Make gratitude bloom...

I clipped a little branch off of a tree.  It was covered with tightly closed buds.  I brought it indoors and set it in a little vase with some water.  There it sat on my kitchen counter looking like an ugly stick.  But, I had hope that with the right warm environment that little branch would think that spring had already arrived.  This morning I stumbled groggily into the kitchen for my morning coffee and was delighted to see that that ugly little branch had blossomed into something beautiful.

Life can give us plenty of reasons to be ungrateful.  There is always something negative in our life or circumstances that we can focus on.  Choosing to focus instead on all of the things there are to be thankful for is similar to forcing paper whites to bloom at Christmastime or a branch of buds to bloom weeks before it's really spring.  The more we focus on our blessings instead of life's negatives,  the more a grateful spirit blooms in our life.  It's easy to have a hard, bitter, and ungrateful attitude, but a grateful mind and heart is a thing of beauty that lifts the spirit of not just yourself, but those around you.

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Since 2009 I've been counting my blessings thanks to the prompting of Ann Voskamp.

 I continue to count my thanks

piling up gratitude day by day

in my journal.

(and capturing some of my blessings via my camera or iPhone)

(I'm posting two weeks of my gratitude journal today since my husband and I were out of town last week.)

#10,698-#10,739

1-29-18-

-my daughter, (the one who was hit by a pickup while out jogging), 

getting some answers about her injuries from a new team of doctors

-time with our grandson

-making homemade chicken ramen for the grandkids

1-30-18-

-starting Thessalonians with She Reads Truth

-signs of spring popping up already

-dinner and study with our small group

1-31-18-

-a huge beautiful hawk landing in a tree right next to the road just as I drove by

-a little visit with my oldest daughter and her girlies before her trip to Rwanda

-youngest grandson and his "chicklet" teeth and sweet giggles

2-1-18-

-February!

-a quiet morning 

-a good talk with our oldest grandson

2-2-18-

-I slept til seven! 

-bacon, eggs and paleo pancakes

-family groups texts as our oldest daughter boards her flight to Rwanda

2-3-18-

-daffodils already in bloom!

-frogs "singing" in our backyard

-a text from our girl that she safely arrived in Rwanda

2-4-18-

-a sweet time of worship focused on the name of Jesus

-water baptisms!

-watching the Super Bowl with our kids and grandkids

2-5-18-

-a safe flight to Kansas City

-our three year old grandson's new fascination with the story of David and Goliath

-lots of laughter with my guy

2-6-18-

-a great morning in the prayer room

-video of our daughter meeting the little Rwandan boy she sponsors and his family

-this time away of rest and refreshing  for my husband and I 

2-7-18-

-cold weather and blue, blue skies

-Jesus' blood shed for me and His body broken for me

-the lady who works in the bookstore praying for us

2-8-18-

-a wonderful lunch break and walk around the Plaza after a morning in the prayer room

-this time away together

-our small group's prayers for us and our family

2-9-18-

-safe travels home

-happy news of a new baby girl on the way for our sweet Truelife Espanol pastors

-the comfort of our own bed and own home

2-10-18-

-God's presence here at home having my devotions just like He is at church or in the prayer room

-spending the afternoon with our two youngest granddaughters

-dinner at our daughter's house

2-11-18-

-God's Word changing lives

-getting to see all six grandkids since we got home from our trip

-reading a favorite book to our youngest grandsons

still following,