Wednesday, November 26

Tomorrow, The Greatest Day of This Inn ..... 11/26/14

“Life without thankfulness is devoid of love and passion.
 Hope without thankfulness is lacking in fine perception. 
 Faith without thankfulness lacks strength and fortitude.
  Every virtue divorced from thankfulness is maimed and
 limps along the spiritual road.”      John Henry Jowett        
       Thank you for dropping by this inn of encouragement and praise.  What thanks have you?   Of all the days of the year, tomorrow will be tops for this inn. In America, this Thursday is about the vision of this cozy place in cyberspace: sharing thanks for the good things that are a part of our lives.

My Gratitudes for Wednesday:
1. I'm thankful for the nation in which I live. We enjoy great freedom and abundance in the United States.  I pray this country continues to maintain its great faith in God, the foundation upon which this nation was built.
2. I love the beauty that surrounds where I live.  California is a great place to live.
3. I know God's unconditional love, empowered by life-giving principles.
"If thy law had not been my delight, I would have perished in my affliction."  Psalm 119: 92
They are slate stones that allow me to trek across the miry bogs of life. Wow.  For more about this, please read here.
4. I'm fortunate being the father of terrific young men.
5. I am grateful for the hope I have and the principles that guide my life. They are a result of the daily, for more than twenty years, working on my personal growth.

No Emotional Vampires for Me
       I appreciate emotionally healthy friends. They are not emotional vampires. You know the type: they brighten a room by leaving it. They easily suck our joy and energy, if we are not on guard and don't exercise boundaries.

       Instead, my friends offer love. They are an oasis within the desert of today's hectic, overburdened, technology tethered (iPods, smart phones, laptops, online addicted, twitter-fed, FaceBook oriented, email stuffed) society. Our relationships are reciprocal.

Gratitude six:  My friends support me when I need it, at all times. They encourage and love me for who I am, not for who I appear to be.
“God gave us minds to think with and hearts to thank with. Instead, we use our hearts to think about the world as we would like it to have been, and we use our minds to come up with rationalizations for our ingratitude. 
"We are a murmuring, discontented, unhappy, ungrateful people."   ― Douglas Wilson
7.  I love the dynamic, relationships I have. I had terrific discussions with several today.  I'm blessed.
8.  I appreciate the must haves and can't stands I have regarding relationships.  They provide clear boundaries.
9.  I enjoy being with those who stay in the solution. They look at how they can overcome their challenges. They have community of support, connection with God and strength gotten by  placing healthy principles above their personality.
10. I value that I do not stay within my mind. How sad that would be.

        Instead, I feel the depth of my feelings without being overwhelmed by them.  I spend time with God.  His gracious, patient, supportive love allows me to transcend difficult circumstances.
11. I routinely discharge the emotional and mental toxicity that built up in my childhood. I'm thankful for exercise, journaling  talking with friends. for punching bags, jump ropes, cycling, screaming while watching a sports event, running, swimming, sports and other ways that allow negative feelings to be released from my soul, body and spirit.
12.  I have my voice, saying what I mean, meaning what I say, but not say it meanly.
13. I look forward to being with friends and family tomorrow.
14.  I love the work I do.  I'm glad I can serve others.

The Healing Power of Forgiveness
       I am indebted to the deep healing power of forgiveness. It frees me from the corrosive toxicity of bitterness and resentment. Forgiveness is the bolt cutter that removes the handcuffs of any resentment I have towards others.
"Forgiveness is not forgetting, it's letting go of the hurt."                    Courage to Change, p. 178
      When I forgive, I conform to God's nature.
15. I'm thankful that I've been forgiven for my faults and what I've done that has caused harm towards others, myself and the God of my understanding.

How About You?
What are some areas where you are thankful? Please share.  Thanks!

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Happy Thanksgiving

Today I am thankful for my Son, my sweet kitty, that we are feeling a little better but are staying in for today's festivities, great friends, and my love of the Thanksgiving Day Parade....a memory and tradition since I was a little girl ;)

For Life Itself, for an awareness to not stand still and to move forward

Annddd to make fresh cranberry sauce ;) My Son and I both love it ;)

For these things we are Thankful
WCP;)

Superman said...

Dear Innkeeper,

I am grateful for

1. God and its unrelenting, power of love and its benevolent grace, every thing happens for us not to us.
2. My wife and sons.
3. My Golden Retriever insisting on loving and being loved.
4. My ability to play the guitar, to be able to sing and play the guitar, to have an amazing ear to be able to pick out a tune fairly easily.
5. My love of all types of music.
6. My global awareness. (special gift, thank you)
7. Family members who are cooking a wonderful dinner for many people tonight.
8. An amazing group of friends and life coach ;0).

Thanks!
Superman

Pablo said...

WCP,

I thought you were still a little girl. :-) Your son, you and I have something in common. I love cranberry sauce. Yum!

You are on a streak. The last few times you commented, you left three gratitudes, fulfilling the vision of this inn.

I am thankful that the Al-Anon Family Group meeting on Wednesday now has a room at Alameda High, starting tomorrow!

Thank you, for keeping me company, with your visits.

The Innkeeper

Pablo said...

Dear Superman,

Key is knowing number 1 on your list on the visceral level, not just cognitively. What about your wife and kids do you appreciate? Just curious.

Pets are great, aren't they? Someday soon you and I need to play the guitar together. The great thing about music is mostly pure feeling, which is great.

What do you like about your friends and life coach. I hear they can be unusual. :-)

Superman, as the innkeeper of this inn, with all the powers invested in me, I award you with the Attitude of Gratitude Award for the Month! Kudos to you!

You have been regular in visiting and sharing your thoughtful, insightful comments. Your award acknowledges this fact.

Thank you, for making this a more happening place!

Quotes from the Posts

"I'm mindful that our thoughts affect the words we use, our words influence our actions, our actions shape our character and our character determines our destiny."

From "My Character Determines My Destiny." To read it, please click here.

"Progress not perfection, is better than no progress at all, especially when we're trying to rid ourselves from unwelcome dragons that dwell within the closets of our soul."

From, "Still Learning" which, within four days, became the most popular post
written. To read it, please click here.

"Worry does not empty tomorrow of its trouble, but it does empty today of its strength"
From the post: "Life Is Not a Correspondence Program." Click here to read it.

"Even though we cannot control our circumstances, we can control how we choose to respond to them."

From, "Handling Stress and Dealing With an Emotional Bully."Click here to read this post.

"Nope, being busy isn't exciting. Boring is good. Because boring is not boring; boring is being healthy, living a balanced life that has serenity"

From: "Do You Know What It Means If You Are Too Busy?" For more, please click here.

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