Cheers to Good Friends and Good Health

Day 4: Gratitude Blog

I've been blessed to have many wonderful friends in my life.

Some special people that are family but also friends,
some special people/friends  I still keep in touch with from high school,
friends I have made in my professional life,
and special friends more specifically a special group of girls that I met at Bethany Lutheran College,
we like to call ourselves Chi Beta Zappa.
 (yes it's am imaginary sorority that we made up for ourselves, just to be random and fun)

Today I am grateful for all my friends but would like to talk about my college girls.

Here they are...
This is a photo of a photo I have hanging on my wall.
These girls are so special to me,

I remember late night chats, trips to the Viking Village, parties at Barons, dressing up crazy for
Halloween and going bowling, driving through the courtyard, cheering Bethany basketball in our homemade shirts, trips to Perkins, going out, sleep overs at the school house, sharing our most important stories, birthdays, new years,
and so much more.
I am thankful for each of their individual personalities and the blessings they give to our friend group.

Now here's where my gratefulness leads to GOOD HEALTH.
4 friends out of this group have had babies,
within the last 2 months, that's a baby every 2 weeks, whoa girls :)

I am so grateful that though each one of their pregnancies/deliveries may have been stressful or  however they may describe it (and have every right to... )
each one had a healthy little baby and are in good healing health themselves.
Also the mothers that have had children previously are also healthy and so are their children.

Congrats to Lindsay and Phil for the most recent addition healthy little Noah Nathan :)

What a blessing it is and a reason to be grateful to God.

Proverbs 4:22 
For they are life to those who find them, And health to all their whole body.

SO here's to  GOOD FRIENDS and GOOD HEALTH!

Simple Things

Day 3

So as mentioned earlier, my gratitude journal will range from extraordinary to simple because gratitude can be found in many places.

So I started extraordinary and am slowly scaling down to simple with this next one.

"Giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father..." Ephesians 5:20

Being thankful for everything includes the simple, small things like slippers.

How amazing are slippers on a day like today? Right?

Seriously, they are warm and cozy like socks with the durability to make a quick run out to the car to get the lunch bag you forgot when coming in.

Your feet will never be cold again and with these first few days of "true" fall weather, with only more to come, I can say that I am grateful for my cozy black slippers.

And heres a little fun fact, let's give a shout out to Alvin Slippers who began this form of footwear in 1922.

Gratitude: Day 2

If you read my post yesterday you saw...


"So my goal for this next year, a year when I'm really trying to slow down, invest more time in the things that really matter and enjoy each day, I am going to start a gratitude journal on my blog." 
So here is Day 2 of gratitude...

"Home is where the heart is"

"There is no place like home"

"Home Sweet Home"

"Where we love is home,

Home that our feet may leave, but not our hearts."
~Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.


I am grateful that we have a place to live, to be comfortable in, to make our own. 

(literally make our own, as any one that knows us, you know we have in the past been addicted to home renovation :) I think we are finally done with this one though... 5 years later.

Gratitude

When life gets busy and we are thinking of the next thing we need to do, its hard to live in the moment.  When life doesn't go as planned, when there's disappointment, you're frusterated, distracted, focused, self absorbed, worried, it's hard to live in the moment.

So my goal for this next year, a year when I'm really trying to slow down, invest more time in the things that really matter and enjoy each day, I am going to start a gratitude journal on my blog. When I looked up gratitude online to get the "official" definition here's what it said, "The quality of being thankful; readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness."  I need to show appreciation to God for all he's given me and appreciation to those around me for the positive way they've impacted my life and give back with kindness.

Everyday I want to focus on and think about at least one thing I am thankful for no matter how simple or how extraordinary.

Psalm 118:24 says it best...
This is the day that The Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it.

Day 1:
I am grateful for my parents. For their guidance, support (both financial $$ and emotional)  love, patience ( I'm sure there are times you needed a lot of it with me :) sense of humor,
Hard work (sooooo much hard work)  faith, example, and for the wonderful people they are.

Just A Thought

Ok here it goes, I don't like to get political on facebook or things like this and I'm just like anyone that gets annoyed when people go off about politics or religion in forms like these.

But I do have to vent and then I'll shut up.

Everyone is up in arms about what to do and what not to do when it comes to health care.

"I don't want health care to change", "I do want it", "I'm pissed about Obama care", "I need Obama care."

Whatever your stance may be until you've had a time with out health care and have a health crisis OR

have a preexisting condition and can't get care OR

 as in my case need a prescription drug/drugs that aren't covered by my insurance so I'm forced to pay  for it full price out of pocket and let's just say it's insane.

Who knows, maybe the problem with our health care isn't just all the insurance companies maybe it's also the drug/pharmaceutical companies that are allowed to charge such high prices for medication and are making significant profits on our need to be healthy.

There will always be a demand for medicine and what's to stop them from charging the highest prices possible- so no one can't tell me that our health care system doesn't need reform unless you want to pay for my medicine that isn't covered under my insurance.

And the tricky thing is, I have great health care,

I am blessed to be insured

and I know there are people who aren't

or can't afford it

or don't take care of their health because the cost is too much.

Truth is... I'll complain about the expensive medicine but I'll still buy it,

 I'll still do what needs to be done... and take care of myself and luckily I have the means to do it.

It makes me empathize with those who don't... and who this wouldn't even be an option.
They just wouldn't be able to get the medicine they need.

In this country we are so quick to shut something down based on which "political side" it comes from or worry about how it will affect ME negatively because I have great health care,  or I can afford it and it doesn't pertain to ME.

Maybe you don't have an issue with your health care but if we stretch our compassion or empathy to those less fortunate then us we may see how it isn't fair and even though I'm "ok" there are people who aren't and something needs to be done.

I'm not saying I know what the answer is. I'm not saying that either side knows how to solve it or is even solving it right.

But we have to admit that this current system isn't great and while you might not have a personal issue with it,
there are people that do and shouldn't we be thinking beyond our front door?

Summer time

This is the time of year we forget about all the snow.

Flashback

Flashback:  Preschool 1987 or 88??

Can you see me? I'm in the front with the cool shoes.

Those are my shoes, my Punky Brewster shoes, I still remember those,  loved those things...

Do you remember Punky Brewster?

She was awesome.