Tuesday, August 16

1. Getting to sleep before 9:30.

Monday, August 15

1. Yoga with Suzette first thing in the morning.
2. Eating a Buffalo Chicken haute dog at Moon Tower.

Saturday, August 13

1. Being packed and ready to leave with lots of time to spare.  No stress!
2. A smooth trip from Montauk to LGA to IAH to home.
3. The menacing sound under the car actually coming from a benign cause.  Whew.
4. Patrick being reunited with friends.
5. The luxury of a Houston grocery store.

Friday, August 12

1. Getting a visit this morning during breakfast by the male hummingbird.
2. No humidity and 70s for our last full day in Montauk.
3. Pizza on the beach, with almost everyone.
4. A brief viewing of the International Space Station.
5. Lanterns floating off to sea under a full moon.

Thursday, August 11

1. A knife-edge day with the breeze having shifted to the NW.
2. Filing the 2010 Form 990!
3. A lead on a location for our staff retreat in two weeks.
4. The sun going behind the dunes as the moon rose over the ocean.
5. Meeting with Linda and RAM and thinking about the potential of small projects.

Wednesday, August 10

1. Being treated by Nibs to a wonderful dinner at The Harvest.
2. Nailing down all the details for the Finance Committee call tomorrow.
3. Dry cushions to set on the breakfast/sunset deck.
4. Getting the new galvanized metal drip pans set up with Patrick's help.

Tuesday, August 9

1. A short yoga session led by Suzette.
2. Ticking off the lengthy to do list.
3. Double date with the Pryors at a new (to Suzette and me) restaurant.
4. Getting to read Patrick's first draft of one college application essay.

Monday, August 8

1. A great round of golf with Greg, Chris and Danny.
2. Lunch when I got home consisting of cucumber soup, tomatoes with basil and half a turkey sandwich.
3. An outdoor shower with the sun about as straight overhead as it gets in Montauk.
4. Crashing in the ocean waves.
5. Watching Patrick and Pierce boogie board in the massive waves.
6. Dinner of chicken curry.

Sunday, August 7

1. Worship at Montauk Community Church on the first Sunday of the newly called pastor.
2. A Facebook post showing the Camp Eagle campers on their way.
3. Needed rain.
4. A fun meal at Navy Beach with Suzette, Will and Patrick.
5. The joy of seeing Will's video of him playing the organ at MCC.
6. Patrick's enthusiasm about the headway he made today on his college applications.

Saturday, August 6

1. The enthusiastic response everyone had to the "marry-in" hats.
2. Delicious pasta with sausage and broccoli rabe.
3. The annual MBPOA beach party.
4. Don's home brewed Belgian Blonde Ale.

Friday, August 5

1. Being reunited with Suzette, Will and Patrick.
2. Smooth travels from Houston to La Guardia to Montauk.
3. A new book: Blues, by John Hersey.
4. A good productive week at work.

Thursday, August 4

1. Patrick shooting a 74 and coming in second at the NFCC tournament.
2. Picking up the "marry-in" caps and getting enthusiastic about giving them to their owners.
3. Getting to have dinner with Tio.
4. Getting an email from Continental telling me that I had been upgraded for my flight tomorrow.

Wednesday, August 3

1. Araujo sauvignon blanc with Crawford.
2. Finding John Hersey's Blues on the bookshelf, and anticipating the opportunity to read it over the next week.
3. The arrival of an Amazon delivery, and the excitement of a new book.
4. An unsolicited call from the new community outreach director of a major supporting bank.
5. A second day in a row of substantial commitments to Small Step's fundraising events.
6. A new prescription that was easy to order and quick to pick up.

Tuesday, August 2

1. Getting a screenshot from Will's summer work project.
2. A wife whose responsibilities include managing our family healthcare needs.
3. A hole by hole description of Patrick's morning round of golf at The Downs.
4. Lux Aurumque playing while reading the evening psalms.

Monday, August 1

1. An organized list of tasks to accomplish, and the energy to attack them.
2. Being able to stay cool all day, and being able to get out of the heat anytime I wanted.
3. Having the Small Steps administrative staff all back in Houston, and productive time together.
4. A great deli sandwich of RB on rye from Kahn's.

Sunday, July 31

1. Breakfast on the sunset deck on a beautiful morning, with visits from one of our friendly hummingbirds.
2. Yummy mozzarella and tomato sandwiches - made by Suzette - for lunch and for the plane ride home.
3. Getting to the airport on time, even though the Long Island Expressway was closed due to an auto accident.
4. Being able to stay in touch with Will and Patrick due to modern technology.
5. The ocean breeze coming through open windows at our house.
6. Spending time on the plane ride home working productively.

Why I'm Posting

I don't know why this blog is here.
This is my blog.  I created it.  But I can't remember why it was created or much else about its creation.  The profile section says I created the blog in May 2005, and the title of the blog, "The Least of These" reveals that I was thinking of Matthew 25 and service to the poor when I started the blog.  Still, I stand by my opening statement.
Two weeks ago, the daily email from gratefulness.org consisted of the following quote from Sarah Ban Breathnach's Simple Abundance: "You simply will not be the same person two months from now after consciously giving thanks each day for the abundance that exists in your life. And you will have set in motion an ancient spiritual law: the more you have and are grateful for, the more will be given you."
Then yesterday in her sermon, our minister spoke of a Lenten discipline of listing daily the things for which one is thankful.
If Lent is a season of fasting, then today is part of a season of feasting.  I will feast on appreciation and God's comfort.  When Lent arrives next year, I will be so disciplined that my complete fast from all complaining and worry will be natural.
I hope to write daily of a few specific things for which I have been grateful in that day.  We will see how long I can maintain my pace.  I hope I can at least make it the two months that Sarah Ban Breathnach promises will transform me.  But even if it is only for a few days, I will be grateful for what those few days of conscious gratitude bring to me.
This single post is written for my own benefit and as a reminder to me for my own personal accountability.  The medium of a blog allows me to create a personal daily journal.  If you have somehow stumbled on this blog, welcome.  So far as I know, Suzette and I are the only ones aware of this blog.  It isn't a secret...but it has been completely blank now for six years.  My prayer is that there will be something here that will cause you to give thanks.