Appreciative Living

When we hang our hopes for happiness on things that are outside of our control, we set ourselves up for disappointment….We give up our power.  We let go of our responsibility for joy.  This is a very vulnerable place to be, and we end up becoming dependent on others for our happiness……..The more attached we are to an outcome, the more dependent we become on it, and the bigger the disappointment when it doesn’t happen.”  Jacqueline Kelm in The Joy of Appreciative Living   p. 86 and 87

While I really like what this has to say, it is missing something very important.  And that is that those things that are outside our control are in God's control.  I will admit to being incredibly happy to know that, ultimately, it is God in control of my life and not me.  While I will also admit that not everything that happens in my life is what I would wish for, what matters most of all is that God is what I wish for - and then some.

I had time for a glorious walk this morning in our winter wonderland, a city covered in a deep blanket of fresh snow.  And I was reminded anew that when I take time to "be still and know that God is God" (Ps. 46:10) I am able to see His incredible gifts, large and small.  When I am still, there is room in my brain to SEE.

The list of gifts continues......

703) Christmas cactus in bloom

704) clean sheets - and, no, that NEVER gets old!

705) the smooth feel of crisp, new fabric

706) amazing school secretaries

707) being able to make some one's day

708) dinner with colleagues/friends

709) the thoughtfulness of a friend

710) the thoughtfulness of administrators

711) an incredible gift of time

712) getting home safely on snowy streets

713) quilting and lunch with friends

714) mounds of snow piled on remnants of summer flowers

715) pristine snow caps on brilliant red bunches of mountain ash berries

716) walking under a canopy of pine branches covered in fluffy white blankets of snow

717) walking in a winter wonderland

718) boots that are high enough to keep the snow out as I wandered through deep fresh snow

719) blue Alberta skies over the bright white snow blanketing the city

720) a beautiful bird soaring through the brilliant blue Alberta sky

721) the squeak of snow underfoot