Today is 3hugs&blessings Thursday and I can bearly stand it!
I love pausing in my week, on THIS day (before I am engulfed in all the plans for the Weekend) to reflect on the things I have scooped into the “grateful pile.” This Thursday of Thankfulness has developed in a twist-over-a-twirl way.
Spending a little time devoted to ‘blog-reading’ via The Reader, I discovered what a vanilla-esque life I live compared to the vibrant lives I was discovering, through the various posts in the que. By the time my reading had completed I pushed back, palms against the temples, to rub away the gloom! I had become grumbly-grumpy and not being fond of the agitation that was clump-lumping together I collected myself, my plaid-fall coat, my award-winning (best golden-retriever in the Universe) dog, Helen, and went for a walk.
Three steps away from the driveway and the thorn-in-my brain, agitating thought, became clear; “I live a small life.”
“Humph!”
I haven’t been to the Rain Forests of Zimbabwe.
I haven’t inoculated babies in Berma.
And I’ve never been commissioned (or been brave enough) to do a chalk-drawing in the middle of the streets of Chicago!
So what’s there to be grateful for???? My ‘pile of gratitude’ suddenly seemed sadly insignificant.
“Oh, Bother!”
With each step I began listing in my head the things I had collected in this weeks pile, in hopes of extracting 3 at least ‘medium-than-life’ things I would lift up in Thanksgiving. Before I realized it…I had walked over four blocks, across 3, back another four toward my home. As I walked around the final bend to approach our driveway Helen & I came to an abrupt halt when I recognized I had walked this entire distance without a single pause in my mental accounting of blessings, over the course of this one week! I Giggled as I walked up the driveway, bent down to unleash Helen, then paused to whisper in her ear…
“We may have a small life compared to most Helen, but it certainly is bountiful!
And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. Colossians 3:17
For These hugs n’ 3 blessings I give Thanks!
*The women I shared a lunch with, the women I prayed with, and a God who brought us all together.
*All the beautiful spaces & places & people from our hometown who have been so wonderful to work with in the planning of our daughter & future son-in-law’s wedding.
*The forever gift my grandmother gave me when she taught me how to crochet, and the joy of now crocheting items for our grand-daughter!
whispering 3hugs&blessings to you, in whatever you do too!
Tomorrow night is the 49th Annual CMA Awards held in the United States and I hope Cuppycake and I will be able to spend a little time watching some of our favorite artists take home a few well-deserved awards! (Not to mention listen to some really great performances and oogle’ over the fabulous fashion styling!) And whether MY favorites are honored or not, it is always nice to watch people recognized for their hard-work! Admittedly, I’m one of those individuals who would rather have ‘participation awards’ for everyone, but I do appreciate & admire the talents of others and am excited for their achievements.
And since the CMA Awards are so huge and will be followed by millions of viewers I have decided to hide among their many accomplishments by taking the opportunity to say thank you to some very special followers who have recognized me with a few blogging awards. (Imagine my surprise when I was notified!) I now know what the performers mean when they stand there on stage, award in hand, and cannot come up with the “right words” to thank their voting audience. I admire so very much the fellow-bloggers who have nominated me that I am giddy-with-excitement to humbly say, “Thank you!” I fear I’ve been holding on to accepting them out of ‘cyber-stage-fright’ but I truly do want to thank them properly. There are a few important steps to walk through in accepting these honors in an appropriate way; however, I have condensed the process in fear of ‘running off the cyber-stage’ before I become tippity-tap-typeset-tied & fumble the words!!
Two particular Awards I actually received when I first began blogging:
I was Awarded The Versatile Blogger Award through Cherry at Cherita Story! I have enjoyed her youthful, spunky, writing voice and have missed her postings. She has not written since early 2015 but I do so very much hope-ity-hope she will return! Perhaps my ‘ping-back’ will inspire her to do so!
Another blogger who has not updated her site for quite a period of time, but was kind enough to award me The Liebster Award was, noplainjanie! I love, love, love the images, color, and cheerful personality she writes with & I do hope she too returns to her blog-space very soon!!
Last but not least one of my kindest followers, Anand from blabberwockying! Anand awarded me two separate honors! The Liebstser Award, the same Award as noplainjanie listed above, and also The Sunshine Blogger Award! I have loved discovering Anand’s bloggity-blog site as he has exposed my heart & my thoughts to many interesting aspects of living. He has a courageous spirit and cannot be outdone in his generosity! He is very affirming to fellow blog-writers and I look forward to reading his perspective on many topics.
When receiving an Award in cyber-world you are asked to do several things:
*Once you are nominated, make a post thanking and linking the person(s) who nominated you! *Include the Award sticker in the post too and be sure to answer the questions from your nominator(s)! *Nominate 5 -10 other bloggers who you feel are worthy of this award! *Lastly, COPY these rules in the post.
Because I have just now collected the courage to accept these Awards there is a plethora of questions to answer which have piled up from the three wonderful bloggers who nominated me! How I have chosen to handle my dilemma is to take an itty-bitty sampling of questions, (from each of the three,) to answer; so that I do not over-whelm anyone with data, yet hopefully keep it interesting for you while honoring my nominators! (Fingers-crossed!)
Why exactly do you write?
I have always journaled. I actually still have old Diaries from my youth and have journaled using various mediums throughout my lifetime. My blog is an opportunity for me to journal in cyber-space! It is a personal attempt to catalog my thoughts as I tippity-tap-type them off into the cyber-world!
Do you believe in miracles? If yes, have you ever seen one?
Yes! And yes! First and foremost I do believe the gift of life is not merely scientific…I believe life itself is a miracle. And that my life has been saved, sinner though I am, by a redeeming God is a miracle. Having said that…there have been two miracles thus far I have been witness to. While praying a Rosary on a silver-beaded Rosary my husband had custom made for me by a local woman as a Christmas gift…the beads turned from silver to gold in the course of prayer. This all took place after a pilgrimage to Medjugorje where this has been reported to have happened on multiple occasions. The prayer intention I had been praying for during this transformation to my Rosary indeed was eventually fulfilled. (The woman who made the Rosary for me verified in writing she used silver beads, while a local jewelry store verified their now gold composite. This evidence was turned in to the study of miracles at Medjugorje.) Lastly, I acquired a ‘healing cloth’ during our pilgrimage to Medjugorje, which I took to the hospital with me upon hearing our god-child was gravely ill. The dr’s at our local hospital gave permission for the cloth to be placed with her, amongst her wrappings, prior to her being air-flighted to a nearby Major Medical Hospital. Her survival has been said to be ‘miraculous.’
Which is your best memory?
Besides the marriage to my husband and birth of my children…reading my favorite childhood book, Island of the Blue Dolphin, while sitting in my favorite Chestnut tree in the side-yard of my childhood home.
Do you feel you are at peace with yourself?
Yes, profoundly…
Who is your guide, guru or counselor?
My Lord, my God, my Saviour!
What makes you feel very good?
When someone asks me to pray for them. Or values my opinion.
Which quality or habit in your life do you like the most about yourself?
My ability to listen.
What is your best quality?
My loyalty.
Which is more important, Heart or Brain?
Heart.
What are your two greatest quotes of all times?
“The truth is like a lion. It does not need defending. Set it free. It will defend itself.” St. Augustine
“It is good to have an end to journey toward, but it is the journey that matters in the end.” Ursula K. LeGuin
Today is November 1st and not only is it the beginning of the NaBloPoMo (National Blog Posting Month) but it is also…
All Saints Day in our Catholic Faith!!
(All Saints’ Day is also commemorated by members of the Eastern Orthodox Church as well as some protestant churches, such as Anglican, Lutheran and Anglican churches.)
Saints [N]: The word “saint” is derived from a Greek verb (hagiazo [aJgiavzw]) whose basic meaning is “to set apart, ” “sanctify, ” or “make holy.”
All Saints’ Day is a solemn holy day of the Catholic Church celebrated annually on November 1. The day is dedicated to the saints of the Church, that is, all those who have attained heaven. Holy day customs vary around the world.
In the United States, the day before is Halloween and is usually celebrated by dressing in costumes while children go door-to-door, “trick-or-treating”; which is soliciting candy from their neighbors.
Our pastor, Fr. Larry Richards, reminded us in our Weekly Parish Bulletin, “There is only one tragedy – not to be a Saint! Each of us are called to be Saints. This should be our number one goal in life… Being a saint is NOT just for the “spiritual super heroes” it is for all of us!
To be Saints means that we become people of love! People who love God above all things created. This means that we have a daily committed prayer life. That means that we build our day around God, not try to fit God into our day. We also must be people who love others as Jesus commanded us – by giving up our lives for them each day, by putting them first.”
In the Roman Catholic Church, the next day, All Souls’ Day, specifically commemorates the departed faithful who have not yet been purified and reached heaven. Catholics celebrate All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day in the fundamental belief that there is a prayerful spiritual communion between those in the state of grace who have died and are either being purified in purgatory or are in heaven (the ‘church penitent’ and the ‘church triumphant’, respectively), and the ‘church militant’ who are the living. Other Christian traditions define, remember and respond to the saints in different ways.
Different faces, different lives
Different ways, different interests
Their differences fit just right to the same God who loved them all.
May you have a solemn All Saints Day! And a Prayerful All Souls Day too!
hugs n’ blessings to all those we continue to pray for, both living and deceased!
To all the departed most especially my Dad, Walter. (Whose birthday is on All Saints Day!) I pray you’re out catching some fish for a Heavenly feast with all those we’ve loved & lost! Until then…I pray for you and ask you to pray for me. Hugs Dad…
when I recognized I had walked this entire distance without a single pause in my mental accounting of blessings, over the course of this one week! I Giggled as I walked up the driveway, bent down to unleash Helen, then paused to whisper in her ear…
hugsnblessings 