Praise the Lord!
For he has heard my cry for mercy.
The Lord is my strength and shield.
I trust him with all my heart.
He helps me, and my heart is filled with joy.
I burst out in songs of thanksgiving.
Psalm 28:6–7
What is on your list of blessings today?
We want you to know that we are thankful for you…
our friends and family who visit us here and encourage us with your comments.
We thank God for you!
Turns out the shape of happiness is a U.
According to an article in this month’s Atlantic, our happiness levels have a U shape over the course of our lives: higher in our twenties, lower during midlife, and rising again in our late 50’s and early 60’s. The What struck me as I read the article was story after story of people struggling with happiness in midlife because life hadn’t turned out like they thought it would. They hadn’t advanced in their careers or written the great American novel. They had divorced, their children were struggling, or they were caring for aging parents.
“O LORD, my heart is not lifted up;
my eyes are not raised too high;
I do not occupy myself with things
too great and too marvelous for me.” ~ Psalm 131:1
Here we are, approaching fast the end of another year. The days that spread out from September through December are like scattered stones thrown out numerous, until the crisp air beckons scarves for our necks, and the falling leaves remind us that another year is almost past. The pace of our routines and return to order, after Summer, make way for new beginnings and sometimes endings. Between the school, sports and activities schedules we find ourselves carried through noisy, boisterous, busy days, and these too are gifts.
When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers,
The moon and the stars, which You have ordained,
What is man that You are mindful of him,and the son of man that You visit him?
For You have made him a little lower than the angels,
And You have crowned him with glory and honor.
~ Psalm 8:3-5
I remember a day the sky was so blue it took my breath away, the sunrise so pink I could only stand in awe. The stars that night twinkled brighter than ever a night before, or so it seemed as I gazed enthralled by God’s awesome creation.
November is a month of thankfulness.
All over social media, we see people expressing gratitude for things in their lives. In early November the posts read along the lines of,
“I’m thankful for a warm house, clean clothes, and food on the table.”
As the month goes on, I’ve noticed an interesting trend: the focus narrows. A 30-day gratefulness challenge causes participants to look beyond the obvious and find the more obscure gifts in life.
A random kindness.
A good night’s sleep.
A warm cup of tea.
An attitude of gratitude benefits us in many ways. First and foremost, a grateful mindset honors the Lord.
I am in recovery, and my children helped restore my joy. I love that they do that for me. That may be one of my blessings as a Mid-Life Mama (you raise them, and if you are blessed, they raise you back). Welcome to my spiritual recovery. I mean no disrespect; I have immense regard for people who have fought demons and overcome addictions, but that is not this story. I am in recovery from the dangerous notion that I was ever in control of my life. I am in recovery.
I am walking out of the wilderness that was my life for the last several years.
Let us be grateful to the people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.”
― Marcel Proust
As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them. – John F. Kennedy
Every time you cross my mind, I break out in exclamations of thanks to God. Each exclamation is a trigger to prayer. I find myself praying for you with a glad heart. – Philippians 1 : 3-4 The Message
Wisdom waits. In my twenties, expressions of gratitude were measured by feelings of satisfaction with my life and goals.
It is Sunday morning and I am looking out my big windows at the way the sun is hitting the trees behind my house. From here you’d never know that there is a brisk snap in the air as we slide from autumn and into winter. Even as the leaves are slowly shifting from green to yellow, I am still grieving the end of summer and my daily swims out there beneath the trees.
I am becoming an expert on those particular leaves because today is my 5th day of riding this couch with a flu bug. (“Riding” is really not the right word though.