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Happy November!
I love this month. It's in the fall (my favorite time of year), I get to eat pumpkin pie (top 10 foods) and we all focus a little bit more on family, friends and gratitude.
Today's Free Stuff Friday is an effort to kick start this wonderful time of year by focusing on
things we are grateful for
To enter for a $10 Amazon gift card (to be rewarded in a random drawing)
leave a comment highlighting something you are grateful for.
PLUS - you get an extra entry if you also tell us how you show that gratitude.
WHY? Because it is one thing to be grateful. It is another entirely to LIVE grateful lives...to show that gratitude to the universe by reaching out to others -- even in small ways.
Don't be afraid of sounding boastful -- this exercise is more about realizing the power of putting our gratitude into action and serving those around us.
I'll go first : I am grateful for the influence of good friends. One way I show that gratitude is by lunching with an elderly, widowed neighbor once a week. He inspires me to be a better person and I give him a little bit of company and a date to look forward to.
Now your turn....
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28 comments:
So strange. Are you in my head? I felt this insane wave of gratitude yesterday.
I am so grateful that my girls are healthy and happy. I am so grateful that my marriage is strong and my home is clean and comfortable. I am grateful that if I need a glass of water I can go to the sink or fridge and get one. I am grateful for my dryer and the dryer sheets that go into it to make things smell cozy. I am grateful for the seasons and for the people who love and support me in my life even when I am emotionally absent.
Sticky fingers
Warm baths
paper and pens
baby kisses
So much Tess. So much.
Oh. Ha! and how I pay it forward.
Time. I am giving time back to those I love.
Tess, I had planned on doing this the week of Thanksgiving. Sheesh.
Anyway, I'm thankful that Christopher is alive and well despite his ongoing medical problems. I know we will discover what is going on. I wish we already had. I'm thankful I can look into his beautiful eyes every day.
You've inspired me. At our church I know a woman who's husband recently died. I think I'll ask her out for lunch. We usually go up as a family to take communion and God impressed on me to bring her up with our family. It made her cry. She felt so thankful. She said after that she was getting ready to leave church that day. Because she knew she had no one to go up with. I was really glad I did what I did. Glad I listened to what God was speaking to my heart about. So that kinda says how I give back. Sorry about the blather. Thanks Tess.
I'm grateful for how my kids still want to sit on my lap when I type away.
~ Wendy
I show gratitude by writing letters (snail mail) and I specifically list things I love about the person I'm writing to.
~ Wendy
I'm grateful that I still care. In this crazy cynical world, with so much bad news on a daily basis, I have yet to become desensitized to the world around me. I'm able to care, to hold the door open - yes, I do that all the time - for the person behind me, or rush up sometimes to grab the door for someone - to smile at a stranger, say thank you, or pay for the person behind me in the Starbucks drive-thru coffee, not because I have to, but because I want to. I'm able to blog about the woman at my mother's retirement center who eats alone every night . . . because her family requested that she eat alone every night. I pour out my frustration and sorrow that any family would make such a request because their mother has Parkinson's and is unable to talk. Companionship doesn't require words - a smile, a touch on the hand, a wink, a nod, anything, is enough. A companion at dinner is enough rather than sitting alone at a table, while everyone else in the room is sitting with someone else.
Ooops, sorry, went off on a tangent. I think the fact that we all have gratitude, and are able to show that, is an amazing thing, because not everyone can, or is willing, to show such gratitude in this day and age.
Excellent post.
S
p.s. Love pumpkin pie too, and pumpkin bread. Mmmmmmm . . .
Oooh! An Amazon gift card. Count me in. I know just the book I need to buy.
So, I'm gratefuly for my family; my husband, the baby I'm about to have, and parents, siblings, cousins, in-laws, and everyone else!
One way I show my gratitude is: I try to scratch my husband's back whenever he asks me to... which is ALL the time.
Gratitude is one gauge that measures our dependence on God. The more dependent we are, the more grateful we become.
I am most grateful for the spiritual lights that God has placed as friends in my life. This season I plan on letting them know how much they have impacted me.
I am grateful for how God provides for me. I'm in the middle of a BIG transition in life and there are a lot of unknowns. I literally have to wait on Him to move and then point me in the right direction. It's wonderful and hard at the same time.
I really try to show that gratitude by encouraging others in similar situations. so many people are struggling because of the economy, so I really try to speak life to them.
Have a great weekend!
I am grateful for sm many many things. I have the best friends in the world, I can surround myself with music, I have the gospel of Jesus Christ, and I have a wonderful family.
I try to show my gratitude my taking care of my family, spending time with those I love, and serving in whatever way I can in the church. I try to be generous and giving to my friends and neighbors, and show my love to my family.
Thanks for reminding me to be thankful today. I was over here wallowing in self pity for a few minutes because of sickness at our house, but I will shut up now and try to remember the thankful part.
Don't put my name in the hat because I won before and want to give someone else a chance, which brings me to what I am grateful for. I have been amazed at the writers I have met through blogging. These are people who are not just promoting themselves but who write thoughtful posts on what they've learned, both on craft and the emotional ups-and-downs that we all face. There is such a sense of community, even though most of us have never met in person. I try to give as much as I receive. Thank you all.
I am grateful for the support I receive from my family and friends. I pay it back in little subtle ways by doing things for them that are unexpectedly gererous.
Great post! I'm grateful for receiving so many free books for review. I would review without new books, just get them from the library, but I show my gratitude by holding competitions for people to win the books, so I can share the love of reading.
Great idea! I'm grateful for my wonderful family (my husband and twins). I show my gratitude by showering them with love. You just can't get too much of that. Unfortunately, I know kids who don't see much affection from their parents. Very sad.
Lynnette Labelle
http://lynnettelabelle.blogspot.com
This will sound really cheesy. I'm grateful for the people around me, my friends, family, and mentors. So, on Thanksgiving, I write a handful of them very long letters about why they mean so much to me. People are usually confused when I hand them out, but it was something my band teacher (of all people) made us do in high school, and I always thought it was a great idea. This is my favorite time of year too!
I'm grateful for music in my home, healthy and happy family and good friends.
Perfect timing! I'm grateful for my husband, my kids, and the fact my husband still has a job. I'm grateful for the last two rejections, because they gave me hope and told me where I need to go with my writing. You can bet I paid attention!
I'm so grateful for my healthy, happy family. I'm grateful that we enjoy spending time together. I show my gratitude to them by making a conscious effort to give them my undivided attention every day. It isn't always easy, but I know it makes a difference.
I am incredibly grateful for my husband...he spoils me and never tells me 'no'!!! He's far from perfect, as am I, but we are perfect for each other. I try my best to show my gratitude by not giving him too much flack when he goes and hangs out with his buddies!! Oh and if sewing him an entire XL man-size Bunny suit Halloween costume isn't gratitude, I don't know what is!!! (he wanted to be Ralphie from A Christmas Story this year!)
Today I'm especially grateful for my hubby. He just got home from being out of town for a week and it sometimes takes me being away from him for awhile to realize how much I don't want to live without him. I'm trying to be extra attentive to all his stories from being gone but mostly I just want to cuddle up next to him and be content.
For about a year, I couldn't see how wonderful my life was. I am thankful to my husband, daughter and friends who helped me through that time.
What do I do to show the world I am grateful? If I see something that might help one of my writing friends, I share it with them. If I know someone is down I try to make a special effort to talk to them. I talk to strangers...I drop emails to people just to see how they are. I try and show people they are valuable.
I'm grateful for Oreo cookie kisses from my four young children, knowing that someday they will grow up and away from me but I will still remember tonight and their voices and singing and happy hugs and words, worth more than a published novel, a shelf of published novels, the world.
I'm grateful for my health. Sometimes, things happen and only then do you realize how lucky you've been all your life.
I try to show I'm grateful by taking better care of myself and my family.
Such wonderful things to be grateful for! I am enjoying seeing your gratitude because each comment makes me say, 'oh, me too!'
I am grateful for words like water that drip into the cave inside me and silence the roar of loneliness with their persistent fluidness and gentle presence. Sometimes these words are the spoken wisdom of my counsellor, sometimes they are the whispers of my husband or the giggles of my children. And sometimes they are the words that others write that inspire and move me. I show my gratitude by taking seriously the art of writing and trying to use my words, both spoken and written to inspire and encourage others. Thanks for the chance to share :) Great contest :))
I am grateful my kids and I all had the Swine Flu already and are still here to talk about it. I'm also grateful for this wonderful weather and all the blessings we have each and every day.
I am grateful for my family, friends, good health (so far), my job, my husband who LOVES to cook, my children, and more recently, the blogging friends I have made this year who are ever-encouraging (they know more about my writing journey than most of my relatives!)
Lovely post, Tess! :)
I'm grateful for clean slates. I'm grateful for second chances. I'm grateful for self-reflection and change. I'm grateful for sunlight to grow upward and the knowledge that the only way I'll be stilted is if I stop trying.
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