Don't forget your blessings!

When I decided to update, it was because I needed a breather. Amid the bill paying, house cleaning and baby wrangling, I sometimes forget to "stop and smell the roses." My great-grandmother often says that when she can't sleep, she just starts counting her blessings until she drifts off. I've always appreciated this about her, because I know that her life hasn't been super easy (or super hard, for that matter), and that she could have definitely gotten dragged into the mire with her thinking if she'd have let herself. Love is a choice. Blessing or cursing is a choice. Forgiveness and thankfulness are choices. And, certainly, happiness is something we must choose for ourselves. Oftentimes I can get stuck on the fact that I'm tired/sore/sick/worried about money/etc. I worry that my house will never get as clean as the ones around me. I get concerned that I'm not living up to the expectations of others who have preschoolers, too. I don't spend my nights searching the internet for craft ideas for my daughter, or interesting ways to use noodles and finger paint (other than the 1 billion I see on pinterest). I have decided to go with the plan that Grandma had-focus on the positives. What would happen in my life if I decided to change my direction? Would my family suddenly be wealthy? Overflowing with favor? Healthy as we've ever been? I really have no way of knowing what would happen. But, what would happen if I DIDN'T change my focus? Statistics have shown that people who have high stress levels have more sick days, have less satisfaction in their jobs and relationships, and (ultimately) are unhappier. I definitely think it's worth the effort! When my husband and I got married, we walked out of the church to John Waller's The Blessing. We will choose to be a blessing for life! Not just when things are going my way.