Getting into the Spirit of Thanksgiving!

Lately, I've been noticing a trend of Thankfulness going around on Facebook.  I'm sure you have seen it - people post each day about something for which they are thankful.  It's a beautiful thing to watch.....

As the Thanksgiving holiday approaches, I've been thinking about starting a project similar to this.  But, I think my blog is a better platform to post about things for which I am thankful. 

As I consider this project, I realize that it is a huge commitment - to post each day about a Blessing in my life.  One Blessing a day - with as much or as little detail as seems appropriate.  Photos included - or not.  But, if I would commit to doing this on a daily basis, it would mean making the effort and taking the time to truly note the Blessing. 

I have been reading a wonderful book - "One Thousand Gifts" by Ann Voskamp. 

 It has inspired me to start keeping a journal of sorts, listing even the smallest "gifts" which I notice.  Part of the act of Thanksgiving is acknowledging these gifts in writing.  It puts our focus directly on the physical impact of the gift - whether it is the pleasurable slant of the sun on an Indian Summer afternoon, or the smell of a pot of stew simmering on the stove.  By dialing in on simple gifts around us, we can learn to live in the moment, no matter what the circumstances. 

And, so now I am contemplating making the commitment, during the busiest season of the year, to stop each day and create a post to share about my own Thanksgiving.  Looking at the calender, it appears that by starting on Thursday, November 24th - Thanksgiving Day, in fact - I can wrap up this project right at day which represents the biggest Gift of all - Christmas. 

I hope you will take time to drop by and share in the Blessings with me.  Perhaps we will find that we have many of the same things that touch our lives and deserve our utmost gratitude. 

Now that I have put it in writing and am sending it out there for all the world to see, I am excited to get started....eager to put my daily post on my list of priorities for an entire month!  For you see, I have so much to be thankful for and I want to make it my practice to focus on all the good things.  They say that it takes three weeks to develop a new habit.  Well, 30 days should get me into a truly good routine!

See you soon! 

Jane

Let Me Let Go.....

I am sure you have all heard that quote -

"Let go and let God...."

Sounds like such a simple plan.  But, if you are a control freak/Type A kind of person.....well, it's not such an easy thing to do. 

Each time I just about get to the point where I am "letting go" and getting a sample - a small taste - of the blessing that awaits me, "self" steps in and tries to get back in the driver's seat.  What is up with that?!?!? 

When I just surrender and trust, I can feel the peace wash over me.  And yet I struggle to charge back in and grab the wheel.  Why?!?!?

I am frustrated with "self" right now.  "Self" gets to feeling all powerful and strong and forgets to be humble and obedient.  And, as is usually the case, she is getting taught a lesson. 

I quite underestimated the amount of hard work, time and selflessness that it would take to get established in my new career.  While I have made some great strides and had some success, I have also had some eye-opening setbacks and - to put it bluntly - rejection.  "Self" does NOT like rejection.  Honestly, who does??? 

Some days it feels as if I have not made a bit of progress, nearly hopeless; others I feel like I've climbed to the mountain top.  On those days when I get discouraged, I am quick to throw myself a little pity party for one.  On those days when I have achieved the goal, I often forget to whom I should give the credit.  Perhaps this is why I keep getting knocked back down on my booty?  A bit of humble pie?  A lesson being taught as though to a willful child? 

So, for now, I keep taking it one day at a time - because it is a daily matter to surrender.  Knowing what to do and doing it are two very different things.  I haven't completely figured out yet if it's a surrender in my heart, my mind, or both.  I suspect at this point that it is a surrender of my whole being, complete and total.  And it is obviously a process, not a one-time/temporary deal. 

My prayer for tomorrow, and for the day after that, is to allow work to be done through me - not by me.  I know there are blessings out there with my name on them - I just need to push "self" out of the way because she's got this really bad habit of blocking them!

Blessings to you.

Janie

Uh-Oh....the Big 5-0!!!

Whew!  The last three months since I made it over to The Porch to post have been a blur.....of business, activity, no time....

But, with my BIG BIRTHDAY lurking around the corner - in less than four hours, to be exact - I felt compelled to make the time to get a new post up here at Janie's Porch. 

When I say BIG BIRTHDAY, I mean exactly that!  

This is a milestone, any way you look at it!!!  

The big FIVE-OH!!!!

More than anything, it has been an occasion for me to just stop, take a deep breath and reflect on my Life up to this point.  And, you know what?  It's been a Good Life, very good, indeed. 

I have been blessed beyond measure!  I was raised by loving parents - my younger sister and I had a happy childhood, so safe and secure. 

Mom (18), Dad (23) and Me (11 days)

Jane and Jill, growing up on Blair Street

I have the love of a Good Man!  He makes me feel like a Queen, the most important person in the whole wide world.  Who can ask for more than that?!?!?

Heading out to celebrate our 7th anniversary

I have three fantastic children, who make me proud every day to be their "momma"!

Benjamin, Bonnie, Mom and Samuel (l to r)

 I have two adorable grandchildren, who just make Life fun and exciting!

Trayden and Ansleigh all ready for the Rodeo!

I have the three best PUPS on the planet!  They enrich my Life in ways you just won't understand if you don't have a beloved pet.

Jake, the Wonder Dog

Pepper and Scout

I have an exciting new career and am off to a great start!  It's challenging and rewarding every single day.

Me with my Broker, Steve, on the occasion of my first closing and commission check!

Yep, I am BLESSED and thankful to have made it this far in Life.  Looking forward to the next 50!!!

Take the time to stop and count your Blessings today! 

A multitude of hugs to you......

Jane

Our God Is With Us......Emmanuel!!!

Christmas is upon us!  Amazing how it arrives whether we are "ready" or not.

This year is somewhat different for Eddie and me.  For starters, we are "HOME", where we are surrounded with family and friends.  What a huge blessing!  However, this year has been challenging for us financially.  Our income sort of took a plunge with the move....and it's definitely been a "period of adjustment" for us.


With that in mind, we warned the kids some time ago that this would be a lean Christmas.  And, in the back of my mind, I allowed myself to harbor negative feelings about the "lack" of presents.  Every time I was out and about shopping, it seemed, I would see something that would the perfect gift for someone...and I had to pass it by.


But, as I was listening to Christmas music last night, I was struck by the words to the Steven Curtis Chapman song, "Our God Is With Us".  The sheer power of the Message in this classic song struck squarely at my hurting, resentful heart....

"And in one glorious moment, all eternity was shaken

As God broke through the darkness that had kept us apart

And with love that conquers loneliness, hope that fills all emptiness

He came to earth to show our worth. 

And our God is with us, Emmanuel

He's come to save us, Emmanuel, and we will never face life alone

Now that God has made himself known

As Father and Friend, with us through the end, Emmanuel

So rejoice, oh rejoice, Emmanuel has come."

 For the greatest gift of all is not any gift that appears beneath the tree, no matter how grand it might be.  The greatest gift of all was given on the night when Jesus humbly entered this world.

It was as if a bright light was turned on and I saw with clarity all the blessings bestowed upon me, and my family.  And, in that moment, I was able to let go of the negative feelings that I was allowing to stifle Joy in my heart and truly rejoice at the beauty of this season.
 
I hope you will click on the link below and listen to this beautiful song.  I don't know who put the video together and, yes, I know it is over 6 minutes long.  But, the music and the message are worth every second of your time!

My prayer for you this Christmas, dear Friend, is that you will be filled with all the Joy that comes from accepting the greatest gift of all.  Let us not forget the wondrous gift of that first Christmas or the comfort of knowing that our God is with us!

I am linking with Robin over at "ALL THINGS HEART & HOME" because she asked us to share about something that inspires us at Christmas....and even though there's not a Christmas decoration or recipe to be found in this post, it's all about INSPIRATION for me to share of the miracle of Jesus' birth!

Blessings to you and those you love...

Jane

Christmas Blessings and Simple Ideas

HoLiDaY GrEeTiNgS to one and all and a special WELCOME to all the SITSahood!!! I'm linking up to "The Secret's In The Sauce" over at http://www.thesitsgirls.com/ for Merry SITSmas 2009.

We are under three weeks on the CoUnTdOwN to ChRiStMaS...can you BeLiEvE that?!?!? I've been out there in BlogWorld, busily perusing all the fabulous ideas for crafting and decorating. So many Fabulous and Fantastic Ideas...I'm going into "sponge-mode-overload" trying to soak them all up!

I really haven't had just a whole lot of time to craft in recent years, but I wanted to show you a few of my FaVoRiTeS for this year. They're not all homemade...they're not all terribly crafty...but they all WoRk for Me!!!

My "Best Find" for this year is this beautiful red vase, which I picked up for $7.99 (nope, that's not a typo!) at Ross. I couldn't believe my luck when I spotted it AND got my hands on it before my Mother did!!! I simply filled it with a couple dozen old silver glass balls (already had these, don't we all?) and - voila - a beautiful piece that really makes a statement!

Next project: We had a need for a large centerpiece for the dining table that can be easily picked up and moved. I recently purchased a simple brown wooden serving tray at WalMart that I knew I wanted to use a the base. I took a cheap 9-foot artificial garland and wrapped it around a couple of times and shaped it to fit snugly down in the tray. Left-over silver beads and ornaments were just draped and snuggled into the greenery and a trio of silver candlesticks nestled in the center completed the arrangement. I just love the way this turned out and it's soooo easy to just grab it and move it when we need the table space!


Finally, I unwrapped these little pinecone trees I crafted a couple of years ago. I had the tiny clay pots, leftover from a project years ago, and transformed them with silver spray paint. Pinecones, gathered from our property, were simply tipped with glue, using a spongebrush, and dusted with silver glitter. A little dried spanish moss was tucked in the base and a pinecone hot-glued on top of that. How simple!


I made about a dozen of these one evening and have tucked them here and there as accent pieces to finish out little vignettes. Great fillers!


So, there you have it! These fun and simple decorations - some made and some bought -help brighten our country home for the Holiday Season.

You know, at this Special Time of the Year, Eddie Dale and I are feeling truly BLESSED. We have a wonderful home, our health, our awesome Family and Friends...too many BLESSINGS to list.


I wish for each and every one of you Abundant Blessings during this Season of JOY!!!

Jane

Check out other great DIY projects from BlogLand over at: http://asoftplace.net/

(Sorry, Kimba, can't get your button to load up over here!)

Taking Time To Be Thankful

With Thansgiving fast approaching, I have noticed that there is a trend on Facebook for people to post something each day for which they are thankful. I am really enjoying seeing my friends share their blessings and I thought I would take this opportunity to make a list of my own:

* I'm thankful for a wonderful husband who continuously shows me just how much he loves me.



* I'm thankful for three terrific children who make my life complete.



* I'm thankful for three precious grandchildren who add so much joy to my life.

* I'm thankful for the wonderful relationship I have with my parents and their continued good health.

* I'm thankful for my sister and her new family and the happiness they have found.



* I'm thankful for wonderful friends, both old and new, who make life more fun.



* I'm thankful for a warm, comfortable house that we have made a home.



* I'm thankful for my job, including the challenges and sense of accomplishment it brings.

* I'm thankful that I live in a country where we can still disagree with our president and I pray that doesn't change.

* I'm thankful for each morning that I wake up and each night that I lay my head down to sleep.

We all have so much to be thankful for, here in our land of plenty. It's a shame that most of us only think about our blessings during the holiday season, when it should be something we do daily. I am as guilty of this as anyone else.

So, I'm making an extra effort to remember my blessings and be thankful for even the little things on a daily basis.

I wish each and every one of you a Thanksgiving filled with family, friends and all that you love!

Hugs,

Jane