Gratitude: In Real Life

When I was in the southern Philippines, I discovered the joy of reading blogs and forming “bloggy friendships”. One of the first blogs I ever found was Mylestones. At the time, Jo and her family were living in one of my favorite states, Maine. Her kids were the same ages as my younger two and I fell in love with reading her daughter’s “pronunciations”, her photos of the Maine coast, and the heart that comes through in her writing.

I read about bloggers who met up “in real life” and was rather envious of them. For I was sitting on “the other side”, as my friend Nate called it, knowing it would never be possible to meet up with anyone while dwelling “in the utter most parts of the sea”. (Ps.139: 9&10)

God moved us stateside, and moved Jo’s family to Ohio. When she wrote about entering a 1/2 marathon in DC, I was so excited. We made plans to meet up and last Monday we met In Real Life. The kids hit it off and so did the adults. Even though she wasn’t feeling in tip-top shape she still came to meet us. We all had a great time wandering the Air and Space Museum.

I am thankful for the friendships I have had the blessing of forming through blogging. I am looking forward to meeting many more of you at Relevant 11, this coming October.

“Count your blessings, name them one by one, Count your blessings, see what God hath done…”

646. beginner violinists who don’t screech

647. that they want to practice together

648. we live so close to the Smithsonian

649. Air & Space, my kids favorite