For Granted

My good friend Neva, reminded me this week about being thankful for small things. I have complained so much about the big things I have not been able to do this year that I have taken for granted the smaller things I have been blessed to do!

Let me just take a moment and list a few:
--Go to the beach, almost monthly
--Got a snazzy Android phone
--Co-coordinate and facilitate a Women's bible study
--Skype!
--Lost some weight
--Won some earrings, hair oil and a shirt
--Meet CurlyNikki
--We found not 1 but 2 churches!!
--Prayed for a new job and it was granted
--Favor at Jocelyn's daycare
--Grace with Jeremy's job(s)

And so many more!!

With Thanksgiving one week from today (yes, I know--where did the time go!!?), let's not only be grateful for food, shelter and heat; a car to get to work.. but for small things. Being late for work, to avoid an accident; the rain and wind, to feel God’s presence.

Stop taking small things for granted! Why you ask? Read here.

Grateful for the lil' things,
~Mrs. G

Consistently, Inconsistent

Over the past year, I've really beaten myself up because I'll start something and not finish it. For instance, I planned on posting this blog earlier this year and decided to blog about something else. What I've also noticed is that when I am inconsistent, I tend to miss out on something that could have been for me. *sighs loudly*

I am consistently, inconsistent.. often.

Especially with creative ideas, books I want to read or even calling someone. I allow other things to take me from what I intended to do. But it's weird-- I'm extremely consistent when it comes to facebook or tweeting.. or even watching shows that harm brain cells! You know--things that probably won't impact my quality of life? You get the picture.

Today, I made a vow to myself to be consistent with something, daily. If I start the laundry-- I probably should dry, fold and put them away, in one day.

How can I plan to plant a seed of consistency in our little ones, when I don't water my own consistent seeds?

Just wanted to encourage you to be consistent. Start something and finish it. If you have a letter that you need to write, put down the phone and write the letter. If you have a goal to start a blog-- come up with ideas and implement them. It may be a lazy spirit or a tired one, but find ways to regain energy and finish what you've started. You never know what value your consistency has on the next person.

Folding Clothes,
~Mrs. G

"In essence, if we want to direct our lives, we must take control of our consistent actions. It's not what we do once in a while that shapes our lives, but what we do consistently." Anthony Robbins

On Being Different

I compare my life to women I know, daily.

Why can't my mother help me like her's can? Why can't I go like my sorors can? Why can't we have a house like so many of our friends? And what I keep hearing about these comparisons? #Ecclesiastes 11:5

I keep trying to fit in and to feel included...

I keep trying to be a part of the in-crowd...

I keep trying to do what they do... wear what she wears, look how she looks, go where she goes.

And then, I look in the mirror and it’s plain as day.

I'm Different.

Not because I'm the only child. Not because my mother is blind. Not because my husband is a minister.

But because God has His hand on me.

To be included... In His family.

To be apart... Of His 'in' crowd.

To do...what He wants me to do.

I'm called.

No, not to preach. But to be different-- set apart. To love me.. all of me. To be confident in who I am. I can't be like her-- my circumstances aren't hers and my life, is my life. Today, I boldly write that my calling is to be confident in who I am. To make my life meaningful, not because of what I wear or my family circumstance but by being a supporting and loving wife, a teaching and caring mother, an honest and devoted daughter/granddaughter and a great friend--regardless of how I feel..but because God called me.

Yep, I'm different. And I like it!
~Mrs. G