Sunday, February 27, 2011

Gratitude

I was paging through a book of things I've written and quotations I've collected over the years.  I thought I could use those as inspiration to be somewhat more consistent in posting.  And I found a quotation that totally fits with my goals for this year - and for my life. 

     Thou that hast given so much to me,
     Give one thing more -
                      a grateful heart;
     Not thankful when it pleaseth me,
     As if Thy blessings had spare days,
     But such a heart whose pulse may be Thy praise.
                              George Herbert (1593 - 1633)

Saturday, February 26, 2011

light and dark

I've been enjoying the growing number of minutes of daylight the last couple of weeks.  Seeing the sunrise as I head off to work is such a wonderful gift.  Many times it's brought about my first smile of the day - and what a great start to a day.  I've been reading through a book called The Bible as Your GPS for my morning devotions.  Awhile ago there was a quote about light and darkness that struck a chord with me.  "I will love the light for it shows me the way, yet I will endure the darkness because it shows me the stars." (Og Mandino)  This reminds me to think about what could be positive in all circumstances.  Gratitude and balance.

Another quote in this book helps me as I work for balance in my life.  "I long to accomplish a great and noble task, but it is my chief duty to accomplish humble tasks as though they were great and noble."  (Helen Keller)  I'm not sure I really want to accomplish great and noble tasks, but sometimes my tasks become great (all-important) in my mind.  And I need to work to keep everything in perspective.  Do everything for God and don't let anything take over my complete focus.  My goal for today was to make HUGE headway on report cards. So far, I haven't done that.  Some headway, yes, but not HUGE.  And - it doesn't matter.  So I'm not stressing about it.  They will get done.  They always do.  Balance.  (And gratitude that I have a job I love - although I will admit to not loving every part of teaching - like report card writing.  Oh, but gratitude that writing isn't a horrendous task for me.)