Margaret McSweeney's Blog, page 18

Day 5: 12 Pearls of Christmas | My Gift to Him | Cara Putman

Welcome to the 12 Pearls of Christmas blog series!

Merry Christmas from Pearl Girls™! We hope you enjoy these Christmas “Pearls of Wisdom” from the authors who were so kind to donate their time and talents! If you miss a few posts, you’ll be able go back through and read them on this blog throughout the next few days.

We’re giving away a pearl necklace in celebration of the holidays, as well as some items from the contributors! Enter now below. The winner will be announced on January 2, 2014, at the Pearl Girls blog.

If you are unfamiliar with Pearl Girls™, please visit www.pearlgirls.info and see what we’re all about. In short, we exist to support the work of charities that help women and children in the US and around the globe. Consider purchasing a copy of Mother of Pearl, Pearl Girls: Encountering Grit, Experiencing Grace, or one of the Pearl Girls products (all GREAT gifts!) to help support Pearl Girls.

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My Gift to Him

by: Cara Putman

As Christmas nears, I’m staggering under a year that’s been too full. A fall that’s been too busy. A season of good, but overwhelming days.

Does anyone else feel the same?

There’s nothing bad—life is just full. Too full.

And I feel emptied. So empty.

It would be easy to enter this season with a sense of exhaustion, feeling like I just want to get through and on to January.

Instead, I want to offer my life again. May my gift be my life. My dreams. My talents. My all. May I be available to Him to transform from the inside out. I want my life to be lived for His glory.

Yet I fail. And on the days that I am most tired and overwhelmed I seem to fail more. It is then that I take comfort in the reality that He is the King born in a manager. A King who gave up heaven in order to save me. You. All of us. He has good plans for my life. Plans that exceed my wildest dreams. Plans fit for the daughter of the Most High.

He has plans like that for you, too. Plans that may be different from your plans, but plans that are wonderful and good.

So in this season of busyness, a season when it is easy to focus on things, duties, parties, family and friends, will you join me? I’m offering myself as a gift to Him. Will you?

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Cara Putman is the award-winning author of sixteen novels. You can learn more about her and her books at www.caraputman.com. You can read the first chapters of all her books there including her new novel, Shadowed by Grace, which releases on January 1st just in time for Christmas gift cards. You can connect with Cara on: Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Goodreads

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Day 4: 12 Pearls of Christmas | The Nativity | Lynn Austin

Welcome to the 12 Pearls of Christmas blog series!

Merry Christmas from Pearl Girls™! We hope you enjoy these Christmas “Pearls of Wisdom” from the authors who were so kind to donate their time and talents! If you miss a few posts, you’ll be able go back through and read them on this blog throughout the next few days.

We’re giving away a pearl necklace in celebration of the holidays, as well as some items from the contributors! Enter now below. The winner will be announced on January 2, 2014, at the Pearl Girls blog.

If you are unfamiliar with Pearl Girls™, please visit www.pearlgirls.info and see what we’re all about. In short, we exist to support the work of charities that help women and children in the US and around the globe. Consider purchasing a copy of Mother of Pearl, Pearl Girls: Encountering Grit, Experiencing Grace, or one of the Pearl Girls products (all GREAT gifts!) to help support Pearl Girls.

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The Nativity

by Lynn Austin

The first time I visited Bethlehem more than twenty-five years ago, I expected to feel a sense of the beauty and simplicity of the much-loved Christmas story: a crude stable, the holy family, shepherds, wise men, and the Son of God in the manger. I was sadly disappointed. The traditional site of Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem is inside the Church of the Nativity—a truly ancient church built in 565 AD. It has survived enemy invasions, the Crusaders, restorations, renovations, a fire, and an earthquake, but it looks like . . . well, a church. A beautifully decorated and ornamented church, with all the sacred clutter that has accumulated throughout the centuries, but it bore no resemblance to my image of what Jesus’ birthplace was like.

But wait—the real site was down a set of stairs and inside a natural cave that has been venerated as the place of His birth since 160 AD. But even this simple cave was so gilded and bedecked with artwork and tapestries and lamps and incense burners that I still couldn’t get a sense of what it might have looked like on that first holy night. In the center of the floor was a silver-encrusted star with a hole in the middle. By putting my hand inside, I could touch the place where Jesus was born more than 2,000 years ago. I tried it, butI left Bethlehem feeling empty, unable to make the sacred connection I had so longed for.

And isn’t that how so many of our Christmases end up feeling? In spite of all the tinsel and glitter and sparkle, all the money we spend and the stress we endure as we try to create the perfect Hallmark Christmas, we’re often left with the same let-down feeling I had inside that church in Bethlehem. We’ve lost the simple beauty of the story, that precious connection with God that is the true miracle of Bethlehem.

The year after visiting Bethlehem, I began looking for ways to recapture the simplicity of Christ’s incarnation. Santa Claus has never been invited to our family Christmases, and we’ve always celebrated it as Jesus’ birthday, exchanging presents because God gave us the gift of His Son. But year after year, the clutter and glitz had draped themselves over our celebrations, just like the religious trappings that have collected inside the Church of the Nativity over the centuries. That year, I purchased a nice but inexpensive manger set. I wanted something that wasn’t a toy but that my children could handle and touch. We placed it at their level and at the center of our holiday and began the simple tradition of gathering together as a family to fill the empty stable while my husband read the story from the Bible. Our children divided all the people and sheep and camels among themselves, and when we got to their part in the Bible story, they added their figures to the stable.

This simple tradition has become so beloved by all of us that we still do it the same way every year, even though our children are now adults. Our two married children couldn’t wait to share the tradition with their spouses, generously dividing their sheep and wise men among the newest members of our family. One year, our daughter was living overseas and couldn’t make it home for the holiday, but we still held our family tradition while she participated via Skype and a web camera.

And it’s always in those moments, with the simple stable and inexpensive plaster figures and my precious loved ones gathered around me, that I feel the holy wonder of Christmas once again—Emmanuel, God with us!

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Bestselling author Lynn Austin has sold more than one million copies of her books worldwide. Her latest novel, Return To Me , is the first book in her new series.  She is an eight-time Christy Award winner for her historical novels, as well as a popular speaker at retreats and conventions. Lynn and her husband have raised three children and live near Chicago. Visit Lynn at her website.

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12 Pearls of Christmas | The Magic of a Christmas Moment | Sarah E. Ladd

Welcome to the 12 Pearls of Christmas blog series!

Merry Christmas from Pearl Girls™! We hope you enjoy these Christmas “Pearls of Wisdom” from the authors who were so kind to donate their time and talents! If you miss a few posts, you’ll be able go back through and read them on this blog throughout the next few days.

We’re giving away a pearl necklace in celebration of the holidays, as well as some items from the contributors! Enter now below. The winner will be announced on January 2, 2014, at the Pearl Girls blog.

If you are unfamiliar with Pearl Girls™, please visit www.pearlgirls.info and see what we’re all about. In short, we exist to support the work of charities that help women and children in the US and around the globe. Consider purchasing a copy of Mother of Pearl, Pearl Girls: Encountering Grit, Experiencing Grace, or one of the Pearl Girls products (all GREAT gifts!) to help support Pearl Girls.

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The Magic of a Christmas Moment

by: Sarah E. Ladd

Ah, it’s Christmas! Just the mention of the word makes me think of twinkling trees, steaming wassail, glistening snowflakes, and happy childhood memories.

One Christmas Eve, when my sister and I were quite small, my parents were trying to get us to go to sleep. Of course, we were far too excited to think about sleep! We double checked our stockings and strained our ears to see if we could hear reindeer hooves prancing on the roof. I can still remember my mom saying, “Santa can’t come until you are asleep!”

And then—it happened!

We looked out of our kitchen window, and what should we see? Through our neighbor’s window, we saw HIM . . . Santa Claus . . . doing the dishes! Santa was only one house away! My sister and I could not believe our eyes. Within a flash, we were in our beds, blankets pulled up to our chins, eyes pressed tight in hopes we would fall asleep so Santa could stop by our house!

Of course, it took several years for us to realize that “Santa” was our neighbor hosting a Christmas party, but even after all these years I can still remember the excited thrill of that moment. Even to this day the memory brings a smile to my face, and every Christmas, someone always says, “Hey, remember the year we saw Santa doing dishes?”

As Christmas approaches, it is easy to get caught up on the busyness of the season. Shopping, cooking, traveling—it can be a hectic time of year, with crazy schedules and hurried timelines. But in the bustle of the season, do not forget to keep your eyes open for the magic in the simplest moments, especially if you have young children or grandchildren. Those special memories are gifts that last a lifetime, and just like that Christmas many years ago, it would have been very easy not to take a moment to look out the window. Keep your heart and your eyes open . . . you never know what magic you will find in Christmas moments.

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Sarah E. Ladd has more than ten years of marketing experience. She is a graduate of Ball State University and holds degrees in public relations and marketing. The Heiress of Winterwood was the recipient of the 2011 Genesis Award for historical romance. Her second novel, The Headmistress of Rosemere, releases December 2013. Sarah lives in Indiana with her amazing husband, sweet daughter, and spunky Golden Retriever. Learn more at her website or follow her on Facebook. Also, be sure to stop by for your chance to win 8 Christian Fiction novels by some of your favorite authors! Follow this link to enter the Christian Fiction Christmas Giveaway.

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Day 2: 12 Pearls of Christmas | Christmas Musings | Anita Higman

Welcome to the 12 Pearls of Christmas blog series!

Merry Christmas from Pearl Girls™! We hope you enjoy these Christmas “Pearls of Wisdom” from the authors who were so kind to donate their time and talents! If you miss a few posts, you’ll be able go back through and read them on this blog throughout the next few days.

We’re giving away a pearl necklace in celebration of the holidays, as well as some items from the contributors! Enter now below. The winner will be announced on January 2, 2014, at the Pearl Girls blog.

If you are unfamiliar with Pearl Girls™, please visit www.pearlgirls.info and see what we’re all about. In short, we exist to support the work of charities that help women and children in the US and around the globe. Consider purchasing a copy of Mother of Pearl, Pearl Girls: Encountering Grit, Experiencing Grace, or one of the Pearl Girls products (all GREAT gifts!) to help support Pearl Girls.

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Christmas Musings

by: Anita Higman

I feel great joy in preparing my home for the holiday season. I love to drape boughs of greenery along the staircase, swirl spices into a pot of apple cider that’s simmering on the stove, make crafty floral arrangements, and sing along with all my favorite carols. Then when friends and family come over for brunches and dinners, I put out my finest decoration, my best china, and my sincerest smile. I go all out. These are my guests, and I want the event to be welcoming, satisfying, and festive. I want them to feel like royalty.

When Christ arrived in Bethlehem, I wish He could have had a more splendid welcoming, a more regal place to sleep than a wooden trough where animals were fed. Even though His birth was without majestic lodgings or kingly adornments, I’m so glad He overlooked our foolish blunders, our lack of hospitality, and chose to live amongst us anyway. Jesus certainly could have chosen a different route and easier way to offer redemption.

But He didn’t.

Jesus came in one of the humblest possibly ways. He had a divine approach that left humans surprised and puzzled. And it turned into a road of pain beyond anything we can imagine. When it comes to God’s extravagant sacrifice and love that Christmas represents, He deserves a standing ovation. After all, Christmas holds the true secrets we’ve all been searching for: meaning to our lives on earth, victory over death, and life eternal.Christmas gives us a reason to work, to laugh, to dream, to love. Christmas is a holiday of the heart and earth’s finest celebration.

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Best-selling and award-winning author, Anita Higman, has over thirty books published (several coauthored) for adults and children. Her latest release, Marriage in Middlebury , is a tale of love, hope, and forgiveness. Anita’s been a Barnes & Noble “Author of the Month” for Houston and has a BA degree, combining speech communication, psychology, and art. Anita loves good movies, exotic teas, and brunch with her friends. Visit Anita at her website.

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Day 1: 12 Pearls of Christmas | A Hibiscus “Hug from Heaven” | Margaret McSweeney

Welcome to the 12 Pearls of Christmas blog series !

Merry Christmas from Pearl Girls™! We hope you enjoy these Christmas “Pearls of Wisdom” from the authors who were so kind to donate their time and talents! If you miss a few posts, you’ll be able go back through and read them on this blog throughout the next few days.

We’re giving away a pearl necklace in celebration of the holidays, as well as some items from the contributors! Enter now below.The winner will be announced on January 2, 2014, at the Pearl Girls blog.

If you are unfamiliar with Pearl Girls™, please visit www.pearlgirls.info and see what we’re all about. In short, we exist to support the work of charities that help women and children in the US and around the globe. Consider purchasing a copy of Mother of Pearl, Pearl Girls: Encountering Grit, Experiencing Grace, or one of the Pearl Girls products (all GREAT gifts!) to help support Pearl Girls.

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A Hibiscus “Hug from Heaven”

by: Margaret McSweeney

The flurry of festivities during Thanksgiving weekend came to an abrupt halt as I began the first week of December 2013 with an empty nest. My husband was back at work. My daughters were back at college. And my brother, Claude, and niece, Mary, were back in Alabama and Tennessee.

Bare branches accentuated the overcast gloom in the Chicago suburbs on what marked the third anniversary of my brother Randy’s passing. Randy had been feeding a stray cat on his deck when the fatal heart attack struck.

Walking downstairs, I whispered a prayer. “Lord, I am feeling really sad right now. Please help me experience your joy.” As I walked into the family room, my heart smiled. The pruned hibiscus plant balanced a solitary flower that had blossomed overnight! This was truly a hibiscus “hug from heaven.”

In her book When Grief Is Your Constant Companion, my late mother shared her poignant poem about a hibiscus plant. She wrote this following poem several years after losing my dad to a sudden heart attack while he was in Paris on a business trip.

TEARDROPS: EVERLASTING JOY

By Carolyn Rhea

My love, how can it be

That I no longer think of you

Almost every waking moment

And grieve for your loving presence?

There are small spaces of time

When my life is so absorbed in present living

That you are not in my thoughts at all.

How unthinkable!

How sad that I should forget you even for an hour!

But I have not forgotten you, my dear.

You are forever a part of me.

You helped God shape my life

Into my present self.

I carry your love in my heart.

I miss you so very much and always will.

But now I’m caught up in trying to reconstruct

With God’s guidance

A meaningful life for myself.

One in which I can help,

Serve, share, love, grow.

I remember the hibiscus plant

We bought at the annual show.

It was called Teardrops,

For several perfectly-shaped white teardrops

Spattered the broad expanse

Of its gorgeous pink blooms.

How we loved it!

Then later, after it had grown much taller,

We saw a different kind of bloom:

Multitudes of small, sturdy, happy pink blossoms

Swaying merrily in the Florida breeze!

Teardrops had been grafted onto a stronger plant!

We named it Everlasting Joy.

Teardrops still bloomed at the lower level,

But as the plant grew ever upward and outward,

Everlasting Joy bloomed in profusion!

Lord Jesus, when teardrops fall,

Help me remember that through faith

I have been grafted in You –

You, the vine;

I, a branch –

Eternally secure in God’s love through Thee!

Blessed with Thy fullness of joy on earth

And the promise of everlasting joy in heaven!

Thank you, dear Father for sharing your everlasting joy with me today in my solitude. We are not alone in our grief. You are with us.

“Ye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy.” John 16:20

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Margaret McSweeney is well-published author (A Mother’s Heart Knows, Go Back and Be Happy, Pearl Girls, Mother of Pearl, Aftermath) and the founder of Pearl Girls™. Through Pearl Girls™, Margaret collaborates with other writers on projects to help fund a safe house for WINGS, an organization that helps women and their children who are victims of domestic violence, and to build wells for schoolchildren in Uganda through Hands of Hope. For the past twelve years she has served on the board of directors and leadership advisory board for WINGS. Margaret lives with her husband and 2 daughters in the Chicago suburbs. Learn more at Margaret’s website.

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Near Misses

Near misses. Averted disasters. Life-altering circumstances that almost happened . . . but didn’t. Gifts of grace, they are, directly from the hand of a loving, caring Father. In fact, I heard about a hair-raising one not long ago from my friend Mary, a pastor’s wife.

On her way to Bible Study one overcast morning, Mary was sitting at an infinity light – you know, one of those interminably long traffic lights at which you grow two extra chins and a cauliflower bum before it finally changes. And when it eventually does turn green, it lasts just long enough for a VW Bug, a motorcycle, and a smart car to squeeze through. You’d swear the controller is a vengeful demon on a joystick.

Yep, infinity lights are one of Satan’s favorite chuck-your-religion-out-the-window tools. You’ve heard of infinity pools that appear to have no end? Same thing. Only instead of swimming in it, you drown in frustration.

So after many tedious red-green-yellow rotations, Mary had finally worked her way up to first-car-behind-the-white-line position. By that time, her patience had worn chiffon-thin. In an attempt to practice Philippians 4:8, “Fix your thoughts on what is true, honorable, and right . . .” rather than what was ugly, maddening, and teeth-grinding, Mary grabbed the Bible on the seat beside her and flipped it open.

Her blood pressure had just begun to normalize through the calming influence of Papa God’s Word, when a car horn blasted behind her. Glancing up, Mary realized that the light had turned green. As she replaced the Bible on the seat and began to shift her foot from the brake to the accelerator, the intersection directly in front of her suddenly exploded in an ear-splitting collision of metal on metal.

A speeding truck approaching from her right ran the red light, T-boning the car coming toward her. The car that moved when she should have. The car that was in the same location she would have been in if she’d pulled into the intersection nano-seconds earlier when the light first turned green … if she hadn’t been delayed by reading her Bible.

Shudder.

Okay, take a deep breath and leave the what-if-it-were-me scary imaginings behind for a moment.

That supernatural intervention story brings to mind a beloved old folk-spiritual song from my childhood. Do you remember this one? If so, sing along:

All night, all day.

Angels watching over me, my Lord.

All night, all day.

Angels watching over me.

By definition, grace is unmerited divine assistance. Undeserved favor. An act of kindness originating from God.

That morning, Mary was physically saved by grace. (She was already spiritually saved by grace, so if it had been her time and she had died in that accident, she knew she would have awakened in heaven.) There were many reasons why she should have hurt in that crash, but only one reason that she wasn’t: Unmerited divine assistance … an act of kindness from the hand of the Almighty.

Angels watching over me.

Grace is abundant in our everyday lives, whether we’re aware of it or not. The fact that we roll out of bed in the morning is purely a gift of grace. And that we keep breathing in and out all day. Grace. And have the opportunity to walk out, climb into our cars, and drive to the store where we have enough money to buy milk, eggs, and bread for our families.

Being able to do each of those things is a gift. Grace and more grace. Abundant grace. Amazing grace.

“Those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ,” (Romans 5:17, NASB).

So the next pond scum day when you feel like you’ve been picked out to be picked on, remember that through the crystal clear eyes of grace, Someone has your back.

Angels watching over me.

Grace is abundant in our everyday lives. @Grit_Grace @DebCoty #Protection #Grace
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Delicious Days at Disney (and a giveaway!)

Exciting news! On Thursday, December 12, I will be interviewing Chef Robert, the executive Chef for Disney! We’ll be talking about what Disney is doing for the holidays and how you can put a little Disney magic into your own kitchen this season. Have a question for Chef Robert about Disney, the holidays, or tips & tricks for your kitchen! Leave them below and enter to win a GREAT pack of Disney products. (See below!)

Here is a bit about my delicious days at Disney!

Donning my chef hat mouse ears, I began two delicious days at Disney Epcot’s International Food and Wine Festival! Would the land of Mickey Mouse prove to be a gourmet destination? I was delightfully surprised.

I attended two cooking demonstrations by two Disney Chefs. What fun to sample my first taste of cactus—in an empanada prepared by Chef Javier. Here is a peak at how you prep a cactus!

Empanadas with cactus. Chef Javier and me!

Chef Dave prepared a Rock Shrimp & Crab BLT. What an intriguing combination! The “B” was baked prosciutto the “L” was Boston Bibb Aioli and the “T” was beautifully prepared tomatoes. Chef Dave shared a great tip to “crunch” the prosciutto: Put the prosciutto on parchment paper in a baking sheet and then cover it with a second baking sheet.

Rock Shrimp & Crab BLT

Each cooking demonstration was also paired with a special glass of wine.

During the evening, my dear friend, Dawn Meehan, joined me for a “tour around the world” at Epcot. We sampled delicacies from China, Brazil, Morocco, Italy, Mexico and pastries from France. It’s only during the Food and Wine Festival that all of the countries have sampling stations where you don’t have to eat a whole meal, but rather a taste of the cuisine. So, Chef Mickey, it’s two ears up for my delicious days at Disney!

I brought a little piece of my trip back to share with you! Enter to win this Disney Chef Set: a Chef Mickey cookbook, a Mickey apron, measuring spoons, and a Chef Duffy teddy bear. Two ways to win – leave a comment for Chef Robert below in the comment section or enter via the form below. Three will win! I’ll announce the winners next week on my blog.

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Savor the day!

Journeying

I have been on a journey for my whole life. “Wait a sec,” I can hear you say now, “haven’t we all?”

Fair enough: I’m stating the obvious. But “journey” really does seem to be the most fitting word for me to use, as I have been wandering from one place to the next without much of a sense of “home.” Or, maybe more accurately, with no sense of home at all.

In part this is due to upbringing: the child of a German-born, Canadian-citizen father and of a Southern American, Cherokee mother, growing up in a remote Zambian village, I was kind of destined to be semi-rootless. But I became truly rootless at the age of nine, when a car accident left me fatherless. This same accident, taking place as my parents were en route to pick up my sister and I from boarding school, also paralyzed my mother. So our family was abruptly shipped to a strange land—known as Tennessee—of bizarre customs, odd quirks, and strange accents ☺ I did not like it there.

However, I was also operating under an assumption that good Christian girls do not get angry; they simply smile and say, “I’m fine. I mean, after all, ‘all things work together for good to those who love the Lord’ . . . right?”

Well, right, but . . . the truth is that we do get angry. And the truth is that much happens in this world that should rightly cause anger. So later in my own life I was forced to come to terms with my own anger, made manifest in the form of a battle with my inability to continue barreling forward, accepting responsibility after responsibility, and taking on challenges as if I could handle anything. I could not. And I crashed.

Some years of counseling and processing later, I entered into the 30s of a life that became categorized by wandering. Good for the season that it has been thus far.

Not too long ago I realized that I have lived my life in themes. I will hear a word, or a phrase, spoken to my heart, and I will realize how those words sum up the living out of my life at that time.

When I was living in Afghanistan, I heard the word, “God deals with me gently,” and I spent that year and a half discovering ways in which that was true to my experience and personality.

A few weeks ago I heard a clear, almost audible new word: “Anna, claim your life.” I’m really not quite sure what this is going to look like. I have not come to any sort of exalted level of spiritual existence. But I’m walking forward . . .

Have you claimed your life? @Grit_Grace @GraceAnnaJ #journey
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Surprise?

All Melissa and her cousins could think about was Christmas, the presents they’d receive, and the cheesecake Melissa’s mom made every year. While over at their grandparents’ house in December, Melissa had the bright idea to take her cousins on a scavenger hunt for hidden Christmas presents. High and low, in every crack and crevice they looked until they finally found three boxes stacked on a shelf in a closet. They opened up the boxes, and inside were three carriages for their dolls. However, the surprise of the carriages was gone on Christmas morning.

Even as adults, we can get too wrapped up in the holiday season, in the shopping we need to do, and in the baking we need to do. The simple joy of God sending his son as “a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger” from Luke chapter two verse 12 is ruined because we’re too busy searching for a way to make Christmas perfect or, like Melissa, we’re too distracted by gifts. The surprise that comes from finding the simple joy God gave us is ruined by our own planning and searching. This season, try to get your family’s attention away from Christmas and its distractions and direct it toward the one who came as a baby and later sacrificed himself for us.

Don't get too wrapped up in the #holiday season. @Grit_Grace @ReMixHer
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Turning Annoyance into Gratitude: An Experiment with Intention

“Acknowledging the good that you already have in your life is the foundation for all abundance.”

― Eckhart Tolle

It is late November and the warmth of summer is but a distant memory. The days are colder and the nights longer. With this constant graying of each day, my daily discomforts seem magnified. I am annoyed by the people on the sidewalk don’t follow a common pattern of walking on the right or left and I have to work hard at dodging everyone. I am annoyed that my body is squishy in the middle and my clothes don’t fit right. I am annoyed that I am almost always cold. I am annoyed that my family and friends are far away. I am annoyed that I am feeling tired and a bit under the weather. I am annoyed.

Ironically, feeling annoyed, I sat down to write about gratitude. It wasn’t easy as I thought of all the cliché things to say and eventually unsatisfied, walked away from an empty computer screen. Later that day, in the middle of a yoga class, it hit me. I would turn all of my complaints into gratitude. It would be a daily exercise of identifying five annoyances and spinning them into five feelings of gratitude. It would be an act of intention.

Image copyright Sarah Wauterlek photography

Complaint #1:  I hate being cold. I used to say that my happiness is directly related to the warmth of my body and although I joke often about it, I am honestly much happier when warm. Now, living in London, I struggle with the cold weather. I walked briskly down the street last night as I hurried back to my warm home. I passed a homeless man on the street and about a block later I decided to turn around. I reached into my bag and offered him a granola bar. We smiled at one another and chatted for a short bit. I walked away clearly aware in that moment of what I do have and inspired to do more for others that do not. I am grateful for my warm home.

Complaint #2: my squishy body annoys me. As a woman, it is very easy to be hard on yourself for the way you look. I am not at all immune from this. If I am honest, for the past months I have avoided looking at my stomach altogether as I am an unhappy with it. Today, with this new intention of gratitude, I forced myself to look at my body and see it differently. Instead of unhappiness, I felt gratitude for the miracle of childbirth. My squishy stomach is evidence of my son’s existence. I am grateful that I was able to give birth to a wonderful boy.

Complaint #3: I miss my family and friends back in the States. My husband and I moved to London about 9 months ago and I miss my family and friends dearly. With Thanksgiving and Christmas approaching, I miss them all the more. However, I will be going home for Christmas and we have made some wonderful new friends here in London. I am not alone and with this realization, I reached out to my new friends and expressed gratitude. I am grateful for the friendships I have made through church, yoga, new mum groups, and the other organizations I have joined.

Complaint #4: I am annoyed when people are in my way and things don’t go smoothly. London is a crowded city and we live in the center of it all. The sidewalk is full of people who walk on both sides and it can be tiring just walking to and from somewhere. Learning to live in this culture has challenged my expectations and the way in which I do things. I remember that we chose this. I am grateful for the experience of living in England and for being able to travel and see life lived out differently.

Complaint #5: Feeling tired and a bit under the weather discourages me. This time of year it is easy to feel down with the darkening sky and the cold weather. It is also quite common to catch cold. As I reach for extra vitamin C, I am reminded of those in my life who are battling cancer and debilitating illness. I am grateful for health.

What do you complain about and how can you turn those thoughts into gratitude? I challenge you to do as I did and write down three to five major complaints in your life and then turn them into gratitude. From there, you can even go a step further by donating money or your time to organizations that help the areas you identified. For example, after doing this experiment in gratitude I went home and donated to an abused women’s’ charity as I am so grateful for being loved and cared for. I also sat down and wrote a letter of encouragement to a man who sells papers on the street. Every day that I pass by him he has a smile on his face and he greets many who coldly ignore him. If I had his job I would surely complain, but instead he smiles and he has made a difference by doing so. I wanted to tell him that.

In this experiment of gratitude, you will likely find many things to be grateful for. In a day that once would have been full of annoyances, you will likely find yourself overflowing with gratitude instead.

Turn your complaints into gratitude. @Grit_Grace @SWauterlek #thankful
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