Today, I Get To

How often do we go through out our days, complaining about all the things that we have to do? I am so guilty of this. So often I make my to-do list with a mental sigh of all the things I have to do that day. This morning as my alarm clock buzzed, my first thought was I have to work today.  Before my feet hit the floor, however, I changed my mindset. I get to work today. It is a privilege denied to many. 

I remember what it felt like to lie in bed, day after day, and wish for the health to work and the ability to walk without extreme pain. Now that I am able to do those things, I will not complain about them. The enjoyment of our lives is based on our attitude. We don’t have to wait until something wonderful happens to celebrate our lives. Every day we can start our day with an attitude of gratitude and enjoy each moment. Can you even imagine how our lives would change if we enjoyed each moment?

So often we go through the motions of life. How often do we eat our food without even enjoying it? How often do we experience blessings without even appreciating them? I do it all the time. God blesses my life and instead of thanking Him, most of the time, I don’t even recognize the blessings. That breaks my heart. 

From this day forward,  I want to manifest more gratitude and truly enjoy my day. This beautiful day will never come again. It is a gift and I want to receive it that way. 

Today, I get to…

1. Read my Bible
2. Pray
3. Write a blog
4. Exercise
5. Work
6. Go for a walk
7. Cook for my family
8. Drink my favorite coffee
9. Fix my hair (I remember a time when my shoulders were traumatized and I could raise my arms over my head.)
10. Live, Laugh, and Love

What are some things you “get to” do today?

Have a wonderful day!

Candida 

How to Improve Your Life is 60 Seconds a Day

Gratitude is the opposite of fear and anxiety. When we tap into our feelings of thankfulness it changes our perspective. Right now if we decided to focus completely on our blessings, and be in the state of gratitude, then our mood would change. 

How do we get to this wonderful place of thankfulness? By focusing on what is good in our life right now. While we may be in the midst of a storm, there are still many things in our life that we can appreciate. So often we focus on the big moments, and neglect to see all of the beautiful moments that happen daily. 

Hugs, smiles, kind words, sunrises, sunsets, being in nature, and praying to God are just a few things that we can find joy in every day. When we stop finding joy in a hug or a smile, and are too busy to stop and enjoy nature, then we deprive ourselves. We need these moments through out our day to balance out the stress and worry we often feel. 

Right now, I encourage you to take out a notebook or grab a gratitude journal, and write down three things that you are thankful for. Do this every day. It only takes a minute, but the effects of it will last all day. When we train our minds to do this every morning, then we are setting ourselves up for a great day. 

Below is an example from my gratitude journal.

1. Quiet moments with God.
2. Morning coffee
3. Forgiveness

Psalm 26:7 (KJV)

7 That I may publish with the voice of thanksgiving, and tell of all thy wondrous works.

You might also like my blog post How to Live in a State of Gratitude. 

Have a wonderful day!

Love and blessings,

Candida

How to Live in a State of Gratitude

The Monday after vacation is always so hard. It’s usually the first day back into our routine, the first day back to work, and the first day when the after vacation blues set in. This morning I would love to be sitting on the deck, overlooking the water, with the same peace and gratefulness that I experienced on vacation. 

When we arrived at the lake house, and I experienced my first glimpse of the beautiful scenery, my heart immediately started extending gratitude to my Lord. As I breathed in the air, along with the peace and serenity, I was so grateful. And every few moments, I would whisper a thank you to Him. All of the stress of the previous weeks and months disappeared in those first few moments. And I couldn’t help but wonder if it would be possible to take the feeling home with me. 

Wouldn’t it be great if we could start every day with a peaceful and grateful heart? Imagine how much greater our lives would be, if we could learn to live in a state of gratitude. The reason we don’t get to a place of thankfulness every day is because we wait for the big moments in our life in order to feel grateful. So often we don’t appreciate the small things in our daily life. But if we could master the skill of gratitude, our lives would transform. When we feel gratefulness, our stress and worry diminishes. 

I know you’re probably thinking, this all sounds great, but how do I get there? How can I live in a state of gratitude? Here is my top three ways:

1. List three things you are grateful for each morning. And make sure they are three different things each day. Instead of just writing them down or saying them, feel them. Welcome that feeling into your heart. 
2. Pray and read His word daily. When we give ourselves a few minutes to talk to God, our whole day will be better. We should ask Him to lead us, guide us, and give us a Godly perspective on life. 
3. Live joyfully. We need to train our minds to see the good in every situation. 

When we can master these skills, our lives will transform. We don’t need it all to be joyful, we just need to learn how to appreciate what we already have. 

Happy Monday!

Candida

Why You Should Develop the Attitude of Gratitude

Do you feel gratitude in the depths of your heart and soul? Or is it something you merely say? 

It’s so easy to go through life, quickly moving from one moment to the next, without really thinking about each moment. We have what we need, and a great deal of what we want, and never stop to think about where it all comes from or to be truly grateful. 

Lots of times we develop the entitled mind-set, instead one of gratitude.

We expect to be happy, wealthy, and wise and get angry with God when it doesn’t work out, as we had envisioned. 

I remember the days when I struggled to walk. It was so hard for me to get out of bed, and even harder to walk through my house. I can honestly say that I didn't appreciate my ability to walk, until it was challenged. It was the same way with my speech. When I could barely get the words out of my mouth, I became so thankful for each one. Lying in bed for months gave me some time to think about my life. 

I soon realized that I could develop the attitude of gratitude or self-pity, but I could not have both. We can praise God or complain, but we cannot do both. 

Every morning when I woke up, right away my mind started searching for things and moments of gratitude. As my list grew, so did my ability to see my life through the lens of thankfulness. I had less to complain about because I was so focused on my blessings. And when I started digging deeper into my blessings, the more aware I became of God mercy’s and love for me. 

My perspective on many situations and circumstances changed. Especially when I really focused on my blessing. It’s one thing to be blessed, and another to realized the magnitude of those blessings. 

Imagine giving to someone constantly, but never receiving any type of thankfulness from that person. How would it make you feel? God wants us to recognize and celebrate the goodness in our life. He doesn’t like it when we complain endlessly, and only focus on the bad. 

Developing and nurturing the attitude of gratitude will help us to break the complaining cycle. 

We often complain, without even realizing that we are complaining. It's a habit that we need to become more aware of and break. (I’m still trying to break this habit.)Focusing on the bad is a recipe for disaster. The more we embrace bad thoughts, the more bad thoughts we have. The same is true for positive thoughts. Everyday we have a choice. We get to decide which ones we will nurture and which ones to dismiss. 

According to Dr. Robert Emmon's, people who are practice the attitude of gratitude are happier than those who don’t. Check out his article 10 Ways to Become More Grateful. 

Once this scar was so devastating to me. People often stare at it and even tell me to remove the rubber band from my arm before it hurts me. For many years, I tried to pray this scar away without realizing the blessing it symbolizes. The band threatened to take away my arm, but God spared it.  Now I am so grateful for this scar. It reminds me daily of His love and mercy for me. 

So what are you waiting for? Start practicing gratefulness today and allow it to change your life.  

Have a wonderful Monday!

May God bless you, 

Candida