"Nothing happens just because we are aware of modern-day slavery, but nothing will EVER happen until we are." Today is #enditmovement day.  Draw a red X on your hand and when people look or ask tell them about the 27 million modern slaves in the world today.  Be their voice since theirs has been silenced. It's not the only kind of awareness day. Another one is coming up on March 22, World Water Day.  We have AIDS awareness days, Earth Day, etc. A friend came  to  me this morning and said she needed to discuss this whole red X thing.  "What good does it do? Doesn't it just show people enslaved that we can draw red X's on our hands and post them on Facebook?"  I've heard it before. And it's a legit question to ask - how do you choose what awareness movements to be a part of so that something like Koni2012 doesn't happen again? (It's the first one that came to mind)  Which ones are legit and which ones are just meant to cause a bunch of hy

Today I was listening to a favorite artist of mine, Melanie Penn , who happens to sing a favorite song of mine, Ordinary Day.  (Video below)  I love the song because it's about the Holy Spirit but you don't quite know that at first listen. Anyway, I was listening to the song this morning and reflecting on the Holy Spirit and realizing how grateful I am for him in my life.  I am grateful for the guidance, the discernment, the warning the Holy Spirit provides me.  I have relied on him to be my internal compass in my life and have yet to be directed wrong when I have heeded his direction.  I love Penn's description of the Holy Spirit as he dances throughout our days and makes his presence known in a "million" different ways.  It reminds me to be more aware of his presence in my days because he is there.

It's weird looking, kinda gross, but so fascinating all at the same time!  And it works, amazingly well.  I am speaking of the Neti Pot.  My mother made me try it in the Fall when I got SO sick I had to call into work two days! I never get that sick. I was miserable. She made me do it (see how I still obey my Mama?! *wink*).  And it definitely helped.  Quite a bit.  Then this past weekend the youngest redhead got hit hard and I went and bought a Neti Pot and made her do it three times a day and guess what? In her words, "That works miracles." She was feeling so much better after a consistent dosage of Umcka and Neti Pot that I know that kinda gross, very weird, but extremely fascinating thing works.  And I'm grateful for it, it's helping get us better quicker!

I am always grateful when I can drive home from work while it is still light out.  There's something so different about arriving home at 5:45 pm with light still in the sky rather than at the same time with it pitch black.  It affects my energy levels, probably my moods *grin*, my outlook on what I can get accomplished on a weeknight. Maybe that sounds weird but I've been noticing the differences as the skies have stayed lighter the past week or two.  So today when I arrived home at 5:30 pm and it was still light out I felt...good, peaceful, like I had space in my evening before I had to go to bed.  Am I the only one who feels the difference or are there others out there who are also grateful for the longer days? ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ So I'm halfway through the most recent installment of the 365 Experiment.  This one has been, by far, the hardest. I tried really hard not to use up all the "givens" in

I went grocery shopping today.  I kinda hate grocery shopping. I hate putting together a list and the putting away of the groceries. The actual shopping itself I am indifferent to.  But really, for all my whining about it, I am grateful for it because it means that I can.  It means that we have enough of an income that grocery shopping is possible, it means that we have enough that I can have options and choices for our meals.  So I whine about it, I complain about it, I dread it but really I am grateful for the opportunity to do so.

What in the world, you may be asking, is a "Make a Move" event? Well it's something I initiated a couple of years ago, inspired by my friend Lori.  Basically we send out an invite for people to join us in assembling "blessing" bags for the homeless. We fill gallon sized Ziploc bags with hygiene items, socks, non-perishable food items, and my hub and I add in Subway gift cards.  We send out a list of what we are looking for, we take donations and buy suggested items with those donations, and then we take an hour on a designated Saturday and make up as many bags for men, women, and even children that we can.  It's AWESOME. Piles of socks, piles of razors, stacks of granola bars and tuna kits, full size bottles of soaps, travel sized bottles of soaps, piles of toothbrushes and toothpaste, etc.  And in about 30 minutes we can deplete those piles and stacks and make these bags up! I keep some of the bags in my car and look for opportunities to hand them out.  In

So this is a Gratitude Attitude that is focused on taking something that makes me grumble and complain and finding a reason to be grateful for it.  (That's called making some lemonade people.) I really hate the wind.  And today it is bad. It is cold, harsh, unrelenting. Oh I can't stand it. BUT it provides me the perfect opportunity to turn that complaint into gratitude.  So I did the first thing I could think of. I Googled "what does wind do for us" and here's what I discovered.  Wind can cool me off on a hot day (as long as the wind itself isn't hot...oh wait...I'm supposed to be positive), it provides energy that in turn creates electricity, it makes the leaves on trees sing a song, wind can blow away pollution, a Chinook wind can melt blizzard snows and usher in warmer weather.  That's about all I can come up with, turns out Google's entries weren't all that helpful to me.  But I like the song trees sing with the wind as their conductor

I'm grateful for the Huffington Post. I know.  Today's Gratitude Attitude seems either 1) a cop out or 2) lame.  But it's my blog* and what makes me grateful so today it is the Huffington Post! (And it's kind of a cop out but I truly am grateful for it so it's only a partial cop out!)  The reason I am grateful for the Huff Post (that's what the cool kids call it) is because they publish short, easy to read, and very thought provoking articles.  For example, this one from a few days ago. I love it! Right up my alley. Oftentimes the articles Huff Post publishes are great jumping off points for me - they help extend or deepen a conversation, provide a challenge to my set way of thinking, affirm a theory I had about something (hello Introverts! *wink*), or just provide a good laugh. Check 'em out if you haven't and maybe you'll find you are grateful for Huffington Post as well! * I know I said yesterday that I tried not to make my minutes, hours, and

This afternoon I was talking with someone and as I listened to the story being told I suddenly felt grateful that *it* isn't all about me.   I'm better off when my minutes, hours, and days aren't all about me - when I can focus on others and their needs, hearts, etc.  When I do make things all about me I am frankly quite miserable. And don't misunderstand me, when it comes to taking care of myself - physically and emotionally - there is an element of it having to be all about me but overall in my days I really want it to be about others. I trust my Creator to take care of my needs (and usually he does it through someone else who isn't focused on themselves so see how it's a circle? Not a vicious one but a rather lovely one). So today I'm feeling grateful for the times when I can let go of some crazy insecure need for things to be all about me and I can make *it* all about others.

I've discussed extroverts and introverts before. (Click here and here for a couple of posts about the differences.)  And I just finished reading a book about the power of introverts in an extroverted world (well North America at the very least).  And reading the book explained a few more things about me (I'm an introvert) but it made me grateful for extroverts.  I need extroverts in my life to stretch me a little bit, to keep me engaged in life - otherwise I tend to hole up in a self-made cave with a good book or a good show. I need extroverts to show me that I can take risks, I can engage in belly laughing, I can assert myself when I know I have a good suggestion or idea. So while I am grateful for being an introvert (and I am glad to be one) I am also very grateful for extroverts, they provide me balance.

I was thinking this morning about fingerprints. They are fascinating if you stop and think about them! Nobody has the fingerprints you do, our fingerprints set us apart as unique.  I bet people who have been unfairly accused are grateful for fingerprints as well that can prove their innocence, fingerprints don't lie.  I'm grateful for something so unique to me and to you, something that identifies each of us as special and truly one-of-a-kind.

Today I put recent family, immediate and extended, pictures in frames I had bought for the very purpose of said pictures.  I love pictures of people that I love.  I'm grateful for them because they serve as a reminder to me of what's really important at the end of the day. I look at their faces and I recall that they love me and that's a good feeling.  I'm so grateful for the technology available to capture the smiles of people I love.  I think about those who I love that have passed on and because of pictures I have the memory of their smile forever.  And I'm grateful for pictures that capture the smiles of people I love and are still with us but miles separate us.

I'm grateful for the gift of free will.  Sure it would be easier in some ways if we just did what we were told - no moral dilemma, no vacillating, no concern for outcome since it would be out of our control.  But free will is a gift because it ensures we aren't robots, that we get to make mistakes and make victories.  It ensures that when we choose faith or not that it is our choice and we weren't forced into anything.  It gives us a chance to navigate the mountains and valleys of self-discipline, choices, conflict, etc. I'm grateful that I have been gifted with free will by the author of my life, that he doesn't want me to serve him because I am forced to but because I choose to.    

I know.  It's SO obvious that today's Gratitude Attitude is love.  But I can't help it! I did reflect on love this morning and I AM grateful for the many different kinds of love that exist.  All the different loves enrich our lives (if we allow them to) and help mold us into people who have capacity for great love. So many different types of love hit me upon reflection this morning. The love of a parent.  14 years ago our second child was born on this day, she is our forever valentine! And that love has only grown over the 14 years of her life.  It's a fierce love, a soft love, a concerned love, and even a love that has a healthy fear within it.  (Btw, I have that same kind of love for our firstborn as well.) The love of a spouse.  It's a different love now than it was 19 years ago. The love of a spouse is more choice based than feeling based.  (Sputter and deny all you want but then think.  Think carefully.  I'm right aren't I?) The love within a marria

I was thinking about principles earlier this morning.  Like the one, "Less is more."  And less IS more 99% of the time. (In the case of clothing more is better, just sayin'.)  I'm grateful for principles, those little pithy phrases that influence my choices.  I'm wondering what other one(s) I may use as often as I do "less is more" and I'm not sure if there is another I quote, and live by, as much. The principle of "less is more" has guided my life in several areas, it has shone a light on dark corners in my life, it has taught me a lot about the value of simplicity, streamlining, etc. It's truly a principle in my life and I'm ever so grateful for those! What about you? What principle has influenced your life?

I'm grateful for the little, simple things that happen daily that when added together stir up that grateful feeling - you know what I'm talking about it? For example, lots of little things happen throughout my days (and yours too) that we don't generally take note of, we kind of just let them pass by without acknowledging them.  But at the end of the day if any reflection happens usually all those little things add up and prompt this feeling of gratitude that can't really be described or defined.  Today the simple thing that stirred it up for me was getting my car washed.  I know right? Sounds so silly and simple! But it made a world of difference to me and stirred me up to be grateful.  I'm telling you, it's the simple things that go unnoticed.

I'm grateful for goals.  They keep me moving forward (or if I'm honest they keep me thinking about moving forward.  *grin*)  But I do appreciate the motivation they can give me.  Goals have been tough for this Type A chick to get her head wrapped around.  I have a tendency to take them to one extreme or another.  As I've gotten older I have been trying to learn the balance of having goals, I'm getting there - I have by no means arrived but I'm getting there.  Goals I've been working on lately include walking 1000 miles in 2014 (thanks to my friend Sherry for this idea and for breaking it down into realistic numbers!) and trying to drink at least an equal amount of water per day that I drink of other things.  What about you?  How are you grateful for goals?

Confess.  You clicked on this post because of the title didn't you?  :)  It is intriguing I admit.  In truth, I couldn't figure out exactly how to word it so there it is - the post is forever stuck with the odd title. Here's what I mean by it: I am grateful for the security I have about myself at my core.  Sometimes on the surface I'm not so secure in me and who I am, but I always am at the core and when the surface times pop up I rely on my core to remind all of me that I am secure in who I am.  I realize this periodically when things like the following example happen. I wasn't invited to something that mutual friends of mine were invited to.  I didn't really think too much about it until a friend came to me and explained why I wasn't invited.  You know what? It didn't have all that much to do with me and I understood.  I got it and wasn't bothered in the least. Even if it did have to do with me I would have been okay because the reality is - we

I'm grateful that I have been learning to say "no" in the past few years.  And honestly, those in my day to day life should be grateful that I have also learned how to say "no."  Learning to say "no" to some things and not "yes" to everything has done wonders for my sanity, for the sanity of my family (I think!), and for my overall health and well-being.  Saying "yes" but then being resentful and bitter about it doesn't do anyone any good. But being honest and saying "no" and being free from guilt about saying "no" does a world of good. Sometimes I would say "yes" because I had a reputation of being everyone's "yes" person to uphold. Sometimes I would say "yes" because I was guilted into it by people who didn't really care about me, just about themselves.  Sometimes I would say "yes" because certain circles of influence told me that it was the "right"

I'm currently reading an amazing book. The Gifts of Imperfection: Let Go of Who You Think You're Supposed to Be and Embrace Who You Are. Your Guide To A Wholehearted Life by  Brené Brown I highly recommend it.  In part of the book she speaks about Gratitude Attitudes and since I'm in the midst of a 365 on Gratitude Attitudes I wanted to share a part of what she says about them and the practice of Gratitude. "For years, I subscribed to the notion of an 'attitude of gratitude.'  I've since learned that an attitude is an orientation or a way of thinking and that 'having an attitude' doesn't always translate to a behavior....So, what does a gratitude practice look like?  The folks I interviewed talked about keeping gratitude journals, doing daily gratitude meditations or prayers, creating gratitude art, and even stopping during their stressful, busy days to actually say these words out loud: 'I am grateful for...'  When the Wholehearted t

Today I'm grateful for Excedrin Migraine because my migraine responded to it.  I haven't had a headache like today's in a couple of months at least and it hit me like a Mack truck.  But the Excedrin Migraine took the edge off and eventually calmed it down enough that I feel fragile but not like my head is going to explode and cause a mess. ;)

Weird right?  But I am grateful for bananas.  I love them.  A co-worker and I were talking about them at work today and how perfect they are.  They are considered one of the perfect foods and we love them. And then I saw this article and now I'm even MORE grateful for this food!

I was thinking today about the little bit of traveling I have been fortunate enough to do and how it wouldn't have as easy (or possible) without a passport. I'm grateful for my passport!  I'm grateful that this little blue book that has a picture of me and my info tells other people in other countries that I am okay to pass in and out of their country. I'm grateful that this little blue book is a record of the places I have been blessed to visit thus far. I'm grateful that my passport would gain me security and refuge, should I ever need it, when traveling out of country at the US Embassy. And I'm grateful that my passport has represented to me and expanding world view for as I travel different places and experience different cultures I expand.

The redheads and I had a snow day today.  At first I thought to myself, "YES! Reading all day long, ahhhhhhhhh."  And then I remembered I had made some special project lists a couple of weeks back.  Big projects, small projects, in between projects.  And, despite my desire to devour a few books today, I hauled myself up off the couch and recruited my redheads and tackled a few projects.  And I feel SO good!  We got quite a bit done for what we tackled and I'm sitting here tonight feeling grateful for the snow day that gave me space to get a few projects done. No, the floors didn't get mopped like I would have wanted but I gathered a huge bag full of coats still in good condition to donate to the rescue mission, I am hosting a book giveaway (check it out on my Facebook page!), and filled up a couple of bags for Goodwill. I wouldn't mind a couple of more snow days.  My list is long.  *grin*

Today I realized I was grateful for healthy fear.  You know what I mean?  The kind of fear that keeps you just enough cautious, alert, sober minded when the circumstance calls for it.  Like driving on roads that are horrible due to polar vortex weather*. That's just an example off the top of my head. :) But in all seriousness healthy fear is something I am grateful for because it keeps me thinking clearly, it gives me a focus when one is needed, it puts into me a necessary amount of sobriety (of spirit people, sheesh! haha) that the circumstance requires.  And because of healthy fear I'm apt to make wiser decisions in the critical moments. What about you?  Have you ever thought about being grateful for healthy fear before? * Sidenote: Remember when this same kind of weather was called El Nino?  *wink*

Tomorrow is my Mama's birthday.  I know I've already said I was grateful for my parents but I wanted to single out my Mama (don't worry - Daddy gets his turn too!) in honor of her birthday.  I'm so grateful for my Mom.  She is one of my dearest friends in addition to being the woman who birthed me and raised me.  I'm grateful I get to live in the same area as her, see her almost every weekday morning, have my children know her, watch her pour out herself in acts of service in our community.  She's awesome. We've been through some stuff together - she and I (ask me some of our stories, I'm happy to share!) - and we've come out on the other side of them stronger individually and together. My Mom loves Jesus, loves to play games (especially card ones!), quilts, taught me how to love reading, is super involved in ALL of her grandkids lives, and on and on and on. She's a special woman, I love her and I'm so grateful for her.

I should think this Gratitude Attitude goes without saying for most anyone!  I am immensely grateful for the self-clean feature on my oven.  If it ever "dies" I am fixing it or doing whatever it takes to get it working again.  It saves me time, sore arms, and frustration.

My Mama makes quilts and I can confidently say that not only am I grateful for them but so are my other family members.  She's made quilts for us all - even her Grand-dog!  She puts a lot of thought into them and each of them were pieced and sewn with love.  I'm grateful for these tangible shows of love.