us His masterpiece.

My 28 Thanks:

1. I am God’s masterpiece.

2. God knows every detail, the purpose of every dot, and the value in every scribbled line of His work. And those dots and lines aren’t blemishes…His work is perfect.

3. God put me together.

4. Everything God made is amazing and wonderful.

5. Quality is in the details.

6. God is so proud of me that He is proud to call me His own.

7. Judah is so aware of others. Even at the age of 3, he knows details of mine and Gary’s likes, dislikes, favorites, etc…

8. Judah can find so much joy in the simplest of things.

9. Gary made me oatmeal for breakfast. It was a nice change from my morning toast routine.

10. We covered a lot of ground in creative meeting today and got out early!

11. Glad Rony and Danielle are on our team. They are super sweet, creative, and full of life.

12. Angela made it through surgery so WELL! She is doing great.

13. She sent me a sweet text right before her surgery too. Wow, always thinking about others.

14. Praying for a friend today. Thankful in advance that God is going before her and her family…He is working all things together for good.

15. Dori’s husband, Danny, continues to shock the doctors with his awesome recovery after bypass surgery.

16. Gary and I tackled a massive closet clean out today. We purged years and years and years of junk.

17. Judah had a lot of fun playing with his friends from church today.

18. Journey is so excited about getting to go to Sports Camp this year. She ran to me today and asked how much longer until she could go. Then, she told me that she wore her sports jersey today because she is so excited.

19. Free Chick-Fil-A today.

20. Gary, Judah, and I enjoyed a nice dinner out tonight.

21. Charleston’s came up with the most creative pre-meal distraction for kids. Instead of colors, (which Judah breaks immediately) they handed out wikki stix. They were wax like strings that could be formed into multiple shapes. Judah was entertained and had so much fun with those.

22. This has been a very long, but productive week. I am so glad it is almost over:)

23. I think I have finally decided on a paint color for my master bedroom. Remember, I love color…all kinds of colors. But, I especially love green… all shades of green. I am not putting green in this house though. I am branching out for change this time.

24. So many of my kids are receiving honors at the end of the year school assemblies. So So So proud of all of them. God wants His kids to excel in every area of life. Many of my kids have worked hard to pull up their grades and do better. I am so proud of all of them.

25. Pentecost Sunday night service is fully staffed!

26. Two of my friends celebrated birthdays today. I am thankful for my friend, Amy. She is so kind, caring, laid back, easy going, a great mom, has a beautiful smile, and is a behind the scenes life savor friend. Brandon is relentless, determined, driven, hard-working, and has a big soft spot for people.

27. Gary, Judah, and I had the most fun in the car this evening. We laughed and laughed and laughed while making funny noises. We asked Judah, “what noise does a cow make?” Judah replied, “honk-honk.” Then, he laughed for what seemed like 5 minutes. It was truly a great time.

28. Laughter is truly the best medicine.