As my daddy reminds me even now, “If you don’t exercise your voting right, you have no reason at all to gripe!”

He proudly stood in line this morning with his new voter registration card, following the directions given to him by the election officials on duty.  He carefully completed his ballot and submitted the paper into the machine, listening and watching for its final validation.  He quickly affixed his “I Voted” sticker to his sweater and made his way outside, shaking hands, enjoying the attention, and thanking everyone in our path back to the car (including candidates outside the polls).  He told the gals at one of our favorite local lunch spots to “be sure and vote; your vote is needed.”  He talked during lunch about times he remembered going to the polls with mom, taking me and my sis with them so we could participate as bystanders until the first time we each officially voted.  You see, even in his compromised cognitive state, the need to vote is deeply ingrained in dad.  His parents were part of the greatest generation who lived through the great depression and two world wars, raising and teaching him by example how important it is to invest in the community, the state, the country, and our world.  Voting is an important part of that investment; I’m grateful dad continues to actively demonstrated this at each opportunity.  More importantly, he was given several minutes of attention today to encourage those around him to exercise their own chance to vote. 🙂

Day #11 Question (dedicated on dad’s behalf):  If you had the attention of the world around you for 30 seconds, what would you choose to say?

We may each be just one voice, but in the USA, we are given the opportunity at each election to make our voice heard.  Regardless of your politics, your stance, or your opinion, voting is a response dad and I both gratefully embrace.  Here’s hoping you exercise your opportunity to VOTE, too!

Today is our first year home-iversary in our newly adopted state of North Carolina.  As lifelong Texans , the saying holds true:  You can take the gal outta Texas, but not the Texas outta the gal!  Understandably, there were several adjustments and multiple challenges to a move across country.  Establishing residency in a new state, new/old home with unique systems to operate, new state legal documents, new state laws, new relationships to grow, new community to explore and serve, new traditions to create…new everything…takes patience, determination, and persistence to say the least.  A challenge is, after all, a test, a strain, a stretch…and yes, even a gift of gratefulness (when choosing the right attitude and effort).  🙂

As we reflected on the past year during a recent conversation, the question was posed, “What is one challenge you have overcome in the past year?”  Really?  Where do I start?!?

All cards on the table…if I had to choose just ONE challenge to overcome this past year, it’s simply reminding myself daily about self-care.  This life is a marathon and not a quick sprint.  I’m my own biggest obstacle at least 90% of the time (and will never reveal where I attribute the other 10%), especially when it comes to caring for myself.  Sure; I do medical appointments, personal maintenance, etc.  I’m talking about simply pacing and being kinder to myself physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually while still nurturing everyone and everything around me.  Until now, I never consciously concentrated on this critical need; keeping everyone alive WAS the critical need.  I’m grateful to daily experience gentle ways in the art and science of self-care; it’s also paying off medically too!  So, here’s the same question for you to ponder:

Day #10:  What is ONE challenge you have overcome this year?  

Mindset is a powerful personal tool.  Facing a personal challenge head-on requires attitude and effort from deep within our well.  Focusing on gratefulness allows our well to fill to overflowing in miraculous ways, thus the well never runs dry.  Just remember I’m gratefully working alongside you daily as we overcome our challenges together!

There was a beautiful glass container sitting inconspicuously in our home for many years filled with ideas, thoughts, gratitudes, dreams, and moments of personal JOY.  The original container and unique idea was a precious gift from a soulful friend and colleague who challenged me during my first (of several) cancer treatments to write down ONE grateful thing each day while on the medical journey.  That first year it filled to overflowing in spite of the Big C swirling around us.  I ceremoniously emptied it the final day of treatment after year one, burning the bits of paper to send to another place and time in the great hope my path on that journey was shifting.  Even though it’s a continuous lifelong medical journey going forward (and gratefully dormant as of this writing), I choose to continue filling the jar with new ideas, hopes, thoughts, gratitudes, dreams, and moments of JOY from my experiences.  Interestingly enough, the original jar broke during our move east last year, so I have what could safely be collected back inside a leather journal, a moving gift from the same friend who originally challenged me.

It’s not the container or collection agent so much as what is written or placed inside.  I’m willing to bet it’s been scientifically proven time and again how gratitude and gratefulness help us feel better with less stress and a more positive outlook in all aspects of our lives.  Furthermore, I’d venture to guess when we actually take a moment to write one down, the “cream gravy of awareness is allowed to powerfully soak inside” (as Granny would say) and take over in extraordinary ways.  So here’s your challenge (more than a question) today:

Day #9:  How will you create a way to record your gratefulness for the next 30 days (until Thanksgiving)?

Start easy and small; just start!  Pondering in our heart is important, but writing and seeing something on paper is magical, especially when you go back through them later.  Here’s hoping you create your own jar filled with JOY  in the coming days!  🙂

A beneficial thing for which we are grateful; something bringing well-being or support; a prayer for God’s favor, grace, protection, and intercession…these are all considered blessings. Blessings bring a sense of peace, order, gratitude, and even surprise.  Ironically, the word originates from Old English (bledsian or consecrate with blood), Latin (benedicere–to praise or worship), Middle English (blessen) and Anglo-Saxon (bliss), thus creating what we use today:  bless.

As a southerner, I often hear the phrase: “well, bless your heart…”  While a sweet response in theory, this is not always meant as the kindest remark to receive. My Granny would softly sing me the words, “When you’re weary and you can’t sleep; count blessings instead of sheep; and you’ll fall asleep, counting your blessings…” I grew up singing or saying a blessing at the table before every family meal.  My sweet husband and I still practice a nightly ritual of sharing at least one blessing or gratitude of our day together before sleep.  During a phone conversation just the other day, a prickly friend commented, “well, bless his heart, he just wishes his blessings didn’t come in disguise all the time huh?!”  Of course, this instantly launched me into sharing my perspective on blessings, the ones we receive as well as the ones we gratefully bestow on others.  🙂

I strongly believe blessings abound all around us in everyday life.  From sunrise to sunset, gratefully opening the package of each day allows a new opportunity to enJOY the possibilities hidden inside.  I also hold to the theory a grateful heart has the power to change the ordinary into the extraordinary.  So, here’s your question to ponder:

Day #8:   What is one blessing recently inspiring you?

I challenge us all to never allow a day of life to go by without praising, appreciating, blessing, and being grateful.  As William Arthur Ward gratefully expressed:  “Gratitude can transform common days into thanksgiving, turn routine jobs into joy, and change ordinary possibilities into blessings…”  Be blessed and be a blessing, my friends!

Michigan vs Michigan State (Go, Blue!) on one TV; OU vs TCU (Boomer Sooner!) on second TV; Hallmark Movies & Mysteries on the third… Welcome to a cool, rainy autumn Saturday afternoon.  A steaming pot of homemade chili simmers as I chop condiments and garnishes.  There’s some armchair coaching and quarter-backing taking place near Pop’s TV as the dog naps unconcerned.  St. M flips channels between several college games while running statistics on his Surface and checking his phone for client emails.  Our grandma cat and I have a puzzle, a great book, and a movie series going strong from our little corner (and yes, I’m blogging too).  The washing machine is rotating, the dryer is humming to signal a change, the oven is baking cornbread, so we have nearly every modern electrical piece of equipment in our home in use.  And in this particular moment, we are grateful for these electronic devices and the modern conveniences they provide on this gloomy day of savoring simple tasks.

Fostering a simple daily agenda like today can profoundly rejuvenate, bring new order, and refocus energy for what lies ahead.  The mundane tasks allow the brain to mindlessly rest while we putter about the house.  Thinking about all the devices in use though, my smartphone is the one consistently connecting me with others (especially those daughters of mine on opposite coastlines).  Even sitting in darkness for long periods of time during two recent hurricanes, the ability to quickly message my family/friends was powerfully reassuring.  So, here’s your question to ponder today:

Day #7:  What electronic device are you most grateful for, and what does it add to your life?

Here’s hoping you have a sublime Saturday of savoring your own simple tasks. 🙂

What I adore and am most grateful for about my unusual life is the pure adventure of it.  Seriously, it’s like the Texas (and now NC) weather; if you don’t like what’s happening, just wait five minutes ’cause it will change!

A year ago today marks one of the biggest adventures of our married life; a huge leap of faith, hope, and love working together making a new dream come true. We felt called and thus allowed ourselves the opportunity and freedom to make it happen, quickly moving forward without looking back.  It was exciting, messy, fun, unpredictable, and so much more; in fact, it still is.  Selling the home we built to raise our daughters, purging and packing up 30+ years of life together, and road-tripping halfway across the country with our grandma cat in a stuffed Subaru at our age puzzled family and friends.  Pop even joined us permanently a month later with his sassy little Sheltie and his increasing need for daily care as he labored a growing compromised cognitive system.  Being a multi-generational household created even more unique situations (some worthy of a sitcom).  Why move?  Why not??

“At the moment of commitment, the entire Universe conspires to assist you.” ~Goethe

Sometimes, you find yourself in the middle of nowhere, and sometimes in the middle of nowhere, you find yourself.  Going on adventures, creating adventures, and embracing the unexpected adventures of life helps us focus and find where we belong in our story.  Adventure fills the grateful soul, lightens the burdens of life some, and creates a powerful synergy to propel us forward into new chapters of our story…so, here’s your question today:

Day #6:  What adventure will you gratefully embrace in the coming year?

I challenge us all to gratefully continue seeking and exploring adventures in whatever season of life we find ourselves…after all, as Pop cheerfully (and surprisingly) reminded me the other day, “you may not have gone where you intended to go, but you end up where you need to be.”  🙂

AHHH…  Autumn…the year’s last colorfully, cooler smile showing us how great it is to let things go!  From crisp nights and leaf-peeping sights to twinkling lights and pumpkiny bites; fall is the time to reap what we sow, prepare for the colder months, and reflect upon our harvest of bountiful blessings.  Family, friends, celebrations, gatherings, festivals, feasts, and more come together during this time of year in preparation for starting a new year.  Earth and nature in our part of the world inspire us one last time before laying dormant to rejuvenate in astounding inspiration come Spring.  Even on my darkest days of life’s ebbs and flows, Autumn warmly wraps me as a source of comfort, security, and peace (and a strong cup of hot tea doesn’t hurt either); from my auburn hair to my freckled skin, I’m truly grateful to be a natural autumn.  Of course, this brings us to the question for today:

Grateful Game Question #4:  What season are you most grateful for and why, and what is your favorite part of that season? 

Happy fall, y’all!

I have dear friends who have an incredible little man for a grandson.  He is currently pirate savvy, collecting all manner of pirate booty, celebrating a pirate birthday as he enters Kindergarten, and more.  We spent a few days together in my part of the country exploring museums as well as famous pirate gathering places of yester-years along the Atlantic coast a couple of months back.  Because he’s about to become a big brother for the very first time, of course I had to gather some big brother pirate booty to send his way so he can better prepare to teach his little brother the ropes (being an additional surrogate GrammyB has perks, you know). Pirates always get a bad rap historically, but my pirate teacher friend, Dave Burgess, says it best in his manifesto, Teach Like A Pirate:  “Pirates are daring, adventurous, and willing to set forth into uncharted territories with no guarantee of success. They reject the status quo and refuse to conform to any society that stifles creativity and independence…entrepreneurs who take risks and are willing to travel to the ends of the earth for that which they value…they travel with and embrace a diverse crew.  If you’re willing to live by the code commit to the voyage, and pull your share of the load, then you’re free to set sail…and besides, everybody loves a pirate.”

So what do pirates have to do with today’s question?

Day #3:  What do you truly treasure or value most right now?

Personally, I value finding purpose, nurturing relationships, and treasuring the transitions of time above all else. Savoring a hand-written letter from a long distance friend or performing valuable daily (if mundane) tasks brings a sense of peaceful order and a calming focus.  Creating experiences, moments, and opportunities to venture forth and explore cultivates the inner-pirate…and face it; there’s a little pirate in all of us! After all, as my momma would often remind me, “wherever you go, there you arrhhh…”  just a like a pirate! 🙂