Why I Can Now Be a Real, Bona-Fide Turkish Housewife

Yesterday I celebrated my 49^th birthday and made it to #2,985 on my One Thousands Gifts List.  See my list below to find out which gift makes me qualify to be a real-life, bona-fide Turkish housewife:

# 2, 977. The sweet sister who organized my birthday breakfast.

# 2,978. Sixteen dear friends (not all shown here)
came to celebrate.

#2,979.  Delicious food.

#2, 980.  My very own düdüklü tencere!
Everyone contributed to buy me a pressure cooker.  Now
I can qualify to be a bona-fide Turkish housewife and make my
mercimek çorbası (lentil soup) in no time!

#2,981. Every year I give thanks for the best gift I've
ever received: a great husband!

#2,982. My daughter wrote a poem about me.
#2,983. My son learned to play my favorite song:
"Take Me into the Beautiful."

#2984. This year my birthday gift to myself was to memorize Psalm 100.  It reminds me to be thankful even though the microwave just broke, we had the plumber to the house twice yesterday, and the electricity was off this morning!  

Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.

     Worship the Lord with gladness;

    come before him with joyful songs.

 Know that the Lord is God.

    It is he who made us, and we are his;

    we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

 Enter his gates with thanksgiving

    and his courts with praise;

    give thanks to him and praise his name.

 For the Lord is good and his love endures forever;

    his faithfulness continues through all generations.

#2,985.  I also give thanks for YOU, the friends who read my blog. May the Lord bless you today, and remind you that you are His, the sheep of His pasture!