The Colors of Gratitude

In an effort to rekindle that attitude of gratitude that is so important for us to have, I have been looking around today for things for which to be thankful. We should count our blessings. We should be thankful for what we have. That doesn't mean that we shouldn't want or ask for other things, just that we should be thankful for what we already have.

Things that I am thankful for today:

I am thankful for the pansies that bloom during the otherwise gloomy, cool days of winter (such as they are here in Texas).

I am thankful for purple, yellow, and red.

I am thankful for the momentary relief that has been given to us.

I am thankful for the creative spirit that He gave to me when He created me in His image.

I am thankful that David's foot is officially healed and thankful in advance that Heavenly Father will keep it that way.

"And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive." Matthew 21:22

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Credits: Source image: The Colored Pansy Flowers by Robert & Mihaela Vicol at publicphoto.org. Edited version by Suzanne G. McClendon

Happy New Year!

I hope that all of you are blessed with a great day today and a very happy New Year. I pray that it brings you more time with family, better health, and dreams that come true.

Three things that I am thankful for today:

I am thankful that this New Year's Day was spent at home rather than in the hospital.

I am thankful that our children are successfully reaching their goals.

I am thankful for hope for a better future for all of us.

Thankful Thursday - Mae Pressley Worley

The summer of 1978 was a confusing, upsetting summer for me. It was the summer that I turned thirteen and all that comes with that for a girl, and the summer that we left my childhood home to a new home in a new school district.

My daddy bought a piece of property in a somewhat rural part of the county. It wasn't full on Boony-ville, but it wasn't the neighborhood that I had grown up in. Although I didn't know it then, the property itself was going to be a great place to be.

While my parents tended to all of the things necessary with buying land and setting up a new home, my three siblings and I had to live elsewhere. I went to stay with my Aunt Mae, my grandma's older sister. I don't remember my brothers and sister being there with me, so I don't know where they stayed. Although I loved (still do!) my Aunt Mae dearly, I cried and cried when my parents left. The crying turned to anger at being left and, in effect, homeless, not knowing what was going to happen or if they were really even going to come back for me. I am ashamed to say it, but I took it out on Aunt Mae.

I was sassy and disobedient, not because I was on the brink of teen-hood, but because I was scared and had no control over what was happening in my life. I've never done well with the unknown. Aunt Mae was safe to be scared with. She loved me through it, though I know I must have caused her to shed many tears that summer. She never let me see them.

I will be forever grateful for the grace and the love that she showed to me that summer through all of my raging and tears. Aunt Mae went on to her Heavenly reward on 10 October 1985. I miss her more than words can say. She is one of the women who built me and I am thankful to have had her in my life.

Ray, Carolee, Aunt Mae, Suzanne, and Robert

This is a photo of Aunt Mae, me, and my brothers and sister standing in front of the house that we left. That house was at 508 Wellington Street, Anderson, South Carolina. It no longer exists, nor does the house that was across the street at 507 Wellington Street, which we lived in for a short time before moving to the 508 house.

One Thousand Gifts

Here we are at another Sunday morning. I used to post a list of things that I am thankful for over at One Thousand Gifts, my first Blogger blog, based on the book One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Areby Ann Voskamp. It is my desire to continue that here at PS Annie! Looking back over the last week, I have much to be thankful for.

1. On Monday, 11 March, David and I went to a doctor's appointment in Sugar Land and then to look for bluebonnets. Between the doctor's office and the bluebonnets, we were delayed on the highway. There was a pile-up that involved what looked to be at least six cars. There were wreckers lined up for forever along the center median to tow them off of the highway. We didn't see any ambulances, so we are hopeful that there were no significant injuries. We are also thankful that we weren't in the pile-up, only behind it.

2. I am thankful for the good grades that the college students in this household are making.

3. I am thankful for the pops of color along the highways this time of year. We have a long growing season here in this part of Texas, but even a month of just brown is so dreary. The pinks, reds, blues, and yellows sprinkled here and there this time of year are just beautiful.

5. I am thankful for a few financial monkeys that will be off of our backs soon and for those that have recently fallen off.

6. I am thankful for children (OK, young adults!) that enjoy photography as much as I do and for their sense of adventure.

7. I am thankful for whatever lies ahead because I know that He will be with me. He will not desert me.

Hebrews 13:5 "Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee." 

8. I am also thankful for a new fun thing that I learned about on The Redhead Riter blog. It is a program that can turn photos into fake postage stamps. I thought that it was really cool what Red was able to do with it, so I gave it a try. Here's my stab at "stamping".
9. I am thankful for all of you faithful blog followers and friends!


Disclosure: The link to the book One Thousand Gifts is an affiliate link. It means that if you click it and then purchase the book, you will be helping to support PS Annie! I will earn a small percentage for each book sold from that link. Thank you for your support!

Faithful Blogging Prompt #4: Bible Version

What version of the Bible do you read and why?

I grew up in churches that used the King James Version of the Bible exclusively. It is what feels like the Bible to me. The language is sometimes hard to understand and confusing, but it is what I am used to. I guess in some ways I feel like I'm cheating if I read another version of the Bible. However, I do sometimes read other versions to help clarify questions that I may have. The King James Version is what feels real to me, even though I know that technically it is not the original Bible.

What version do you prefer? Is it different than the version you grew up with?


Today I am thankful for:

6. ...Parents that made sure that I was in church and learned about Jesus as a child.

7. ...Teachers that taught me how to read words and the Word.

8. ...Grandparents that were good role models and guides for my spiritual life.

9. ...Forgiving friends that still love me even though they know my imperfections.

10. ...Those that have risked and those that have given their lives to save mine.

Please be sure to click the button at the top of this post to visit Faithful Bloggers for more faith-based prompts.

One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are

Starting Over

Hello to all of you faithful followers!

I hope that you have had a wonderful summer and that this school year is a great one for all of you, parents and students alike. Our youngest three children are now in college. It is an odd feeling having them all gone during the day!

When I first started this blog, I was counting the posts by the day and listing the things that I was thankful for that day. I am going to change the format a little and count each thankfulness instead of the days so that I will see when I get to one thousand. :)

1. I am thankful that my children have had a great first week of school.

2. I am thankful for creative expression.

3. I am thankful for new genealogical discoveries.

 4. I am thankful for relief from some worries.

5. I am thankful for the One that will never leave me nor forsake me.

One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are

Day One Hundred Seventy-Eight - Happy Easter!

Happy Easter, everyone!

I am thankful for a Savior that loved me enough to give His life for me. I am thankful for the eternal life that His sacrifice gives to me because I have accepted His gift of love. I am thankful for the newness of spring represented in new life. I am thankful for the array of colors that Heavenly Father gives us after the blandness of the winter landscape. I am thankful for the butterflies flitting around from flower to flower. I am thankful for the rain that supports life for the creatures, the plants, and the people. I am thankful for my followers and those that comment. I am thankful for a beautiful day!

One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are

Day Seventy-Three: Sunday Seven

Part of this list was posted yesterday in the comment section of Creative Every Day. I am adding to it for my Sunday Seven today.

I am thankful for:

...a husband that holds a cold cloth to my face while I’m being sick as he did this morning

...a teenage daughter that loves to talk and share with her mama

...many avenues of creativity so that I am not done in when one doesn’t work out due to mechanical failure as with my DSLR camera recently

...safe transportation

...new opportunities.

...the colors of the season

...safety during the storms


One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are