Multitudes on Mondays: Why I’m Ringing the Dinner Bell Today
Dickinson tells of a time when her father excused himself from the dinner table and raced outside to ring the village fire bell. 
I scribbled gift number 1000 in my dog-earred notebook this morning and I thought about crazy old Mr. Dickinson. I smiled as I pictured him racing for that clanging bell. And as I paged through my chicken-scratched list of gifts piled one upon another, I sympathized with the old man’s longing to point out the sky ablaze with wonder. Because I felt like ringing the fire bell, too!
Praises for lost teeth and new blades of grass… and the sound of my baby’s laughter…
and shortened bouts with the stomach flu…
into brilliant streams of grace.
Won’t you join me?
The Overflow: Thank God! Call out his Name! 
Sing to him! Play songs for him!
Tell the whole world who he is
and what he’s done!
Broadcast all his wonders!
Revel in his holy Name,
God-seekers, be jubilant!
–1 chronicles 16:8-9
Ringing the bell for…
996. My 13-year-old son calling me back into his bedroom late at night. “Mom, I forgot to tell you something….I love you.”
997. Mini-man leading the little ones in a butterfly hunt in the backyard. Nets capturing jet black wings dotted with orange.
998. A morning duet- birds singing up the sun and the hum of the furnace warming the cold house.
999. A noisy game of family baseball in the front yard. Bigs taking it easy on littles. More laughter than tears. Happy home runs!
1000. My peeling-leather-bound, dog-earred Bible waiting for me by the window in the quiet of dawn. He is here.
Linking with these beautiful grace seekers today…ann for 1000 gifts, l.l. for on, in, and around mondays, laura for playdates with god and jen for soli deo gloria
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Perfect ending of a never ending story…
What a great story about Mr. Dickinson. And I love, love that quote by Elizabeth Barrett Browning. I’m taking off my shoes and admiring with you, friend.
I love that you have 1000’s of pages and journals of hand-written pages– you are a woman after my own heart.
oh, loved that he rang the fire bell for them to see the sunset. congratulations on getting to 1,000. sweet list. im sure you are a little like i think i will be when i get there–at first i was striving for 1,000–you know the dare–now its just a number lost in the midst of so many lessons learned and the deep well of grace im learning to pull from daily. blessings to you as we continue to count together. thank you so much for your words at my place yesterday! love to you.
Whoot whoot on that 1000! Such a blessing. great presentation of your blessings!
Yes, 1000 and beyond! Hope I die counting still. In fact, my children may need to bury me old and gray with all those notebooks tucked beside me! On second thought… I’d rather have them passed on to my grand children and great grandchildren.. testimony of His faithfulness!
Oh, I love that story! Just taking time to recognize what is beautiful. Hooray for reaching 1000 gifts!!! Now beyond!
Meredith,
I’m so old fashioned! Can’t resist the feel of paper in my hands. Hope some day my kids page through my 1000s of journals and get glimpses of who I was.
What a wonderful story! I want to be like Mr. Dickinson too!!
And congratulations on making it to 1000!! That is so awesome– and that notebook- what a treasure.
I have don all of my counting online, but I think that sometimes that tactile experience of finger turning page and seeing the gifts written in your own hand must be so . . . incredibly special!!