Blessings

sometimes you can not see where the road is leading
it might take a turn that you never dreamed of
but these unexpected detours can be blessings
giving your heart a new song to happily sing
even opening a new door to love


new joys they may bring
finding the dark clouds lining
an adventure you had not thought of
set you to the clouds and soaring
be the air beneath your proverbial wing
offering blessings you never thought of

"Expect A Miracle"

Laugh. Smile. Be Grateful.



Start a Gratitude Journal.

Step 1
Find a notebook. You can buy an inexpensive notebook and decorate it if you want to. Make it be a notebook that makes you feel happy just to look at. Always keep a pen or pencil with it.

Step 2
Make mental notes of good things that happen all day.


Step 3
Every night write down at least five good things that you are grateful for that day. It can be something as small as the smell of a flower, or as big as someone special saying they love you.


Step 4
Try to look for lessons in your challenges. Even they can become blessings, too.


Step 5
Re-read your journal and allow yourself to feel the positive energy in your life.


Step 6
You can include goals in your journal, with steps you are taking to achieve your goals. Include pictures to help you visualize your goals and achievements.

Step 7
Share your blessings with people close to you, if you feel comfortable. Especially if it's someone that you count as one of your blessings. I'd give anything to tell my Grandma Mary what a blessing she was in my life. Say it now to your loved ones, before it's too late.





The more gratitude you show, the more you will have to be grateful for...



Here is a video with some Gratitude Meditations and Affirmations --



Please feel free to share something that you are grateful for in your life.

"Gratitude'

Cultivate gratitude.

Carve out an hour a day for solitude.

Begin and end the day with prayer, meditation and reflection.

Keep it simple. Don't over-schedule.

Strive for realistic deadlines.

Never make a promise you can't keep.

Allow an extra half hour for everything you do.

Create quiet surroundings at home and at work.

Go to bed at nine o'clock twice a week.

Always carry something interesting to read.

Breathe.. deeply and often.

Move.. walk, dance, run, find a sport you enjoy.

Drink pure spring water. Lots of it.

Eat only when hungry. If it's not delicious, don't eat it.

Be instead of Do.

Set aside one day a week for rest and renewal.

Laugh more often.

Luxuriate your senses.

Always opt for comfort.

If you don't love it, live without it.

Let Mother Nature nurture.

Don't answer the telephone during dinner.

Stop trying to please everybody.

Start pleasing yourself.

Stay away from negative people.

Don't squander precious resources: time, creative energy, emotion.

Nurture friendships.

Don't be afraid of your passion.

Approach problems as challenges.

Honor your aspirations.

Set achievable goals.

Surrender expectations.

Savor beauty.

Create boundaries.

For every "yes", let there be a "no".

Don't worry, be happy.

Remember, happiness is a living emotion.

Exchange security for serenity.

Care for your soul.

Cherish your dreams.

Express love every day.

Search for your authentic self.

~Author Unknown~

"Expressing Gratitude"

"Four Ways to Give Thanks"

These simple tips will help you to cultivate gratitude in your daily life.

1. Used with permission.

Research in positive psychology has identified several ways that practicing gratitude can boost people's health and happiness. Here are four of these research-tested "gratitude interventions."
1. Write a gratitude letter.Research by Martin Seligman, Christopher Peterson, and others has shown this one to be particularly effective. Write a letter to a mentor, family member, or some other important person in your life whom you've never properly thanked. Deliver it in person. Read it out loud. Bring tissues.

2. Keep a gratitude journal.

Studies by psychologists Michael McCullough, Robert Emmons, Sonja Lyubomirsky, and others have backed up this exercise, which involves keeping a list of things for which you're grateful—anything from your children or spouse to the beauty of the tree outside your window. Doing so helps you focus on the positive things in your life—a practice that's been shown to increase happiness.

3. Savor.

Take the time to notice beauty and pleasures in your daily life. Loyola University psychologist Fred Bryant has shown that savoring positive experiences can heighten your positive responses to them. A key to savoring is what Bryant calls "thanksgiving," or expressing gratitude for the blessings that come your way, large and small.

4. Think outside the box.

It's fairly obvious why we might feel grateful for grandmothers, lovely sunsets, and anything else that has provided comfort or beauty in our lives. But what about thanking the homeless people who come to the shelter where you volunteer? "Individuals who do volunteer work sometimes speak of the benefits they receive from service," writes Robert Emmons in his forthcoming book, Thanks! "Since service to others helped them to find their own inner spirituality, they were grateful for the opportunity to serve." If we look hard enough, he argues, we can find a reason to feel grateful for any relationship—even when someone does us harm, as that person helps us appreciate our own vulnerability. Emmons claims that such highly advanced forms of gratitude may actually increase the level of goodness in the world by inspiring positive acts in ourselves and others.

Express Your Gratitude With Style

One important fact that every party host must bear in mind is their guests love it when they are honored and appreciated. They are willing to sacrifice their time and effort to turn up at your party and celebrate with you. Therefore as a host, you must know the technique of making each and everyone of them feel loved and appreciated. You can give them personalized gifts before they leave. This is more powerful than just saying thank-yous. You manage to warm their hearts by doing this. The gift does not necessarily be expensive or large, good things do come in small packages. If you are creative and skillful in arts, you may create your own personalize gifts such as picture frames, scrapbook, keepsake box, decorative items complete with self-made greeting cards and gift boxes. The hearts of your guests would be deeply moved and touched by your thoughtful acts.

It is easy to get all stressed up when organizing celebrations and parties. There are so many things to prepare and look into. One of these is writing thank-you cards and preparing gifts for the guests. If one has the budget, one can hire a party planner or gifts specialist to handle this department. That is normal for big celebrations such as weddings and company dinner, but for smaller parties such as baby shower and birthday bash, the host/hostess would normally prepare the gifts themselves. If the party is for 25 people, no point of wasting one's resources in hiring a specialist just for selecting and preparing presents for the guests. The host/hostess can add personal touches to the gifts by customizing them according to their own styles or guests' preferences. If they are creative enough, they can make use of materials that can be found easily at their own home. Silk, faux fur, lace, ribbons and velvet materials could be used to decorate gift boxes and wrapping papers. Colors can be used to invoke specific moods. Therefore one may use brightly colored wrapping papers to convey the moods of joy, exuberance and vitality. There are many suitable items to be given as tokens of appreciation to guests who attend your baby shower. It depends on your personal style and the budget you are willing to allocate for it. If you want to give simple yet meaningful presents, you may consider giving scented candles with artistic shapes, and lovely figurines of birds, deers, horses and other beautiful animals. In feng shui, animals such as birds, deers, crane and horses have auspicious meanings connected to opportunity, prosperity, longevity and fame respectively. If you have a big budget and small number of guests, you may consider giving them crystal ornaments, porcelain dinnerware and pewter ware. Inexpensive gifts such as scented soaps, car and home perfumes, decorative objects and customized photo frames are nice and reasonable. Whatever your choice of gift is, they all convey the same message: gratitude and love. Wouldn't it be sweet to receive nicely wrapped present with your name printed on the card attached to it from your host after a wonderful party? Your heart would flutter with gladness and brim with appreciation for the thoughtful move by your host. Even though it may seem a trivial matter, it is very important for the person who throws the party to realize that guests need to be respected and appreciated; giving away door gifts is an excellent way to thank them. When you attend a baby shower, you bring a suitable gift for the baby or the baby's mother. After having a wonderful time at the party, the hostess or the baby's mother gave you a small present as a token of her appreciation. Isn't that sweet? So if you are planning a party or celebration, it won't hurt to take a little bit of trouble to write thank-you notes in advance and attach them to small presents to be given to your guests at the end of the party. Small door gift can make a big statement about the host.