Blessed

Today is my mother's 70th birthday. Despite everything my mother has endured, she is here. Life is a gift that is meant to be celebrated daily. It's easy to get distracted by headlines and hashtags. It's easy to take life for granted. It's easy to forget the daily blessings God continues to provide.  If you woke up this morning, you're blessed. If you have clothes on your back and food to eat, you're blessed. If you have a roof over your head, you're blessed. If you have a job and money in your pocket, you're blessed. If you have a degree of health, you're blessed. Be blessed and know that today is a blessing. 

Thrive

We are creatures of habit. We have routines, schedules, calendar invites, and all sorts of alarms, alerts, and notifications to keep us on task. We "pencil in" people in our agendas. We workout during our lunch break, or we just work through our lunch. So, we can write it off as a "business lunch." We are so busy. But, are we really living this life that God gave us? Is our life exceedingly abundantly beyond what we could think or ask? Are we thriving or just surviving? If we really want to be honest with ourselves, it's the latter. We have achieved a degree of comfort, and we have set our lives on cruise control. We re-adjust if we hit a bump, but most of us have a rather mundane existence. It's time to shake things up. Don't just survive. Thrive! 

"My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor, and some style."-Maya Angelou
 

Blessed to be a Blessing

We are not meant to live this life alone. We were created to live synonymously. We are supposed to "do" life together. During this giving season, make a point to give someone something. You can give of your time, your talent, or your treasure. Our gifts and talents are meant to be shared with each other. Volunteer somewhere. Help a neighbor. Pay it forward. You are blessed to be a blessing.