I must confess, I’ve always loved the Scripture from James 1:17, “…all that is good, all that is perfect, is given us from above; it comes down from the Father of all light…”  This past weekend there many “gifts” – blessings and experiences along the way in what was an extremely busy weekend.  Permit me to share just a few.

On Saturday, I quite unexpectedly received a beautiful apron…

It was a thank you gift from my sister-in-law for helping with some babysitting.  White and blue with the pattern of the Missionaries of Charity,  it had a Mother Teresa quote: “If you can’t feed a hundred people, then feed just one.”  Truly a joy to receive and to use in my kitchen.

I received an email from a former coworker and good friend who was published in our local newspaper; a wonderfully written article about achieving the American Dream and his family’s experiences immigrating from Croatia nearly 50 years ago.  An inspirational testimony of overcoming hardships through traditional values and hard work.  Please read!  You’ll be glad you did.

Have you ever experienced a marching band competition?  I witnessed an amazing performance of my nephew and nieces’ marching band on the most beautiful of fall evenings.  Their amazing talent really shined through as the band marched in precision and the color guard performed with expression and energy. What a treat!

And lastly, each year around All Saint’s Day we gather with my husband’s sister’s family to share a meal and to select our patron saints for the year.  In past years I have had as my patrons St. Anne, St. Bernadette, and St. Joan of Arc.  This year I got (drumroll please)…

St. Pio!  What a powerful intercessor and role model.  I so enjoy getting together with the family to share our experiences with our patron’s from the previous year and get to the enjoy the excitement of selecting next year’s saints.

St. Peter, St. Clare, and St. Polycarp were just a few of the other saints selected.  It is a tradition I look forward to every year and it was a great blessing to close out the weekend.

I am so grateful to God for these many gifts.  I can’t wait to see what He has in store for me this week!  What has been a blessing to you this past weekend?