Category: Gift

One Treat After Another

For my birthday, my family showered me with many fun and amazing gifts. 

The evening prior as I sat enjoying my birthday dinner with my family at a restaurant of my choosing, I quietly desired and wanted the treat that is given when you let the waitress know that it is your birthday. On one hand I did not want to request it for myself nor draw attention and be recognized publicly, but on the other hand I wanted the treat. After all, birthdays only come once a year. As we finished up our meals, it was a tender mercy that while I had not spoken of my internal hope or wish, a family member had at some point shared with the waitress that it was my birthday and I was given a cup of ice cream with chocolate syrup, whipped cream, and sprinkles. Despite the embarrassment of being sung to by several employees, I was happy that I had received the treat.

When have you quietly desired something that you did not feel comfortable to ask for on behalf of yourself and someone surprised you with what you had hoped for and wanted?  

The day of my birthday, one by one I opened the gifts. I was appreciative and impressed with each present given to me. One that I was most excited, ecstatic, and giddy about was a pair of indoor sandals. For months I had been looking for these specific shoes to replace my then current ones that were broken. It was a tender mercy when I opened this gift that the ones I had been searching for a long time and had been unsuccessful in finding were right there in front of me. 

When have you been gleeful to receive on your birthday or a special occasion or at any time a particular gift that you had been searching to find for a very long time?

Another incredible gift sent to me by a family member was a leather bound writing book filled with blank pages. Receiving this gift was a tender mercy. I had not thought of or ever considered getting something like this for myself, yet it was very fitting as for awhile, in the back of my mind, I had considered the possibility of one day having a book with a compilation of my tender mercy moments. The leather bound notebook was so ideal to jump start me down this path in a way that had not crossed my mind. What had only been a thought, I could now see as a tangible book forming and coming together as I write a daily tender mercy moment on each page. I felt an enthusiasm and energy that perhaps the thought of one day having a book may actually become a reality. 

When have you received an ideal and fitting gift you would have never thought of or considered getting for yourself that raised  what you love doing to new heights? 

tendermercym❤️ments~jld

“How have you noticed Heavenly Father’s awareness and mindfulness of you today?”

*If you would like to receive an email when new posts are published, please send your name and email address to tendermercymoments@gmail.com.*

Pause and Resume Again and Again

One of my summer jobs prior to heading off to college after high school graduation and between my 1st and 2d year of college was working in an office with a switchboard. As the switchboard operator and I interacted together and became good friends, I got used to interruptions mid sentence as calls would come in during our many dialogues.

This prepared me with a skill to be able to adjust quickly and adapt well to frequent and constant changes. I automatically shifted gears flowing from one thing to another immediately with ease and was able to “stop on a dime” moving back and forth between projects “without skipping a beat”, like picking up where you left off with a friend you haven’t seen in years as if no time was lost.

With all the splendor and magic of Christmas and a lot of family activities throughout the holidays, on this particular day when I had a project I wanted to finish before I went to bed, stepping away for a block of time all at once for myself was not going to happen. My alone time to do for me was a little here and there which meant I would be unable to finish it in one sitting.

Throughout the day, I was starting, pausing, stopping, and resuming my project over and over again. It was a tender mercy the skills I gained at my job so many, many years ago prepared and blessed me to be able to move back and forth intermittently from one activity to another calmly and swiftly. 

When have the skills you gained in your early years blessed and benefitted you since, time and time again?

tendermercym❤️ments~jld

“How have you noticed Heavenly Father’s awareness and mindfulness of you today?”

*If you would like to receive an email when new posts are published, please send your name and email address to tendermercymoments@gmail.com.*

Holiday Lights In The Park

When our kids were younger, we had, at one point, season passes to a roller coaster park near our home and subsequent years following an opportunity annually to attend twice during the year. Although we enjoyed going very much, we have not returned for a few years when the opportunity went away and as our children have gotten older and other activities and expenses have taken priority.

When we had extended family, who had season passes to the park, stop in for the holidays, they invited us to join them to experience the holiday lights and rides in the park altogether. We declined as the cost was outside of our budget. When they shared that on that day each member of their family had a “Bring a Friend Free” day pass for each member of our family, we happily accepted the invite. As they desired us to join them and we have missed not being back to the park for quite awhile, it was a tender mercy the special was being offered on the very day they were in town visiting. It was a delight to be in the park once again and it was a joyful experience to be with family!  

When have you missed attending a special place due to a lack of funds and you were delighted when you received an invite and free pass to return?

tendermercym❤️ments~jld

“How have noticed Heavenly Father’s awareness and mindfulness of you today?”

*If you would like to receive an email when new posts are published, please send your name and email address to tendermercymoments@gmail.com.*

System Is Down

With a little less than a week remaining before Christmas and our kids still in school a few more days prior to Winter break beginning, there were so many stores I still wanted to go to for last minute Christmas presents. On this day, my goal was to be in and out of each store as quickly as possible. I was on a mission. I knew exactly what gifts I was looking to buy. It was just a matter of which store carried them. 

At one of the earlier stores I entered, I walked briskly from one end to the other quickly gathering up in my arms the presents. When I reached the register to check out, there was a line forming and growing longer and longer. I was several shoppers back when it was announced that the system for all registers throughout the store had shut down. In that moment, the line stopped moving for awhile. Over the span of about 45 minutes, the system went back up briefly and shut down again after only one person was partially through checkout and this repeated over again a number of times. 

As this happened near the lunch hour, I still had a few hours before my kids were out of school. It wasn’t urgent for me to visit other stores and because I didn’t have anywhere else I absolutely needed to be, I felt relaxed. It was a tender mercy I arrived with plenty of time to not be up against the clock and the delay resulting in me slowing down for a brief period was a good thing. It was nice taking an unexpected break to read messages on my phone and soak in the quite calm I was experiencing opposite the hustle and bustle of the season. It was also a tender mercy that where I was standing in line to wait, there was a shelf on one side of me and a clothes rack close by on my other side where I could set the gifts down resting my arms, shoulders, and back from the heaviness of the weight of the articles I was holding. On top of that, not only was each item I purchased on sale, it was a tender mercy I was also given an additional 30 percent off at checkout for every single item. 

When have you experienced benefits during an unexpected delay while shopping?

tendermercym❤️ments~jld

“How have you noticed Heavenly Father’s awareness and mindfulness of you today?”

*If you would like to receive an email when new posts are published, please send your name and email address to tendermercymoments@gmail.com.*

Price Match

A price match that won me over! 😊

I am not an online shopper. I do like good discounts on purchases! When I was looking for a specific Christmas gift with a particular feature, I went from store to store and walked out empty-handed until I came into a store and found an item with the main feature that was the last one of its kind left on the shelf. I was not certain if I wanted to get that one, at least not at that time, and I wanted to keep looking at other stores to see what other options were out there for more styles and more features at the best price. 

I decided to put the item on hold. When I took it to the return and exchange counter, I was told that because of the holiday season they were not holding anything, not even for only until the end of the day. I asked if they sold the item through their online store and if it could be shipped in case I decided to get it later after all. The answer was yes. When they looked it up, they also saw and shared with me that it was being sold online for $40 less than what it was selling for in the store. I asked if they price matched with their online store. I was told that if the item was sold across the country, they price matched. Sure enough it was and they could do a price match. And then I asked them about their return policy for that item. I was told it was 90 days. At that point, I went ahead and purchased the item and was content with the features offered and pleased with the discount I received and looked no further. 

In asking questions, it was a tender mercy I was able to purchase the returnable, if needed, item in the store, at the online price. A win win! It was awesome!

When has asking questions saved you a lot of money and you were able to purchase a gift your preferred way?

tendermercym❤️ments~jld

“How have you noticed Heavenly Father’s awareness and mindfulness of you today?”

*If you would like to receive an email when new posts are published, please send your name and email address to tendermercymoments@gmail.com.*

Worth The Wait


After finishing up some school shopping one-on-one with my daughter, there was a short 30 minutes before I needed to pick up my other kids from there respective locations one after the other. We filled in the time and treated ourselves by ordering lunch “To Go” from a local soup/salad/sandwich & bakery cafe we both enjoy. As we stood in line waiting our turn, I eyed the scrumptious mouthwatering pastries; however, wanting to stay within a budget, we each purchased only a simple meal within my price range. 

Although we were the second name shown on a large screen display in the dining area to get our food, we sat and watched food come out to others and ours was not among them. After what seemed like quite a bit of waiting and our name staying in the same placement, I became worried if I would be able to pick up my other kids on time. I shared my concern regarding the length of time with an employee helping make the food and when I asked how much longer it would be until our order would be ready, I was told they were keeping up with orders for those dining in, coming through drive-thru, and To Go orders. They were very apologetic that ours had not yet been made and offered myself and my daughter a free pastry. Yum! 

Right after we picked out a pastry of our choosing, our order was ready. Not having it in my budget to purchase the bakery item in addition to our meal, it was a tender mercy that due to the delay, we received a delicious free pastry. It was worth the wait. And, we made it just in time to pick up my other kids. 😊

While eating out, when have you resisted purchasing something delicious you really wanted, to stay within a budget and because of a longer than expected wait time or for some other reason, you were offered the tasty treat free of charge? 

tendermercym❤️ments~jld

“How have you noticed Heavenly Father’s awareness and mindfulness of you today?”

*If you would like to receive an email when new posts are published, please send your name and email address to tendermercymoments@gmail.com.*

Persistent Honking

When I drove up a row in a school parking lot to pick up one of my children, I sat and waited in a line. This line temporarily prevented anyone who had a car in the parking spaces to our right, from departing. I positioned myself to avoid parking in front of two vehicles that had driver’s inside. I wanted to make it accessible for them when they were ready to leave at any moment to easily get out. This left a large gap in the line between me and the cars directly in front of me.

After several minutes, I was honked at and I didn’t know why. I was a tad bit annoyed. I thought maybe the driver honking at me was upset that I had left so much space ahead of me. At the same time, I was concerned that by moving forward or backward I would block one the driver’s trying to get out so I  stayed put.

Again, the honk came. Rather than be reactive and full on frustrated, I sought to find out what was going on. As I looked around, I observed in my blind spot on my left side a vehicle inches from my back bumper. As I had been focusing on the right side of my car, I had not been paying attention to the left. Unaware and unbeknownst to me, this driver was exiting on my left and with very little room to get out, they were pinned in unless I moved. It was a tender mercy that the driver honking at me saw what was happening and alerted me. My slight annoyance turned to gratitude.

When have you become aware of an impending concern—about to get hit, a flat tire, gas tank lid left open, driving off with items on top of your car or trunk still open after loading groceries, etc—because someone honked at you?

tendermercym♥ments~jld

“How have you noticed Heavenly Father’s awareness and mindfulness of you today?”

*If you would like to receive an email when new posts are published, please send your name and email address to tendermercymoments@gmail.com.*

Why This Popcorn?

While strolling through the aisles at Sam’s Club, I came across a new brand of popcorn. I felt impressed to get a bag of Black & White Drizzlecorn although I was uncertain as to why I was getting it. After making my purchases and exiting the store, I observed a homeless man and his dog sitting against the wall of the store. As I was putting my groceries in the car, I felt prompted that I should give him something I had just bought. I wasn’t sure what until I saw the popcorn and knew right away that was it. When I took it over to him, the bag was facing the backside. He turned it around and as as soon as he saw the front, he smiled and said thank you.

I didn’t know at the time why I was getting the popcorn, but came to learn later the reason. It was a tender mercy that even though it did not make sense to me to add something to my cart I wasn’t really wanting, I followed the impression and realized it was meant for him.

When have you felt impressed to purchase something you didn’t plan on getting and you learned later that it was meant to bless the life of another?

tendermercym♥ments~jld

“How have you noticed Heavenly Father’s awareness and mindfulness of you today?”

*If you would like to receive an email when new posts are published, please send your name and email address to tendermercymoments@gmail.com.*

Free Children’s Songbook

I do not frequent Facebook constantly. Several days, here and there, can go by before I get on and look through specific pages I like and follow. Early one evening as I began browsing through recent posts, I saw a free children’s songbook. The illustration on the front cover caught my eye and I was interested, however, initially I scrolled passed it. Minutes later, I came back to it again. I really wanted it and I was certain if I didn’t speak up right away, it would be gone. I responded immediately that I’d love it. Shortly after, I saw a confirmation message that it was available for me to pick up. I was thrilled! There are times I am timid and hesitate to ask for something I really want, but today I did not give myself the chance to pass it up and I am so grateful I did not. I was happy I happened to be on Facebook at the right time to see it less than 1 hour after it was posted.

I love the artwork and I enjoy hearing my children play the piano. Every once in a long while, I’ll sit down myself and attempt to play simple songs. I was grateful to be a recipient of something I value very much—beautiful art and peaceful music, a blessing and a treasure.

When have you jumped at an opportunity you came across to receive a free gift you really wanted and you were happy you got it?

tendermercym♥ments~jld