Gratitude

Since It’s World Bee Day

| Sandra Pavloff Conner
BEE ON YELLOW
Terry Valley – Visions Seen Photography

Today is “Word Bee Day.” Who knew???  Well, I guess the UN General Assembly did, since they declared it a couple years ago. I didn’t know until this morning, but that’s okay. I have nothing against bees. I usually have a hundred or so spending time in my azalea bushes., and we get along fine. But, frankly, I’m totally fed up with all these causes to “save” all kinds of various creatures and plants while carrying on the wholesale slaughter of human beings in their mother’s wombs. Can anyone say “insanity”?????

Anyway, I decided that if I’m going to have to acknowledge “World Bee Day,” I’m going to do it may own way. I made out a list of things that I’m scheduling myself to do today, and I encourage everyone reading this post to do these same things. As a former grammar teacher, I’ve had to turn off my natural spelling instincts for this one, but it’s worth it:

1.  Bee on the look-out for anyone I can help with his job or a personal problem — and then actively help him.

2.  Bee cheerful and kind to everyone I interact with all day long, whether it’s a business, associate, a family member, a social network friend, a fellow grocery shopper, or a neighbor’s dog choosing my yard for the bathroom — everyone — no exceptions.

3.  Bee diligent to do every task that should be done today and to finish it on time and with excellence.

4.  Bee sure to smile at everyone and at myself in the mirror.

5.  Bee diligent to contemplate and be grateful for all the multitude of blessings in my life.

6.  Bee diligent to openly and generously praise the Lord for giving me so much to make my life good.

7.  Bee Happy!  (It is a choice.)

 

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Thanksgiving Thursday 9/21/17

| Sandra Pavloff Conner

Many of you know that I have been going through a very sad time in my life lately. And, as I’m sure most of you are aware, it’s very easy to let the sadness add its weight to all the other pressures and stresses of life and cloud our vision so that we focus on the negative much more than it deserves our focus. So today I’m making a point of focusing on something positive that I’m thankful for. And I think, perhaps, I’ll make this focus a weekly priority — every Thursday — for a while. Any of you who have something you’re thankful for are welcome to share a link to your post on that subject right here in my comment window. (Doesn’t have to be a Thursday. Any day this week will be fine.)

This week I’m very grateful for the new family of birds in my yard. They seem to be living in my big Blue Spruce tree, and evidently there are a bunch of new babies. When I looked outside, about 7 of them were perched on the railing to my front steps — and in the azalea bush beside the steps. I just had to get some pictures of them — even though I had to shoot through the screened door. (That’s why the pics are a little fuzzy looking.) I didn’t dare open the door to get a clearer picture because the birds get frightened and scatter at the slightest sound.

I wish I’d had a way to video them because part of the time, one of the little birds had a hard time maintaining his grip on the wrought iron, and he kept sliding down the rail, into his neighbor. It was so cute.

Well, that’s about it, but I got interrupted while writing this, so the posting date may show Friday’s date instead of Thursday’s. Oh well, no matter. It’s still ‘Thanksgiving Thursday’ as far as I’m concerned. Don’t forget to share your own link here if you’d like to — anytime this week.

Exif JPEG

Exif JPEG

 

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Weekly Smile 78

| Sandra Pavloff Conner

This week on “Weekly Smile” Trent sparked my memory about a post I did a little over a year ago concerning smiling. So I decided it would be a good time to dig it out of my archives and give it another run. I need to follow the advice in my own post more often. Hope it’s an encouragement to everyone else out there.

 

COW WITH SMILEY EYES

When your smile is sincere, it will always show in your eyes.

Would you like to try a happiness experiment?  Some of you may have tried it when I posted about it previously. But it never hurts to repeat something that has positive results. You can carry out this experiment on any day you choose, but if you start early, you’ll have more time to accumulate results.

Here are the steps:

  1. Make it a point to smile all day long – at every person, at every animal, and at yourself every time you look in the mirror.
    `
  2. Every time you talk to someone (no matter what the topic) make it a point to say something positive to that individual.
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  3. Deliberately stop 7 separate times and thank God out loud for some blessing in your life.
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  4. At the end of the day, take stock of how you feel and record the results of the experiment.

 

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Living a Grateful Life

| Sandra Pavloff Conner

SMILEY - YEL,ORANGEHave you ever noticed how much better your life is when you’re grateful for all the good things in it? Oh, I know, I know … life is full of aggravations — some huge, but most of them quite small in the scheme of things. I’ve had my share and, frankly, I’ve had a lot more than my share a few times. But I’ve realized that being aggravated, upset, worried, angry, or just out of peace does no real good for me or anyone else and takes a negative toll on me personally.

In contrast, when I am actively grateful for the positive gifts in my life, I find I feel better physically, I think much more quickly and clearly, and I make a positive difference in other people’s lives. Of course I’m referring to being grateful for the big things like a loving family, trustworthy friends, a job, a place to live, food to eat, etc. But sometimes I’m actually sensible enough to be grateful for the small, ordinary things like being able to see the night sky and wonder at it — for being treated kindly by a clerk in a store — for having pleasant-scented dishwashing liquid to enjoy as I do the day’s dishes (by hand).

Whether it’s a small patch of flowers in the yard, a delicious cup of coffee, a local police officer who offers to help with a contrary auto license plate, a computer tech on the other end of the phone who’s willing to go the extra mile to fix my problem, or a family of the cutest little groundhogs out enjoying the day even though they are living where they shouldn’t be (in my neighbor’s yard) — when I realize that they have actually added beauty, energy, interest, and/or some degree of help to my life — and when I take the time and energy of thought to just appreciate that fact — my whole quality of life is just better.

One day a few years ago I was quietly meditating on spiritual things, and the Lord suddenly dropped a little chorus into my heart. I started singing it over and over (to the tune of a little fun song I used to sing as a child), and the truth of it registered deeply inside of me. Now, you won’t be able to hear the tune (because I’m not inclined to sing it into my computer and post a sound bite at this point), but I will share the words with you:

“I will have a grateful heart;
A grateful heart is a cheerful heart;
A cheerful heart is medicine,
So I can be well and strong.”

Now, I believe the Word of God is exactly that: The Word of God. So I believe that, not only is it true and trustworthy, but it also works. If we will believe it and live it, it will manifest God’s blessings in our lives. And that Word tells us in Proverbs 17:22 that a cheerful heart does good like a medicine in our bodies. Long years after that Word was written, human physicians have proven that cheerfulness and inner joy have a very positive effect on our physical health and, in fact can actually get people well. So the words of that little chorus the Lord gave me are a very good prescription for well-being.

I’m not perfect at maintaining a grateful heart — yet — but my mind is made up: I know for myself that being actively grateful for all the positive, pleasant things in my everyday life, no matter how small they are, makes my entire life a much better experience. And one of the things I’m grateful for today is that I’ve learned that lesson.

After writing this piece, I realized it was a good answer to Colline’s question about what we’re grateful for this week, so I’ll link to her post in case you’d like to respond to it as well.

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Happiness Experiment

| Sandra Pavloff Conner

 

COW WITH SMILEY EYESWhen your smile is sincere, it will always show in your eyes.

Would you like to try a happiness experiment?  I first suggested this experiment a few years back, and some of you may have tried it then. But it never hurts to repeat something that has positive results. You can carry out this experiment on any day you choose, but you’ll want to start in the morning so that you have plenty of time to accumulate results.

Here are the steps:

  1. Make it a point to smile all day long – at every person, at every animal, and at yourself every time you look in the mirror.
  2. Every time you talk to someone (no matter what the topic) make it a point to say something positive to that individual.
  3. Deliberately stop 7 separate times and thank God out loud for some blessing in your life.
  4. At the end of the day, take stock of how you feel and record the results of the experiment.

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Thankful Hearts: A Gift From Our Heritage

| Sandra Pavloff Conner

 

FIRST THANKSGIVING - PUB DOMAINA LESSON IN THANKSGIVING

Pilgrims reached the blessed shore,
But bitter winters were in store.
Death and anguish played their part.
Still, ’twas with a thankful heart
That they gathered to expound
Upon the God whose gifts abound.

We, who in their footsteps trod,
Though they lie beneath the sod,
Now do take the lesson learned
From their lives, and, in our turn,
We prepare to thank and praise;
To that same God our anthems raise.

And just as they faced troubled days,
Through hardships grievous made their ways,
So, now, such grievous times we face,
That ne’er before have taken place.
Yet from their lesson we take heart
And lift our songs with grateful hearts.

We will not bow to troubled thoughts,
Nor in the throes of fear be caught,
We have too rich a heritage.
So with forefathers we engage
To praise and sing and laugh and play
And celebrate Thanksgiving Day.

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Sending You a Song

| Sandra Pavloff Conner

I “borrowed” this video link from Gerry at 
http://cobbies69.wordpress.com/2013/08/21/award-from-karen/

I’m sending it out to all of my terrific blogging friends. Thank you for adding so much to my life by becoming part of my cyberspace family. Gerry and I were just discussing the other day the fact that we wouldn’t want to have to deal with communication the way it used to be — without the Internet and all it’s blessings — which include all of YOU!

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