Fall Break Blessings

I've been writing down my blessings for some time now. Something amazing seems to happen when you're on the lookout for everyday blessings. It can be so easy to take those blessings for granted but when you write them down, it really does make a difference. You develop a heart of gratitude which is pleasing to the Lord.

My pastor preached a sermon on contentment yesterday.

 He had us read from Philippians 4:4-7 (NLT):

"Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." (emphasis mine)

Today was the last day of a one week break I had from work. So I chose to take a long walk through my neighborhood. The weather is beautiful and I wasn't rushed. I took my camera along.  I enjoyed the sounds of the birds chirping and catching glimpses of Camelback Mountain. I think I'll try to do this on a regular basis since it felt so good.

During this fall break, I determined to spend my time writing. As some of you may know, I've been working on a book for almost two years now. You'd think I'd be finished ...but I'm not. So I didn't make plans and instead spent hours pouring over my journals to get my stories straight. I am sharing lessons I learned from the dying about life. I wrote pages and pages and I hope to complete it by the end of the year.  I had moments of laughter, sadness and a few tears as I remembered each person I am including.

However, I did make time for a coffee break one morning so I could meet with Heidi. We worked together for four school years and made quite a team. She left at the end of last school year to work with her husband in his business. I miss talking with her every day so of course, we had to catch up.

(Btw, I work with a wonderful teacher this year named Mandie. She is so much fun and we get along wonderfully too.)

As Heidi and I sat outside Paradise Bakery, another dear friend just happened to be stopping to pick up a cup of coffee before work. What a blessing to see Marcia! We used to get to spend lots of time together but work and lack of time has interfered. I just need to stretch my time I guess.

So many blessings for which I can be thankful!

#1093 Beautiful weather in Phoenix
#1094 Uninterrupted time to write
#1095 A special encouragement from an author I admire about writing one page at a time (thank you Bonnie)
#1096 Feeling inspired and disciplined in my writing
#1097 Reminding myself that not everyone will love what I write and that's OK
#1098 Coffee time with a friend
#1099 Unexpected meeting with another friend
#1100 Baking bread with my husband
#1101 Talking on the phone with my good friend Helen for almost an hour
#1102 Thankful for Theresa who accompanies me to church each week
#1103 Amazing new 3D mascara that really makes my eyes pop (from a company called Younique through my blogging friend Jill)

It can be so easy to focus on what's wrong or needs lots of improvement. Although I don't ignore those areas in my life, I make a daily choice to remember to focus on the blessings.


So how about you? Will you make the choice to count your everyday blessings?

Blessings and love,