{"id":6190,"date":"2016-10-26T06:36:27","date_gmt":"2016-10-26T12:36:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/?p=6190"},"modified":"2016-10-26T06:36:27","modified_gmt":"2016-10-26T12:36:27","slug":"a-little-surprise","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/?p=6190","title":{"rendered":"A Little Surprise"},"content":{"rendered":"

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When I arrived home yesterday, there was a large package on my kitchen table. I asked Mason what it was and he said, \u201cI don\u2019t know. You ordered something.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\"OLYMPUS<\/a>I was surprised. I had ordered some items, but they weren\u2019t supposed to arrive until today.<\/p>\n

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Later in the evening I had the opportunity to open my surprise box. Inside was filled with Christmas. There were little booklets about the beauty of the Christmas season. There were hidden picture Christmas books for the grandkids. But I was most excited for the new Christmas music tucked away in this box.<\/p>\n

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I have a Sandi Patty album on a cassette tape that I can\u2019t listen to any longer for obvious reasons. But some of the songs on that album aren\u2019t on any other Christmas album. I am excited to say that one of these Christmas music treasures contains a portion of those songs.<\/p>\n

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Now there were a couple of items that weren\u2019t Christmas related\u2026a new bag. Oh, if there were a support group for women obsessed with pretty bags, I\u2019d need to attend. My life is compartmentalized by bags. On a side note, my husband is building me a bag tree. I\u2019ll show you a picture when it\u2019s complete.<\/p>\n

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So, as I type this morning, I\u2019m importing my new music. And before the week is over, I will have listened to my new treasures.<\/p>\n

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You know how exciting surprises are, right? That unexpected phone call. That package at your door. That word of encouragement. That party in your honor. That unexpected visit in the grocery store with someone you haven\u2019t seen for a while. That precious bundle of joy. And you could probably fill in this space with surprises you\u2019ve had.<\/p>\n

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Surprises are awesome.<\/p>\n

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While I know that God\u2019s plan was laid out long before the creation of the world, you and I can find beautiful surprises in our day-to-day walk with the Lord. That special verse of Scripture that feeds your soul. That beautiful sunrise or sunset that melts your heart. That praise song that leads you to worship in an unexpected place. That spiritual giant who offers words of wisdom and encouragement.<\/p>\n

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As you go through your day today, I pray that you will search for the surprises that God places before you. Savor the moments. Allow them to seep into your soul and fill your heart with joy.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

And never ever forget how much your heavenly Father loves you. Never ever forget that He wants your life to be filled with His \u201clove, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.\u201d <\/em>(Galatians 5:22-23 \u2013 NIV)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

And while it isn\u2019t a surprise, it is amazing that \u201cGod so loved the world <\/em>(you and me) that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.\u201d<\/em> (John 3:16 \u2013 NIV) Now that is really awesome.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Grace and peace be yours in abundance,<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Donna<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  When I arrived home yesterday, there was a large package on my kitchen table. I asked Mason what it was and he said, \u201cI don\u2019t know. You ordered something.\u201d   I was surprised. I had ordered some items, but they weren\u2019t supposed to arrive until today.   Later in the evening I had the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_s2mail":"yes","_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5496,22,12,296,4047,14,30],"tags":[5972,5973,291,667,182,2704],"class_list":["post-6190","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-appreciate","category-believing-god","category-discovering-god","category-experiencing-god","category-savor","category-seeking-god","category-worshiping-god","tag-a-little-surprise","tag-bags","tag-christmas","tag-galatians-522-23","tag-john-316","tag-surprises"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6190","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6190"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6190\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6191,"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6190\/revisions\/6191"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6190"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6190"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6190"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}