By counting our blessings we not only feel good, but we multiply our good

The Grove at night during the holiday season

The Grove at night during the holiday season (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

While Miriam Moreno from the island of Cuba, currently residing in Maryland has a love for God, art, family, true friendships, and just plain living, she is  grateful for family, knows that everyday new miracles are born, but we don’t even think about them as such, {Do Miracles Truly Exist?} and writes:

I am grateful for another holiday season I am able to celebrate with them. In less than a week, my parents are driving down with my niece. I am extremely excited. It’s been a while since my parents and I have been able to spend a holiday with other family members. It’s great!

Remember, if you don’t get along with someone now, it doesn’t mean it will always be like that. Time does heal all. I always had a hard time believing that, but its true. {A Conversation}

We may not forget that ingratitude is the cancer of the soul. Suncrest Highland Campus Pastor Wes Blackburn who loves Thanksgiving, the food, the family and is a big fan of the pies, writes:

I love how Thanksgiving always feels like it comes at just the right time in the year for me to take a step back, take a little bit of time off, and head back home to see some friends and family that I generally haven’t seen in a little while. For whatever reason, it just feels like a lot of stuff converges for me at this time of year and it’s always my favorite holiday. {Count Your Many Blessings}

the sexy santa assistants were there to take a...

the sexy santa assistants were there to take a photo of you in front of the xmas tree or you could just ask them to take a photo with you and pretend that your girlfriend is a sexy santa assistant See where this picture was taken. [?] (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

He continues that

in our haste to shift our focus to the buying, busy-ness, and consumerism that has become the Christmas season in America, we’ve lost sight of a valuable opportunity to reset ourselves spiritually and focus on what’s important. {Count Your Many Blessings}

It is not only in his country that people are taken by the material site of the holiday season. In all the capitalist countries people are blinded by the many things they think they should buy. The shopping has become for many their biggest concern, or the way how they can make the best supper, to show off.

How many people are there who are going to sit back, and make a list of all that they have in their life to be thankful for.

Wes Blackburn thinks what will happen when people are willing to take some 15 minutes to sit back:

In the first 2-3 minutes, you’ll list off all of the generic and general stuff that everyone lists. Then you’ll hit a block and be tempted to quit. Keep going. Keep pressing through. It’s in pressing through the “block” you’ll find some of the greatest, most unexpected sources of gratitude. You’ll find some incredible things to be thankful to God for.


If ingratitude is the cancer of the soul, thankfulness is the antidote.
It’s so easy for us to forget this.
But on this day of the year, let’s learn the rhythms of gratitude well,
and see God cultivate growth in our souls in the process.
Wes Blackburn

In a A Season of Giving Thanks the explorer writing and reaching for more joy in his life ‘muse brad’ wrote:


The path to happiness and success is built upon what is currently working in our lives.
The more that we think, talk and focus on our blessings,
the better that we feel and the more our lives will flow.
In turn, we may bless others in a grand circle of love.

Start your own season of giving thanks and see what blessings come.

***

Gratitude Journal

Gratitude Journal (Photo credit: limevelyn)

May love, peace and harmony prevail on Earth! Enjoy your holiday season and take some time to reflect on it all…

bloggers-for-piece-badgeThe writer of A Season of Giving Thanks is, as we are, part of Bloggers for peace.
You too may become such a blogger,
bringing peace to others.

  • Practicing Gratitude and Thankfulness (kasamba.com)
    Thanksgiving is an excuse to gorge on lots of great food, watch the game and spend time with family and friends.  It is the one day of the holiday season where the trappings of gift-giving are suspended and we just spend time with one another.
    +
    We all know we should be thankful.  We should be thankful for the things we have and the people we love and who love us.  Yet, being “thankful” isn’t quite the same thing as being “grateful.”  Being grateful is appreciating what we have and those who are in our lives.  It’s easy to be thankful, but a bit more difficult to make the effort in expressing gratitude.

    It is easy to be thankful and express gratitude when things are wonderful.  When we have that special romantic partner in our lives, our children are being ideal, the bills are getting paid and our careers are going great.  It’s harder to be thankful and express gratitude when life gets complicated.  Yet this is exactly the right time to be grateful.

  • Great Gratitude (californiamoon.wordpress.com)
    While the historical premise leaves a foul taste in my mouth, the idea of gratitude, of giving thanks, of bringing to mind all that we are thankful for warms my insides. Throughout the year, when I am in fear or in my darkest of moments, it is through gratitude and thanksgiving that I am able to pull myself up and out and through those toughest of times, those darkest of moments in my life. When things get rocky and rough, it is through a gratitude list and memory that I find my way to joy and to sanity again. Gratitude really is magic and it has served me well in my life. I keep a gratitude journal and it has changed my life for the better in many ways. It has helped me move from mind to heart and it has helped me realize all the small but, big things I have to be grateful for. I really am tremendously blessed even when I forget it.
  • Count your blessings and take time to help others (staugustine.com)
    Those in our community who need a little help, especially during this time of the year, are many. People are proud and sometimes don’t ask for help. They shouldn’t need to. We should help our friends, neighbors and co-workers. In the spirit of the holiday season, I think now is a good time for all of us to be kinder and gentler and to make a point to help those less fortunate. We don’t always know the circumstances and we don’t need to. Spreading the holiday and Christmas cheer comes naturally for some.Maybe this holiday season we should vow to be more generous during the entire year and not just when there are daily reminders in the newspaper, on TV, radio and everywhere you turn.Being generous doesn’t mean you necessarily have to write a check. You can give time, lend your expertise or just do something special for someone. It could be as simple as bringing in someone’s mail, newspaper, garbage bins or carrying heavy objects into the house for them.
  • A Million and One Thanks (1stclasscreativity.com)
    Thanksgiving to me isThe Holiday of Gratitude. 
    The Holiday of Thankfulness. 
    The Holiday of being Thankful.
    The Holiday to Count your Blessings.So on this beautiful Thanksgiving I am counting my blessings and praying for those that might be having a hard time on this holiday because of illness, or being separated from family or other hardships, I’m praying for you today.
  • Giving Thanks (hannahbear585.wordpress.com)
    No matter what happens in life I know that I will always have my family. We support each other, we love each other, and we will always be there for each other. I don’t know what I would do without them. I am truly blessed to have the family I do. Family is forever!
  • “Count your blessings, name them one by one…” (lindseyrichhall.wordpress.com)
    When I was growing up, my mom often sang the “Count Your Blessings” song to me.  What, you mean that you don’t know that song? (insert sarcasm here…I’m not shocked). Well, the song goes something like this:“Count your blessings, name them one by one. Count your blessings, see what God has done. Count your blessings, name them one by one. Count your many blessings, see what God has done.”There are many other verses, but you get the idea.
  • Gobbles of thanks (laurenrautenkranz.wordpress.com)
    I thought today would be the perfect opportunity to take a moment to remind myself how wonderful life is. Days, months, and years pass by in the blink of an eye. It’s sometimes hard to remember to count your blessings.
    +
    Every day is special and today I hope we all take a moment to soak it all in.
  • Blessed (statesideuro.wordpress.com)
    In the midst of everything that seems to be going wrong, we all forget to take a step back and remember to count our blessings.  It’s great that we have Thanksgiving as a reminder to be thankful for all of the good in our lives, but unfortunately, sometimes Thanksgiving doesn’t even do that for us.  Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could have a “mini-Thanksgiving” every day?  Well, the good news is, we can!
    +
    Sometimes things don’t work out the way I’d planned, but they always end up being for the better.  And that’s the power of God.  He blesses us with what we need, even if it’s not what we want.
  • Why I can’t count my blessings (adventuresinsinglemommyhood.wordpress.com)
    how could I possibly select the top 10 out of all the blessings in my life? I would have to write and write and write and then choose out thousands (and yes, I think I could come up with at least 14,000 of my own) which ones were worthy of being in the top ten. It would be way too difficult, and take way too long for the purpose of this blog, but maybe I will try it some day. I have a feeling I would be surprised at what would vie for the top spots after the “biggies”, and maybe even before the biggies. Can I really say that I am more grateful for my car than I am for being able to watch the sunrise over the ocean?
  • Counting blessings (oliviabrodie.wordpress.com)
    We are all going to struggles. Life is never going to be perfect, we are always going to think of something we’d change. But we shouldn’t be focused. We should live contently with the life God has given us. He knows what’s going to happen down the road. It’s not our worries.