#Gratitude Challenge Roundup

This is a 14-day gratitude challenge. You can read more about it here: Personal Excellence.

The overview page has the task list and the links to all of the posts on the host site for the challenge. There is also a link to a list of participants.


Reflection

As a follow-up post to the 14-Day Gratitude Challenge, we are asked to answer the following questions:


How has the gratitude challenge been for you? (Have you found the tasks helpful in cultivating gratitude?)
Some of the tasks were easier than others. Some of the tasks caused frustration because it made me have to think about things that I am trying hard not to think about these days (and am failing at not thinking about them!) Overall, though, I appreciated the challenge and tasks presented. It helped me to put more thought into just how grateful I am truly being and that there is much to be grateful for, even when it doesn't seem so on the surface.


What has been your favorite task(s)? Why?
Day 3's task of writing a gratitude to someone was probably my favorite task. Writing it helped me to feel more connected to my grandma, if it is even possible to feel more connected to her than I already do. It put to words how much she meant, and still means, to me.


What have you learned in the challenge? What have you learned about gratitude? Elaborate.
One thing that I learned is that it is a whole lot harder to find something to be grateful for in an adversary than it is to pray a good prayer for them.

Many years ago, my grandpa told me about praying good prayers for the enemy, that hot coals of conviction would be heaped on them. I asked him how come I couldn't just pray for the hot coals on them because I didn't really feel like praying for anything good to happen to them. He said it didn't work that way, we shouldn't wish bad things on people. In reality, I knew that, but that didn't stop how I was feeling. I took his advice and started praying for this adversary. At first, the prayers were asking for help to be able to pray good prayers instead of bad ones for this person. Eventually, I was able to pray good prayers for them and things changed, although only temporarily in the end.


How do you plan to integrate gratitude into your life moving forward?
I will continue to try to write at least three things per day that I am grateful for or at least contemplate them each day even if I don't put them here on the blog.


Anything you would like to see at PE moving forward? If so, what is it?
I can't think of anything else that I'd like to see on Personal Excellence at the moment. It is a great site just as it is!


Daily Journaling: Three Things I am Thankful for Today

1. I am thankful for those that are trying to gently lead us into a more peaceful existence.
2. I am thankful for challenges that cause me to think and ultimately lead to personal growth.
3. I am thankful for a long weekend.

#Gratitude Challenge Day 14

This is a 14-day gratitude challenge. You can read more about it here: Personal Excellence.

Day 14: Give Thanks for Your Mistakes

Two mistakes stand out to me right now. One ended a friendship; the other one ended up being a fatal for another person...a child.

Many years ago, probably nearly fifteen years at this point, I made a comment on an e-mail list that I was on. It was taken badly by someone and she attacked my parenting abilities. This woman had recently gone through a brutal divorce. In my moment of rage, I retaliated with, "Well, at least I have a husband to help with my children!" I felt horrible about having said such a thing to her, but I had already hit Send, so what else could I do but immediately send an apology. She never responded to my apology and I sent several after that. I never heard from her again. While I still feel badly about having said such a thing to an also hurting sister, I felt that I had done all that was required of me. I sent her a genuine apology. The rest was up to her.

Three things that I learned from this experience:

1. I should not respond to something that I disagree with right away.
2. I should pray before I respond to hurtful things.
3. Some friendships aren't necessarily forever and some hurts just can't be "gotten over".

In the fatal situation, I acted, or more to the point, didn't act, out of fear. I was afraid that I would be seen as crazy. The Holy Spirit clearly laid a message on my heart involving a child that was very sick, unbeknownst to her parents. I was afraid to tell them of the prompting, so I didn't tell them right away. Her health was degrading and, finally, I just couldn't stand it any longer. I couldn't continue to keep to myself what was becoming more and more evident as each day passed. At my urging, they took the child for further testing and she was found to have cancer. She died a little more than a year after the diagnosis. I should have spoken up the moment Heavenly Father laid the prompting on my heart. I should have trusted Him, as well as my relationship with this child's mother and told her right away. I didn't. Maybe this little one would have passed away even with earlier notice, but she wasn't given that opportunity because I kept quiet out of fear. Her mother forgave me years ago, but I will carry this guilt to my own grave.

Three things that I learned from this experience:

1. I should have faith and respond immediately to the promptings of the Holy Spirit.
2. When something involves the health and/or safety of a child, I should speak up, no matter the potential outcome for myself.
3. Some friendships can overcome anything, even indescribable, devastating pain.


Daily Journaling: Three Things I Am Thankful for Today

1. I am thankful for friendships that can stand the test of time and torment.
2. I am thankful that JM was allowed the time that she had on this earth and wish that it could have been much longer.
3. I am thankful for forgiveness from others, even when I can't forgive myself.

#Gratitude Challenge Day 13

This is a 14-day gratitude challenge. You can read more about it here: Personal Excellence.

Day 13: Do a Gratitude Meditation

The task for this particular post is to meditate over two goals. I have never been one to do official meditating. I do contemplate things that I would like to do. I want to lose weight and I want to finish the prompt book that I have started, but I never actually visualize these things. I just try to make progress towards accomplishing the goals that I have set.

I was told years ago that one way to achieve goals is to put pictures of what you're trying to achieve on the refrigerator, which is a way of visualizing it. It may work for other people, but apparently I need a wee bit more than a picture on the refrigerator to accomplish my goals. Beside, if I want to lose weight, I need to stay away from the refrigerator as much as possible!

Here are my goals:

1. Lose seventy pounds ultimately, but twenty pounds before the as yet undetermined surgery date.
2. Complete the prompt book and have it available on Kindle before Christmas 2013.

Ways that I plan to work toward, and hopefully achieve, these goals:

Weight loss
1. Increase water intake and decrease soft drink intake
2. Eat more veggies and less meat
3. Continue on the tread mill, increasing time and eventually speed
4. Continue to do sit ups, increasing quantity done per session
5. Add more weight resistance exercises

Prompt book:
1. Add at least one prompt per day to the file
2. Search my memory for various events that could be viable prompts
3. Read and contemplate what I've read to create potential prompts
4. Complete reading through the formatting for Kindle book, trying to eliminate potential formatting issues
5. Proofread as I go and have someone else to look over it, too



Daily Journaling: Three Things I am Thankful for Today

1. I am thankful for many sources of information that can help me to do what is best for the health of my family.
2. I am thankful for the part of my brain that is still working and hopeful that the rest will be working again soon.
3. I am thankful for broccoli and Brussels sprouts!

#Gratitude Challenge Day 12

This is a 14-day gratitude challenge. You can read more about it here: Personal Excellence.

Day 12: Take Action on Your Plan from Day 11

In order to show my loved ones how much I love them, I will spend more time talking to them and listening to them as they share their likes/dislikes, hopes, and dreams with me. I will spend more time playing games with them, listening to the music they share with me, as well as trying to understand more the things that are weighing on their minds.

In order to make progress towards the ultimate goal of a vegan lifestyle, I only purchased one main dish meat at the grocery story. The majority of the purchases for my husband and myself were vegetable, bean, and pasta items. However, we are not forcing a vegan or vegetarian lifestyle on our adult children that still live with us. The other meat items that were in our cart were for their consumption.

Daily Journaling: Three Things I Am Thankful for Today

1. I am thankful for the natural healing properties that Heavenly Father has created in our bodies.
2. I am thankful for people that understand how different things in nature can help to heal our bodies of some pretty nasty illnesses.
3. I am thankful for the homesteading and farming bloggers online that show me a more natural, simple-though-not-easy, life is possible.

#Gratitude Challenge Day 11

This is a 14-day gratitude challenge. You can read more about it here: Personal Excellence.

Day 11: List 3 Things You Tend to Take For Granted

This is a really hard one for me. I don't generally take things for granted. I don't assume that this or that will "certainly" be here tomorrow. We've lost everything, had to rebuild our lives, more times than I can count, it seems.

The things that I come the closest to taking for granted at this point in my life or have taken for granted in the past, I guess, would be as follows:

Monet "Sunrise" @wpclipart.com

1. There will be a new day. Like the song says "The sun will come out tomorrow." However, we aren't guaranteed tomorrow, so we shouldn't take it for granted. We should live and love like this is our last moment on earth.

2. Grandparents live forever As a child, I couldn't imagine ever being without my grandparents. I had never met death and so didn't think about it happening to them someday. We are mortal beings, so they didn't live forever, at least not here on earth. They are alive and well with our Heavenly Father.

3. Health. Although I started out life with respiratory issues, I never could have imagined as a child the health issues that I am facing today. As far as I know, COPD didn't even have a name when I was a kid. I've abused my body in a multitude of ways and it has been abused by others. I can't just assume that everything will be fine tomorrow. COPD is progressive; it will just get worse.

Ways to address the above issues:

1. I will try to be more into the current moment and make sure that my loved ones know how much they mean to me.

2. I can't change my childhood thoughts regarding my grandparents. However, learning from them that no one lives forever, I should pay more attention to those that are here with me now and, again, let them know how much I love them.

3. I will continue to research ways to improve our diets, ultimately achieving a pure vegan lifestyle. I will continue to do what I can to reduce my exposure to harmful chemical fumes. I will increase the breathing exercises that are meant to increase my lung capacity. I will also continue to try to find ways to earn money from home so that we can move to a more rural area, out of the shadows of the coal plant that is within sight of our home.


Daily Journaling: Three Things I am Thankful for Today

1. I am thankful for reliable transportation.
2. I am thankful for newborn kitties (we have 4 new ones!)
3. I am thankful for the rain that we have been getting over the last week.

#Gratitude Challenge Day 10

This is a 14-day gratitude challenge. You can read more about it here: Personal Excellence.

Day 10: Give a Gratuity Tip

At the present time, David and I are not engaging in any activities or adventures that would normally require a tip, so I'll go straight to the daily journaling section of this post.

Daily Journaling: Three Things I Am Thankful for Today

1. I am thankful for the times that we are able to eat out and enjoy good service.
2. I am thankful for long growing seasons.
3. I am thankful for people that appreciate the fact that they have a job and do it to the best of their abilities.

#Gratitude Challenge Day 9

This is a 14-day gratitude challenge. You can read more about it here: Personal Excellence.

Day 9: Share Something You Are Grateful For With Someone


This one is easy! I will share this with all of you out there in Bloggy-land.

I am thankful for Patrice and Wendell. They have a blog called Everyday Ruralty. My husband and I look forward to Chats on the Farmhouse Porch each Tuesday. Patrice is a farmer gal that blogs and Wendell is her horse, loaded full of personality. He loves carrots. :) They bring laughter to our day with their banter.

Patrice and many others out there in blog-land have been such an encouragement to me and I am blessed to have each of you here visiting via PS Annie! The comments, the prayers, the "good jobs", even the "you might want to check that, Suz", all mean a great deal to me. I am thankful for each of you.


Daily Journaling: Three Things I am Thankful for Today

1. I am thankful for friends that care enough to try to keep me on the right path.
2. I am thankful for those that see in me what I am not able to see myself.
3. I am thankful for the laughter that is brought into our home on a regular basis, through blog posts and through the stories our children tell us when they come home from school.

#Gratitude Challenge Day 8

This is a 14-day gratitude challenge. You can read more about it here: Personal Excellence.

Day 8: Transform an Ungrateful Thought

A recurring, negative thought for me lately has been that it seems many young females out there are doing everything they can to make me feel completely inadequate and totally ugly...not enough for my husband.

In reality, most of the ones causing me the biggest problems probably don't even know that I exist.  They are just enjoying their youth and the things that society allows them to get away with.

I can turn this around and pray for Heavenly Father to help me to see that my husband chose me and that, although my body is no longer the healthy, youthful specimen that it was when it was given to my husband nearly thirty years ago, he still loves me. He chose me, not them. I do not need to fear their youth and vitality, or their happiness. I need to thrill in every moment that I have with my husband and those that are to come.

Redirecting my thoughts to this more positive direction will be hard, but "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." Philippians 4:13 KJV

Daily Journaling: Three Things I Am Thankful for Today

1. I am thankful for the memories of my younger days.
2. I am thankful for the thirty-four years that David and I have shared in one way or another.
3. I am thankful for the time that we have ahead together, however long or short that time may be.

#Gratitude Challenge Day 7

This is a 14-day gratitude challenge. You can read more about it here: Personal Excellence.

Day 7: Give Thanks to Yourself

For today's post, I am supposed to give thanks to myself. This is something very hard for me, because I can't think of anything about myself to be thankful for. At forty-eight years old, I still do not know my purpose in life, what I'm supposed to have become when I grew up, or what I want/need to be when my children grow up (which they have already!).

However, I wouldn't want to be anyone else because then my grandparents wouldn't have been my grandparents. I would have missed the many blessings that they brought into my life. They taught me about unconditional love, loving anyway even when every fiber of my being was telling me that it would make sense to stop loving. They kept loving me so that I kept loving anyway.

Daily Journaling: Three Things I am Thankful for Today

1. I am thankful for those that are capable of unconditional love, such as my grandparents and Heavenly Father.
2. I am thankful that I had grandparents, Sunday School teachers, and school teachers that were free in expressing their faith.
3. I am thankful that, no matter how alone I feel, I am never truly alone.

#Gratitude Challenge Day 6

This is a 14-day gratitude challenge. You can read more about it here: Personal Excellence.

Day 6: Give Thanks for Your Life

I am thankful for the life that I have been given. It was a miracle from the start. My mother had various issues that could have caused her not to conceive and/or not carry me to term. I was a month early, but not due to these health issues. She fell in a hole while on a walk with her also-pregnant sister.

The second thing that happened that could have taken my life was the tremendous spike in her blood pressure as she was giving birth to me. She passed out and, as I understand it, high blood pressure in the mama does no favors for the baby either.

The third thing that could have ended my life was an extreme anaphylactic reponse to penicillin given to me because of the bronchitis that I was born with. Mama and I had to stay in the hospital for two weeks.

The next eighteen or so years were full of many upsets and trials fully on my parents' ticket, but also plenty brought on by my own sassy, smart mouth. There were plenty of not being able to sit down moments because of that.

However, I am thankful for the parents that I was given because in their own way, they were teaching me lessons that I would need to survive life as an adult (although not necessarily in the best way!). They were fulfilling Heavenly Father's plans for my life and helping me to get to where He intends for me to be. There were plenty of hurts and some that I may never get over, but I am thankful that He allowed me to survive my newborn moments as well as those that came afterward.

That being said, I am quite ready to go on to whatever He has planned for me after this earthly life.



Daily Journaling: Three Things I am Thankful for Today

1. I am thankful for parents that did not desert me during my mouthy years.
2. I am thankful for grandparents that were there for me and loved me anyway.
3. I am thankful for Granny's spunk and fiery spirit that taught me how to be a survivor.

#Gratitude Challenge Day 5

This is a 14-day gratitude challenge. You can read more about it here: Personal Excellence.

Day 5: Identify 3 Things to Appreciate about Your Adversary

This is a very hard one for me. One adversary is at the forefront of my mind, but I can't think of anything that I can appreciate about this person. Should I appreciate the hate that has grown in my heart because of this person? No. Should I appreciate the fact that they have proven my thought that it isn't safe to trust most people? No. Should I appreciate the fact that they have made me feel even more that I'll never be good enough? No. Because of this person, there is a huge, maybe irreparable rift between me and someone that is very important to me. I feel like this adversary has made me only an option to someone that I see as a priority.

A safer adversary would be my health issues. While the future implications of COPD scare me to death, it has forced me to slow down. By slowing down, I am able to notice things that maybe I wouldn't have noticed before. The nature of this disease has me trying to forget it exists, so I am trying to focus my mind on other things to avoid thinking about it. Because of this, I am learning about new things and getting a lot more reading done. It makes me appreciate the breathing that I am able to do now because I know that it won't always be as easy as it is at this moment. I am trying to learn how to live in the moment, one breath at a time. It has also given me a sense of urgency where my writing and genealogy research are concerned. I want to get it in a tangible format before I can no longer do this and even more stories would be lost.

Daily Journaling: Three Things I am Grateful for Today:

1. I am thankful for air conditioning that helps me to breathe easier.

2. I am thankful for hot showers that help ease the tension built up throughout the day.

Broken Computer clipart
from Clker.com

3. I am thankful for backups of files from old, no longer working computers.

#Gratitude Challenge Day 4

This is a 14-day gratitude challenge. You can read more about it here: Personal Excellence.


Day 4: Reflect on Gratitude and Its Place in Your Life

Today is my birthday and I am thankful to make it to another one. I have not always been thankful for the life that I have been given and, to be honest, I am not always these days either. However, gratitude should always be a part of my life regardless of the things that may or may not be happening to and around me. I should always be grateful for the life that He gave to me and for the life that He gave for me. I am thankful that He loved me enough to sacrifice Himself for me.

Being grateful in all things, both good and bad, is something that I continue to try to master. It isn't easy, but I know that it is something that I must do.


Daily Journaling: Three Things I am Grateful for Today

1. I am thankful for those that care whether my birthday is happy or not.

2. I am thankful for Black Forest Cake loaded with cherries that my son made for me. 
Here is a YouTube video about making a Black Forest Cake.


3. I am thankful for special dinners, even when I am the one that has to cook them. I love to cook!

#Gratitude Challenge Day 3

This is a 14-day gratitude challenge. You can read more about it here: Personal Excellence.


Day 3: Write a Gratitude Note to Someone

Dear Grandma,

Do you realize just how grateful I am to have had you in my life? You were my shelter during the many storms of my childhood. I never felt like she loved me; I never doubted your love. You never judged me and when others picked on me for things that were beyond my control, you defended me. You told them that I was just fine the way that I was, the way that He made me. You were Jesus and Heavenly Father all rolled into human form in my eyes. You were the embodiment of all that they stand for.

When Alzheimer's came for you, and others turned their backs on you, said you were nothing anymore and to ignore you, I knew they were wrong and I was grateful for you even more. I wanted to protect you. You called me "Mama" and I was honored and scared at the same time. We call on "Mama" because she can make things better and you needed your mama that day something fierce. I am grateful that you saw your mama in me. Now you are with her and I miss you so much.

I am thankful for the twenty-seven years that I was loved by you on this earth and look forward to being with you again. You have always been such a blessing to me. Thank you for being you and thank you for loving me.

Daily Journaling: Three Things I am Thankful for Today

1. I am thankful for my grandma, for all of my grandparents. I am glad that all of my grandparents lived in the same county, most in the same town, and that they were such a huge part of my life growing up and into my adulthood.

2. I am thankful for family moments and old family stories.

3. I am thankful that I am a "mini-me" of my Grandma Spence.

#Gratitude Challenge Day 2

This is a 14-day gratitude challenge. You can read more about it here: Personal Excellence.


Day 2: Give Thanks for Your Food

When I was a little girl, we always said the blessing before meals. We said the typical child's blessing as follows:

God is great; God is good.
Let us thank Him for our food.
By His hands we shall be fed.
Give us Lord our daily bread.
Amen.

Over the last few years, I haven't been so consistent at thanking Him for our food or anything else for that matter. I need to get back to the true expressions of my faith. Although He knows my heart, I need to audibly express my thankfulness for all that He provides for me and my family on a daily basis.


Daily Journaling: Three Things I am Thankful for Today:

1. I am thankful to live in a country where food is plentiful and there is help for those that can't afford food on their own.

2. I am thankful for the ability to go online and find recipes for anything that my tongue and tummy could imagine to enjoy.

3. I am thankful for electricity!

#Gratitude Challenge Day 1

I came across an interesting challenge recently. As usual, I am late to the party, but I want to do this anyway. So, I'm going through the topics that I've missed already and back dating the posts so that they will be on the proper dates for the challenge. Eventually, I will catch up...hopefully before the challenge is over!

This is a 14-day gratitude challenge. You can read more about it here: Personal Excellence.

Day 1:  Ten Things that I'm Grateful for in My Life

 1. A roof over our heads

 2. A car to get us where we need to go and the ability to drive it

 3. The memory of my grandparents and their siblings who blessed me with their love and whom I loved very much

 4. The strong women who came before me and made me the strong woman that I am

 5. The opportunity for our children to go to college and to pursue their dreams

 6. The opportunity to write what is on my heart and people that care enough to read it

 7. The love of two daddies, my own and my husband's, and for the time that I had them in my life...though it was over far too soon

 8. Teachers who were willing to buck the system to stand up for their personal beliefs

 9. Teachers and friends who saw potential in me even when I couldn't see it myself

 10. A Heavenly Father that loves me and will never leave me

                                                       ~*~*~*~

Daily Journaling: Three Things I am Thankful for Today

 1. I am thankful for Spanky, Weezer, Stymie and the rest of Our Gang and all the laughs that they bring.

 2. I am thankful for the opportunity to have a blog and people that want to read it.

 3. I am thankful for a slower pace for the moment.