SHELLI JOHNSON
Currently viewing the tag: "grateful"
Best Christmas present ever!
Well, it’s that time of year again.
I’m a believer in counting my blessings. Here are just a few of the fabulous things in my life that I’m grateful for this year:
- My favorite coffee mug (a gift from my boys)
- Handwritten notes from my kids (I love you guys)
- Cards from my husband for no reason (I’m your #1 fan, too)
- Starbucks (those lovely people let me sit there for hours)
- Aveda (best-smelling products ever)
- The lazy river at the water park (I can hang out there all day)
- My Kindle (wow, I discovered a bunch of new authors this year)
- Getting a Jeep (awesome)
- My novel, Small as a Mustard Seed, winning a silver medal for Literary Fiction by the Military Writers’ Society of America (yay)
- 1 amazing husband, 2 amazing kids, a bunch of friends who have my back, & many exceptional people I’ve met online (best support system ever)
If you celebrate Thanksgiving, I wish you a happy one with lots of great food, family, friends, & fun. If you need to find something to do with all that leftover turkey, here’s a fabulous stew recipe.
What are you thankful for this year? Please feel free to share your thoughts & experiences in the comment box below.
“Remember, what you focus on increases.” ~ Andy Andrews
The other day I caught myself feeling really down.
Spiraling through my head on an unending loop was a list of things I wanted but didn’t have in my life. The more I added to the list, the more frustrated I got & the more my mood tanked. Anyway, while I was in the middle of griping, a cartoon thought bubble appeared over my head: So what’s good about today? That’s when I grabbed a scrap of paper and scratched out the following:
- Sitting in a comfy lawn chair on my covered patio.
- 78 degrees.
- Sunny with a blue sky and a few clouds tacked here and there.
- Husband called just to say hello.
- Kids happy playing with the neighbors.
- Ham sandwich and Lays potato chips and a pickle for lunch.
- Big piece of chocolate for dessert.
- Just finished my day job.
- Time to write.
- Time to read.
There are ten things right there (a list I made without even trying too hard) that I should’ve been grateful for and didn’t really notice because all that negativity from what I didn’t have seemed to feed on itself and made it hard to see the good stuff.
Within five minutes, I had changed my attitude and vastly improved my day. Anyway, I’ve made a new practice. Every morning, before I do anything else, I write down a quick list of 10 things I’m grateful for. Just like an author sets the tone for a story with the beginning paragraph, I’ve decided to set the tone for my entire day from now on. I’ve decided to focus on the positive stuff.
Good news is that you can do the same, too.
What are you grateful for today? Please feel free to share your thoughts & experiences in the comment box below.
A bunch of things I’m grateful for.
“If the only prayer you said in your whole life was ‘thank you’ that would suffice.” ~ Meister Eckhart
So here are a slew of things I am completely grateful for:
- A husband who supports me no matter what.
- A little boy, my oldest son, who has the biggest heart in the world.
- Another little boy, my youngest, who loves to make me laugh.
- Being good at something (writing) that I also love to do.
- Knowing the Universe is a friendly place & will always get me what I need.
- Friends who always have my back.
- Stepping out of fear & into faith then watching my life blossom.
- A beautiful home which makes me feel like I’m on vacation every day.
- Realizing at a youngish age that I needed to live the life I wanted & then making that happen.
- All the people around me ~ spouse, children, teachers, friends, co-workers, colleagues, and on & on ~ who supported me, encouraged me, and didn’t give up on me even when the going got rough.
AND LESS SERIOUS BUT STILL IMPORTANT:
- Black coffee & a blueberry-streusel muffin (breakfast of champions)
- The Walking Dead television show (because I just love zombies!)
- Football season (Browns ~being a fan is, let’s face it, a challenge; Steelers ~ because of my husband; Colts ~ come on Peyton, get well soon; & Bears ~ from my days living in Chicago)
- The song You & Tequila by Kenny Chesney and Grace Potter (plays on a loop some days on my iPod)
- Nutella (which pretty much goes good with anything)
- My warm, fuzzy heated blanket (cranked up and snuggled in)
- A magnolia tree in bloom (absolutely stunning)
- My kids laughing (at anything, even me)
- The doctor saying everything’s fine (best 2-word phrase ever)
- A great novel to curl up with (here are some of my favorites: The Road by Cormac McCarthy, All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque, Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins)
That’s my list. What are you grateful for? Please feel free to share your thoughts & experiences in the comment box below.
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Shelli Johnson
Grand Prize Winner, Grant Winner, & Silver Medal Winner
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