Tag: faith

Thankful Thursday (episode 4)

I didn’t do very well with keeping my gratitude list this week. Maybe this is the reason that I have been feeling so down…? And while I could beat myself up and focus on my shortcoming (and this would be my tendency), I’m going to choose to be grateful for God’s amazing grace and understanding. He knows that I struggled this week, but He loves me the same. And a new week is ahead of me – a new chance to focus on things to be thankful for. 🙂

Here are just a few things that I recorded, for which I am grateful:

  1. Getting me through work even though I was really tired. God did that just about every day this week – for some reason the sleep I got and the coffee I drank were not enough…but God helped me.
  2. That our dog, Daisy, is okay. She has had an upset stomach, so we took her to the vet. They gave us some medicine for her and told us to put her on a bland diet for a week or so. But they couldn’t find anything major wrong with her during her examination. We’re praying she feels better soon!
  3. The opportunity to write. I am SO blessed to be able to share my heart and to know that there are people out there who read and understand…and care.
  4. Safety. I take it for granted so often. Every time I get in the car and drive somewhere, there is the possibility of an accident. But God has chosen to keep me safe, and I praise Him.
  5. That nothing terribly bad happened this week. Okay, so maybe I didn’t do a good job at keeping my gratitude list…but one thing I can be grateful for is that God didn’t allow anything horrible to happen over the past few days. Now if it did, He would still be God and He would still be good – and I would have to respond in a way that pleases Him. But He was gracious and gave us a fairly good week, and for this I am thankful.

That’s it for this week! Thanks so much for reading, and I would appreciate prayers for increased consistency in recording the many blessings He sends, as well as keeping a positive perspective. ❤

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Photos by: Crystal Knauss

When Things Come Unravelled

What causes me to unravel?

That’s a great question! And a question that I have never really asked myself before. So now is as good a time as ever! 🙂 Here are some things that induce a melt-down…or a mini-meltdown.

  1. Situations where I’m among a large crowd of people (okay, so even a semi-large crowd is difficult for me). This causes me a lot of anxiety.
  2. When I’ve lost something and have looked everywhere I can think of for it, but still can’t find it.
  3. Incorrect grammar. Okay, so maybe it doesn’t cause me to unravel, as I know I use incorrect grammar myself sometimes. But it bugs me. 😉
  4. Not getting enough sleep. It’s so hard to face the day when you tossed and turned the night before.
  5. Not “matching.” If I’m wearing black pants, I need to wear black shoes and carry a black purse to match.
  6. Something not being finished. Whether it be a thought, a blog post I’m writing, a conversation, a task I was working on…it bothers me to not have things completed.
  7. Hot and humid weather. Ugh! I’m a mild weather kind of girl – I like the Spring and the Fall. But when it’s hot and muggy and sweat is rolling down my back? Yeah, I’m done.
  8. When someone I love is hurting. This is a big one. I can’t stand it when a family member or friend is experiencing a really difficult time. Especially when I can’t do much to help!
  9. Decisions. Big or small, I struggle with them all.
  10. When I do something that I shouldn’t have done…like sleep all morning. I tend to beat myself up and it spirals downward.

So those are some of the things that cause me to unravel. What causes YOU to unravel? And what (or who) helps to bring you back to sanity?

I’m grateful for a God and for family and friends who point me back in the right direction. ❤

What Do I Value?

What are the things that I value in life? I was prompted to ask myself this question by one of Janine Ripper’s 23 Insightful Journal Prompts for Self-Reflection.

There are many things that I value, many attributes that are at the core of who I am and who I want to be. But I have listed 5 of my most important values below. I hope that they can be an encouragement to you, and also a reminder to me of those things that truly matter to me in my life.

  1. Faith. I want to love and trust God with all of my heart. I feel like sometimes I do that, and other times I do not. I can let things get in between us – like excessive sleep, a worry that I obsess over, or not being obedient to something the Lord wants me to do. But overall I think I’m trying my best, and I know God sees that. He is gracious, and He will give me the strength to continue to walk with Him through the difficult (and the enjoyable) times.
  2. Empathy (this encompasses love and compassion). I feel that it is very important to try to understand what other people are going through. Sometimes they may be going through a situation that I have never experienced before – and that is difficult because it’s hard to put myself “in their shoes.” But I can listen, and I can be a support to them in their trial. Other times people may be going through a situation that I have also experienced (such as depression or anxiety). That is when I can share with them my sorrows and my joys and all that God is teaching me through them.
  3. Grace. This one I struggle with. I have a hard time being gracious with myself when I mess up (that is my perfectionism rearing it’s ugly head). Because of that, I also have a difficult time being gracious with other people when I feel that they have made a mistake. But here my first value (faith) can help, because I need to remind myself that God is forgiving and gracious towards me, and also rely on Him for the strength to be gracious towards those around me. I know that I can do this with His help!
  4. Honesty. It’s important to me to be honest with myself and with others about who I really am. I find it freeing to share the things that I struggle with and to be open about my flaws. Often this is an encouragement to others to open up about their own shortcomings. By being honest, I can develop strong relationships and have more of an impact on the people around me.
  5. Gratitude (includes positivity). This is something that had been lacking in my life for a while. I was always focused on the negative – always lingering on the less-than-perfect events that occurred. But recently God has been showing me how to find good in the bad…how to be thankful for the little things. It doesn’t come easily to me, but I know that the Lord will continue to help me grow into a person who has a positive perspective in life.

So what did you think of the values I listed? What are 5 of the things that YOU value most?