Count Your Blessings

It's the first day of 2019 and it a dreary, overcast cold blustery day. I woke up in pain as usual and found all we had was decaf coffee. I was counting down to the moment my headache was going to kick in. But something shifted and I drank the decaf while reading about a positive challenge. Set a timer for fifteen minutes and write down all the blessings you can think of from 2018 in that time frame. Sounded like a good writing exercise, but more than that, a perfect way to start 2019. If I received blessings in 2018, chances are really high I will receive them in 2019. Some might be the same, But there is hope for a surprise or two.

So what was my blessings list? I will insert the fact that I m a two finger typist. At 40-60 words a minute, I would have recorded more, for I just opened my mind and kind of went stream of consciousness. I was still typing when the timer went off.

1. My husband 

2. My beautiful son 

3. Clean drinking water anytime I want it. 

4. Family 

5. A job 

6. A house that's paid for.

7. A working car, soon to be paid for 

8. Loving friends 

9. Modern medicine 

10. A church home. 

11. A great pastor 

12. Shoes to keep my feet warm and dry 

13. Decent clothes 

14. Supermarkets with an abundance of all kinds of foods 

15. Bug-free house 

16. My dog, Zed 

17. My cat, Wild Thing 

18. A smartphone 

19. A new laptop 

20. My first published book. 

21. My guitar 

22. Health 

23. Living in a democracy 

24. Jesus. should have been number one. 

25. People who have prayed for me. 

26. Freedom of speech 

27. Being able to help others in accordance with how God has blessed us. 

28. Flowers 

29. Nature's beauty 

30. The Christian heritage my parents left me. 

31. Not having to worry where my next meal is coming from. 

32. Imagination and creativity 

33. No hospitalizations this past year 

34. Having had second chances 

35. The surprise visit from my son on my birthday. It was a BIG blessing. 

That's what came to my mind in fifteen minutes. 2018 had a few bad moments, but gratitude for the past year's blessings outweighs all the down time. What about you? It seems like a good way to begin a new year.