We make meaningful (or meaningless) promises to ourselves.
This year I will attempt to be:
A better mother
wife
friend
confidant
and employee
Wishing you a very Happy New Year!
May the next be better than the last.
Here's to change and treating life as one big lesson to learn!
Monday, December 31, 2007
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
Gratitude
This past Thanksgiving was such a beautiful one. I was unable to post anything due to the sickness that ran through my house and put me in bed for 3 days. Yes, I said 3 days. My back still aches from having been in one position for such a long period of time.....
I wanted to share an epiphany I had over this past holiday that I think is appropriate that it flows into the next. I was astounded to see how consumed by wealth and "things" we have become. That this season has become, not one of giving, but one of receiving. Even if the receiving is one we do for ourselves.
I was able to see 2 very different families and the value they place on money and labels. I don't really understand this concept because I grew up in a family of 5 (me being the baby) and nothing I received was new unless it came directly from Santa. I thought these amazing gifts were worth millions of dollars, and they might as well have been. Most everything I received was passed down to me from another person. My sister, a family friend, etc.
I really understand the "value" of something in my adult life, because I have had to work hard for everything I have. I am also the first person to say "thank you" when something is passed down to me from another, even if it was used 2 or 3 times before. I am grateful to anyone that feels the need to pass something along to me or my family.
This shouldn't be a comparison of me and others. It's merely an observation of the type of values I want to instill in my children. One that my parents were loving enough to instill in me. Clothing, electronics, purses, shoes, televisions.......in the end, they mean nothing. The most important thing we have is our family and our friends. Our family is our shelter. It is the one place that should be safe and secure. It is the one place where the love is unconditional. I know this isn't always the case for some families, but my opinion is......IT SHOULD BE!
I am grateful for the loving family I was brought up in. That they took the time to teach me right from wrong. To let me experience love, anger, frustration, joy and anything in between. I am thankful that I was blessed with an AMAZING husband that has no limits when it comes to his love for me. For my children who are the joy and sometimes frustration in my life. For their beautiful faces and personalities that brighten up my life every second of it. I am grateful for the friends that let me open up my mouth and let, what seems like, the never-ending emotion that comes out of it. To be the shoulder to cry on and the listening ear.
As Christmas rolls around, I want to add, I am SO eternally grateful for the birth and life of Jesus Christ, who, without him, I am nothing. For the sacrifice that was made, not just for me, but everyone.
I hope that this year we take the time to think about the actual and TRUE meaning of Christmas. It says it in the name.
It's not the "stuff" you can get at 20% discount.
It's the life that was created to set a perfect example for us all to follow.
I wanted to share an epiphany I had over this past holiday that I think is appropriate that it flows into the next. I was astounded to see how consumed by wealth and "things" we have become. That this season has become, not one of giving, but one of receiving. Even if the receiving is one we do for ourselves.
I was able to see 2 very different families and the value they place on money and labels. I don't really understand this concept because I grew up in a family of 5 (me being the baby) and nothing I received was new unless it came directly from Santa. I thought these amazing gifts were worth millions of dollars, and they might as well have been. Most everything I received was passed down to me from another person. My sister, a family friend, etc.
I really understand the "value" of something in my adult life, because I have had to work hard for everything I have. I am also the first person to say "thank you" when something is passed down to me from another, even if it was used 2 or 3 times before. I am grateful to anyone that feels the need to pass something along to me or my family.
This shouldn't be a comparison of me and others. It's merely an observation of the type of values I want to instill in my children. One that my parents were loving enough to instill in me. Clothing, electronics, purses, shoes, televisions.......in the end, they mean nothing. The most important thing we have is our family and our friends. Our family is our shelter. It is the one place that should be safe and secure. It is the one place where the love is unconditional. I know this isn't always the case for some families, but my opinion is......IT SHOULD BE!
I am grateful for the loving family I was brought up in. That they took the time to teach me right from wrong. To let me experience love, anger, frustration, joy and anything in between. I am thankful that I was blessed with an AMAZING husband that has no limits when it comes to his love for me. For my children who are the joy and sometimes frustration in my life. For their beautiful faces and personalities that brighten up my life every second of it. I am grateful for the friends that let me open up my mouth and let, what seems like, the never-ending emotion that comes out of it. To be the shoulder to cry on and the listening ear.
As Christmas rolls around, I want to add, I am SO eternally grateful for the birth and life of Jesus Christ, who, without him, I am nothing. For the sacrifice that was made, not just for me, but everyone.
I hope that this year we take the time to think about the actual and TRUE meaning of Christmas. It says it in the name.
It's not the "stuff" you can get at 20% discount.
It's the life that was created to set a perfect example for us all to follow.
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