The problem with keeping a gratitude list is that I tend to notice the same things all the time. But gratitude is an attitude that needs cultivating…at least for me. And the times when it’s hardest to keep a positive outlook are the times I most need the spiritual exercise: when kids are sick, and…
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Unwrapping the Gift of a Day Off
Michelle at Graceful is my guru this Lent. First, she gently prodded me to reconsider my use of the internet. Then, she echoed how I felt in doing so. And then encouraged me in the struggle. She inspired me to be careful of the way I present my faith, reminding me that living it is…
Read MoreFloundering into Gratitude
It is 5:55 a.m. and a thin sliver of creamy moon reclines just over the bare trees. For the seventh night in a row, I’ve been up with kids multiple times during the night, and it is very hard to get out of bed. I suffer from lack of motivation, too, because along with finishing…
Read MoreThanksgiving Day: A Gratitude List
For the last two weeks, I’ve kept waiting for things to turn around, scrabbling at the roots of positive attitude as I try to keep from tumbling over the cliff into negativity. It’s been a rough two weeks, no doubt about it, but I realize that the lesson to be learned now is gratitude despite…
Read MoreWorks for Me Wednesday–Confessions of a Recovering Gripe-r
It is so easy to get into a negative funk. Sometimes it’s justified…more often it’s not. That’s why I signed on to Ann Voskamp’s “One Thousand Gifts”—to give me a reason to turn around my natural tendency to gripe. I know I’m not the only one who has this problem. (I’ll start. Hello, my name…
Read MoreYes, but…
This is shaping up to be one of those weeks. The busy factor is stratospheric this week, with the addition of small faith group leader training (why did I volunteer to lead? Because I’m a sucker), auditions for the national anthem, and a garage sale this weekend. Mid-week, and virtually no spouse time, because at…
Read MoreCounting My Blessings
At the end of a couple gripey, negative weeks, it seems appropriate to shift my attitude and focus on the blessings in my life, instead of complaining. I’m thankful for my husband, God’s gift to me—the partner, best friend and helpmate that I once thought I would never find…who, despite leaving the same light on…
Read MoreA Week’s Worth of Gratitude
A filigree-and-marmalade sunrise A perfect evening for a mile and a half walk with my baby…air shimmering gold in the sun, and brooding blue in the shade, with the perfect breeze nudging fluffy clouds across a pristine sky, newly washed by rain. Bright baby eyes turned behind in the stroller, fixed upon me, the center…
Read MoreCultivating an Attitude of Gratitude
Crises tend to bring out the best in us. We rise to the occasion; we set our teeth, hunker down and lean into the wind, knowing that complaining won’t help—we just have to get through it. It’s not the big stuff that brings out the pessimist in us. It’s the everyday Murphy. And so it…
Read MoreTurning over a new leaf
Here on the cusp of spring…or really, deep in the glorious wonder of it…life is beginning to settle. For the past three nights, Nicholas has slept longer at night and wanted to nurse less when he did wake up, taking up the slack during the day. Last night, for a wonder, Julianna actually slept through.…
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Kathleen M. Basi 