Just one month shy of closing a full year with my One Word friend, Resilience, I marvel at the complexity of this year’s word. The varied lessons have encouraged, challenged, and surprised me as I travelled the paths of 2022. Revealing the unique bond between Resilience and gratitude, November’s lesson nurtured my heart along the hard paths. Gratitude acknowledges God’s…
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The Bond Between Resilience and Gratitude
Breaking Bread and Building Bonds
Raised in an Italian family, everything from a simple weekday dinner, illness, or family decision to holiday celebrations centered around food. The comfort in life’s trials and the joy in every celebration, food enriched every aspect of our lives. The connection between breaking bread and building bonds fosters belonging within family and community. breaking bread and belonging Growing up, my…
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Practicing Gratitude in Seasons of Grief
A Broken Hallelujah: Practicing Gratitude in Seasons of Grief first appeared as a guest post on Living by Design Blog August 17, 2021 Along with our youngest daughter, my husband and I stood in a hospital room gathered with my son, his wife, her parents and grandfather. We were all excited for the much-anticipated day of the birth of my…
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How Gratitude Redeems the Hard Places
Though many people find the prompting to gratitude with the turning of the calendar to November, maintaining a regular gratitude practice helps me battle discouragement. Moving beyond the simple graces of gratitude for myriad everyday blessings, learning how gratitude redeems the hard places revealed the value of those experiences long exiled from my blessings list. Hard places belong too Have…
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New Life Amidst the Ruins
A farewell tour of my gardens at first revealed little more than dead leaves, shriveled stalks, and dried broken petals. Suddenly weary, feeling a heaviness throughout my body, I sat down in my favorite spot and closed my eyes, as if to block the unpleasant view. After a few moments, opening my eyes once again, the color of a new…
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Enlarging the Circle with Belonging
As a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA), I primarily advocate for the well-being of children in the foster care system. During a recent discussion, the importance of enlarging the circle with belonging became a goal for the foster children in our care. A common need of all humans, belonging often becomes something few foster children experience. As a CASA, we…
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The Grace of Gratitude
Approaching a season often dedicated to time spent reflecting on gratitude, my heart bristled just a millisecond; enough to signal a need for contemplation. Startled by even a brief lapse into ingratitude, I began a genuine heart search for the cause. My initial search kept reverberating one phrase, “the grace of gratitude”. A familiar phrase, I wrote on exploring the…
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When Nature Speaks
On a journey of deep listening, my goal throughout the month first centered on hearing God’s voice more clearly, and secondarily gifting others with compassionate listening. Creating space for moments of deep listening for God’s voice, I discovered listening when nature speaks, tunes my ears to nuances of God’s own voice. Though many imagine the power of God’s voice speaking…
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October Occasions: Share Four Somethings
Waving farewell to another month, I rejoice in a glance back at my October Occasions joining Heather Gerwing as she hosts a monthly feature called, Share Four Somethings, where writers share the fourth Saturday of each month something in each of four categories from the previous month. Many readers notice I choose a theme for each month, which often reflects lessons or themes from…
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