So Blessed

I forget that sometimes. In the hustle and the bustle and the busy back-and-forth of family and friends and jobs and books and children and work and God...

Ben White, Unsplash

Oh, yes.

God.

And how blessed I am, we are to live in a country where we can worship freely. Where temples and mosques are in the same neighborhoods as churches and chapels. Where people shop wherever they want, whenever they want and where jobs are plentiful.

Where a dollar is still a dollar and not diminished like so many currencies have become.

Where our rights are guaranteed...

And the righteous will stand firm against anyone wanting to take those rights away.

As we've sailed into fall with all of our pumpkin mania and pumpkin spice everything and leaves turning and some cool breezes blowing and two single-minded hurricanes barreling into shore, today is a great day to pray for those affected. To figure out a way to help. Prayer is a great first step.

 
Donating (if it's possible) is another great step. We try to find a local church in the hard-hit zones and send them money to share with a family in need. They know their people best. They understand the need vs. the hardship. And while some places will do a Go Fund Me page, other people would never, ever do that... and so a little quiet money helps.

When you're surrounded by a bountiful harvest, you realize even more how blessed you are and how easily it could disappear with one natural disaster...

 Or one man-made disaster.

So today I'm sending up prayers for the families of that tragic limousine accident in Upstate New York... For hurricane victims... For those in Massachusetts whose houses were lost because of a bad gas line and a series of explosions.

We get fed news so very quickly... and it disappears even more quickly. But if we make it a point to put it on a prayer list... or a sticky note!!! .... or a scrap of paper on the refrigerator, then we remember to stop. To think. To pray.

I forget that sometimes, but in a week like this, where God's glory surrounds me in surreal colors and human fragility abounds, it's a great time to pause and remember what's important.

Faith. Hope. Love.

And the greatest of these is love.

So today I'm remembering the important things to be grateful for... And I'd love to hear about yours!

Multi-published author Ruth Logan Herne loves that she's living her dream of writing sweet books and rocking grandbabies... and then writing more books. Follow her on Twitter, friend her on facebook and you can visit her website at ruthloganherne.com!

Taking Back Thanksgiving

Today Christmas ads have taken the place of political ads. After a moment of relief, I realized there is no talk of Thanksgiving and I'm having trouble finding turkey napkins! I'm not a scrooge. I'm reading as many Christmas novels and novellas as I can and watching Hallmark Christmas movies. BUT....

This year I've had to be really conscious of gratitude and thanks.  I constantly have to remind myself which is why this quote is on my email signature:

 
Here are a few things big and small I'm thankful for this November:


1) My hair has finally grown out to my preferred style:

2) I reached RWA Pro status, meaning I am serious about this writing thing and lived through rejection letters:

3) Lawboy graduated and has been sworn in as a lawyer. We are still praying for a permanent job for him but are thankful he passed the Bar and is past the stress of school.

4) My dad could have easily died in his sleep but, thanks to his wife and a new pacemaker, he is back to hiking in the mountains at the age of 84!  Isn't he cute?

5) Speaking of hiking, my gratitude overflows that this guy of mine is back to hiking. Two strokes of the very rare kind since January, skin cancer surgery, and a bad appendix (yes, appendix removal can actually be scheduled and not an emergency) requiring surgery next week have honed my ability to see the good in everything.  And yes, he was able to hike down into this canyon and then back up!

I have lots of other reasons to be especially thankful but these are a few of the major ones. Maybe you can see why I am all about Thanksgiving this year.

So, what are you especially thankful for this year? Has it been easy to be full of gratitude or have you had to work at it? What will you do to keep the focus on Thanksgiving during November?