"...give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."
1 Thessalonians 5:18

Today I count these blessings:

1. Time to work outside in the sun
2. A visit from a new family yesterday
3. Soft soil to plant in
4. God winks
5. It's almost Sunday

Tough times call for Counting Blessings

I've been wanting to write lately, but I've had a hard time focusing. Finally it occurred to me that maybe if I remind myself of the good going on amidst all the negative that it might help me see what it is that I'm trying figure out. So, simply, I'm going to list a few things that I am grateful for tonight.

1. Lunch with my dad today
2. Snugly puppy
3. It snowed this morning
4. Sweet thank you ecard from a friend
5. God's ability to use all of us, as sinners, for His good
6. Encouragement from two friends
7. Tomorrow is a new day

"Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up." ~James 4:10

...preparing for lift off Lord! :)

Season of Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving blessings! :)

In honor of this Thanksgiving weekend I am simply going to recount my blessings here:

1. My dear husband
2. Stable, and mostly fun job
3. Loving and supportive family
4. Thoughtful friends
5. Almost a year in our first home
6. Silly puppy
7. 10 pounds lost and counting
8. God's love and mercy
9. Renewed interest in cooking and menu planning
10. Awareness of the small blessings, and hope for future blessings.

I hope your Thanksgiving revealed the things you are grateful for in plenty. Feel free to post the things you gave thanks for this weekend.

Even Mondays have blessings

I know sometimes Monday's can seem daunting, especially for a work week, but even Mondays have blessings to count. Although, sometimes it is sort of relieving when a Monday is "survived" and the light of Tuesday is around the corner. Mondays are like ripping off the band aid, a bittersweet beginning to the week. Mondays mark the end of the weekend, but they also offer the availability of time left in the week to be productive and prepare for another weekend. :)

Here are the blessings I count tonight:

1. Spur of the moment dinner plans with friends and fun kids.
2. I'm feeling much better with my sinus bug/allergy thing of late.
3. My puppy snuggled all cozy this morning and the air was crisp and chilly.
4. A dear friend helped me AGAIN to complete a project I began.
5. My new lifestyle continues to be rewarding and I'm finding renewed energy and a positive outlook as a result.
6. God forgives if you ask nicely. :)

Happy Tuesday!

Making my way through...

I have not forgotten my 'post' responsibilities, but needed time to take care of my life offline. :) I'm beginning to feel renewed, thanks to a few friends and the Word, and felt that today I would finally post...I can't believe it's been over 4 weeks! oops!!

I've discussed before how it seems so much easier to journal privately about negative things I am coping with in life, as opposed to journaling the blessings and positive things that happen everyday. In contrast, I find it harder to blog about negative things, and easier to share the blessings here, which I suppose has to do with my own internal issues (what will people think, etc), but nevertheless, it's good for me, and encouraging to others when I post about blessings in my life.

To begin a new month of posts I would like to list the blessings that have been present in my life, even in the darker times:

1. I am not ever alone, even when it feels that way. I have wonderful, good-hearted, and wise friends, loving family, and a loyal puppy...not to mention a husband that always tries to be supportive, and of course God and His mercy and grace for me.
2. I have a flexible job that allows me to do my work in the peace of my own home, and that is supportive of my personal life's well-being.
3. I am able to read. This may sound sort of simple and plain, but lately I've been realizing I'd be no where if I couldn't read inspiration in the Bible or in other books...let alone positive emails and instant messages from friends who hold me accountable.
4. Even when it's a huge challenge, I am able to see the silver lining, and my faith remains true that there is a plan for my life that will make sense, in the near or far future.
5. I have the luxury to have resources to help me when I'm down.

These might seem vague, and I admit that in writing them even I am still feeling a bit 'exposed' sharing them, but I'm glad to share them and I know they are true. I look forward to sharing more with you and appreciate the couple readers that have asked me 'where I've been' on my blogging... I hope to be back to my blogs more regularly because they are a special outlet for me, that I never realized I needed.

Many blessings!~

10 Things I Love About My Spouse

A friend gave me a list of prompts for journaling or scrapbooking. One of them caught my attention and I thought it would be appropriate to share here, since this blog is about counting my blessings.

10 Things I Love About My Husband...seems like something that most wives would want to brag about often, but in my brief marital experience, the things I love about my husband aren't always the things I talk about instantly. As wives we are advised to not speak poorly of our husbands to others, but so often it seems easier to share the frustrating parts of marriage, rather than the blessings.

So in effort to earn forgiveness for my slight of mouth, I want to share, wholeheartedly (and humbly) the...

10 Things I Love About My Husband:

1. His work ethic ~ I will never have to worry about him not providing for our family. He works to provide for us every day of the week, and rarely complains.
2. His devotion to family, even when he won't admit it.
3. His bright blue eyes and how deeply they look at me.
4. He often is first to say he loves me after we argue.
5. His willingness to help loved ones and friends. He's also a thoughtful and generous tipper.
6. The silly side he only shows me; he makes me laugh!
7. He remembers things I say I'd like and then surprises me with them as gifts for Christmas or my birthday.
8. He dreams big and plans how to achieve his goals.
9. He likes most of my cooking and doesn't complain about meals.
10. He gets mad at me when I get the door for myself.

Actually as I listed I realized I could keep listing more qualities or thoughts about my husband. Instead, I'll save those for another day when I need to remind myself of the blessings God has given me in my husband and through marriage.

Change the tendency to vent about challenges in your marriage and share the blessings instead.
What are 5-10 things you love about your spouse?

Investing talents

I've been reading a wonderfully inspirational book, The True Measure of a Woman, by Lisa Bevere, (buy here through Amazon!) and something in a chapter I just finished finally clicked last night. It referred to 'The Parable of the Talents,' in Matthew 25:14-30.

I was recently persuaded to join MySpace by a couple friends who wanted me to keep in touch online with them there. I began searching old classmates and came across a few that seemed to have made quite a success of their life, achieving their dreams at such a young age and still moving on up. I had a sudden, sinking feeling, like "Wow, I thought I was doing alright, but look at them! They're really doing something!" Comparison, doubt, and jealousy swept over me like a shadow, consuming me for a moment, enough so that I had a hard time seeing through the dark for the blessings that I have. Then it occurred to me:

~God gives us each talents according to what He believes we can achieve with them. He trusts we will have faith in His intentions, enough to maximize the opportunity He provided.

In Matthew 25:14-30, the parable of the servants and the talents Jesus distributed is told. As I understood it, Jesus invested money with three servants, who each received a different amount, and He expected them to have faith in His distribution. Two servants invested their money and doubled the investment, while the last servant, having received the least amount, became skeptical of His intentions and hid the talent so as not to deal with the opportunity he was given. In the end, Jesus came back to "settle accounts" and the first two servants were rewarded for having invested their money wisely and profitable for their Master. The third servant was punished for his lack of faith in his Master, as well as for his ignorance and laziness.

What I learn from this:

By trusting in God's gift, the first two servants were able to make full use of the 'talents' they received, and in the end, they profited not only by investing wisely, but by showing faith in His investment in them. The third servant was punished because he did not see how he could prosper from his Master's money or plans, so he hid it and ignored the potential for reward.

What clicked for me was that God may have given some of my peers greater amounts of 'talents' than given to me, but that I am supposed to make the most of what He has entrusted to me. Further, I will be rewarded as fully as the others who meet their potential for God's investments in them. God gives us the amount of 'talents' which He believes we have the ability to spend wisely and give back to Him in return.

I may be mixing up a bit of the story; I am not a minister, but a woman reading the Word and making sense of the blessings entrusted to me. How much has God given you? When He comes to settle accounts will you be able to prove you spent His investment in you well?

"His master replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!'" ~Matthew 25:23~

Back to the Future

I love the movie, Disney's 'The Kid,' and it prompts me to ask the question:

If you could go back in time and talk to yourself as a kid, what would you tell your kid-self?

I have never been the type to want to do any age over again. Each year is different, yet the same, and full of possibilities to learn and grow, and have more fun than the year before! However, I know that the desire to share our retrospect with our past selves is tempting...impossible, but tempting.

If I could share what I know now with my kid-self, it might go like this:

Kid, stop worrying about the future and enjoy this time with your family and less responsibility. There will be hard times, and wonderful times, and you'll make it through them all. Don't wait to stand up for what you believe in; someday soon you'll be respected for it instead of harassed. You'll become strong, funny, smart...and boys will finally think you are cute! There is no such thing as a perfect person, God is listening, and your parents really are cool (and right!). Oh, and don't be embarrassed when your mom flashes the sign language for "I love you" in front of your friends...just do it back and mean it. It means more to her now, and it will mean more to you later.

And finally, just love life, SMILE, and don't let the bullies, pouts, and poor sports convince you that you shouldn't enjoy the blessings you have been graced with. Be smart! Be brave! Be bold! It all turns out ok, in His plan.

Of course, I may be a little young to be certain of what I would say, and maybe in 20 more years I'll have more I would want to share with my self now, during this present.

Stay young at heart! Your past is not your future...

A Fool Calls it Luck

There are phrases, comments, advice that people give which stand out. Sometimes they are random, sometimes they are relative. Sometimes they are from strangers, acquaintances, friends or loved ones.

I recalled one last night as I was trying to think of what to share here today. A dear friend's husband used to say this when I would wish them good luck:

Luck is a fool's way of labeling God's blessings. What you mean is to wish God's blessings...

I paraphrase, of course, because I didn't note the direct quote at the time. I've heard the concept a few other times since then, but his perspective is the most vivid. While I do still wish good luck, it means more in my heart; there is really no such thing as luck, just God's promise to bless our lives if we have faith in His plan.

God bless!

Have a Good Day!

I was looking for something inspirational to share in today's post and I found the following in my search. The website, Appleseeds.org, looked to have several good articles and lists of motivation and encouragement. Right away, the list below stood out to me. To read the full explanations click the link below. Have a good day!!



10 Ways to Have a Better Day Today
by Geno Stampora

1. Wake up 30 Minutes Early
2. Read, Listen, or Watch Something Uplifting
3. Eat a Good Breakfast to Start You Off Right (oh my mom would LOVE this tip!)
4. Choose Your Winning Attitude
5. Be Aware of What They are Telling You
6. Make the Most of What You Do
7. Always Remember that People are Listening
8. Be Honest and Fair to Others
9. Pace Your Energy to Last All Day
10. Get in Bed Early and Study for the Future (easier said than done it seems, but right on. It includes journaling or reading at bedtime.)

Many blessings!

Week's end challenge

TGIF! As the weekend approaches, challenge yourself to write down at least 5 good things from this passed week...even if one of them is simply that it is finally Friday. :)

Here are my week's blessings:

1. New creative outlet in blogging (aren't you lucky!?)
2. Wild turkeys are helping to turn over my mulch beds (hey, their little feet are better than any rake!)
3. Fall color has already hit a Liquidambar and my Maples (autumn is so close!)
4. I was able to help out a friend who is more than always there for me
5. God keeps testing me and I'm still hanging on

**BONUS: and It's Friday!!!

Have a safe and delightful weekend!

My first blog!

I am interested in sharing ideas on living today's hectic life as a woman who is grateful and content with what she has, as well as optimistic and ambitious about what could be. As wife, daughter, sister, friend, coworker, and someday a mother, I try count the blessings I was given as a woman.

I hope this site will inspire women to remember that they can be bold, while still being innocent, hopeful, while not naive, assertive and intelligent, while listening and learning. I believe there is a balance between strength and submission as a woman that can bring peace, grace, and beauty to the life of The Blessed Woman, or La Donna Benedetta.