This month’s calendar includes a day to honor fathers, but I want to tell you a true story about two mothers, my role models, and the way they thanked their heavenly Father for blessings. My ninety-eight-year-old mother-in-law, Carolyn, went to her heavenly home earlier this year. When the family prepared…
Tag: Gratitude
The Blessings We Forget
Even in the season of Thanksgiving, we can forget precious blessings from God. This week, when I read an email from a friend, I realized my gratitude list needed work. In the email, our friends, Chip and Susie, requested prayer and shared news of Will, their friend who’d been bedridden…
Finding Pandemic Gratitude and Service
The little bird figurine in the photo above sits on my kitchen counter and reminds me, “Every day is a gift from God.” I gave the bird to my mom to encourage her when she struggled to maintain her usual optimism in the face of congestive heart failure and muscle…
What’s Hindering Your Gratitude?
Do you buy event or travel tickets early to ensure the best view? Some concert attendees select seating close to the stage, and many frequent fliers prefer a window seat glimpse of the clouds. Years ago, at a rainy college football game, I appreciated the no-umbrellas-in-the-stadium rule because I preferred…
The Sadie Attitude: Turn Self-Pity into Loving Others
We couldn’t find my seventy-five-year-old mother. I chatted with her each night after my dad died, but this time, calls to her home phone and cell phone went unanswered. Due to vision problems, she’d told me, “I just don’t drive after dark anymore,” but it was after 9:00 PM. Her…