Journal of Gratitude Day 5

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God." Philippians 4:6


Today I am really grateful to the men and women from all over who have traveled to the Northeast to help with repairs. Electric companies, tree removers- hundreds of workers pitching in to help get power restored. It is a huge job and I am glad there are folks willing to leave their families and go help random strangers.
THANK YOU!

Journal of Gratitude Day 4

"The Lord is my strength and my shield; My heart trusts in Him, and I am helped; Therefore my heart exults, and with my song I shall thank Him." Psalm 28:7

Today I am saying thank you for my friends at the Cin City Reptile Show. It is a great bunch of folks and there is always something new to experience.

This is how my day went:

Today, John and I headed to the snake show to buy some food for John's corn snakes and to sell some of our babies.  Mike bought five baby corns from us- so it was a good day.

And then it got better.

We missed last month's show, and I missed out on the chance to hold a big hairy spider- or so I thought. Thanks to my now favorite spider-man, Brian, I got to hold a rose haired tarantula.

So, yes I was worried and VERY nervous because all spiders bite.

But this is my year of new adventures and new experiences, and so I let the spider tickle my hand with it's hairy feet. A very strange feeling. So glad I did it.

Too cool!

Living an extraordinary life

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover. Mark Twain

Journal of Gratitude Day 3

"And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him." Colossians 3:17

Today I am grateful for Zumba. I really love me some Zumba. And boy have I missed it...

For the first time since I broke my foot, I got to go to my Zumba class this morning. LaToya was a gift as always, and the music was jumping. We danced the morning away and it was such a great experience.

I am loving it.

Journal of Gratitude Day 2

From Lysa:
November 2: "Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His love endures forever." 1 Chronicles 16:34

I am grateful for reliable transportation- I love my little Honda and as I hear stories from friends about their struggles back East, trying to buy gas and travel to work with restrictions and limited Mass Transit service, I was happy to jump in my car, turn on the heat, crank up the music and enjoy the ride.

What are you thankful for?

Lysa TerKeurst posted on Facebook:


In the days leading up to Thanksgiving, keep a journal and reflect on one thing every day that you are truly thankful for. I will post a daily verse on Facebook that you can write down and use for praising God in His faithfulness.

November 1: "But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in Your salvation. I will sing the Lord’s praise, for He has been good to me." Psalm 13:5-6

I am grateful my family is safe after Sandy tore up the East Coast...

All Saints Day

All Saints Day is a holiday meant to honor all the saints, known and unknown. There are over 10,000 named Saints and people have prayed for their intersession since 100AD. Catholics pray with the saint of their choosing, as a trusted friend.

All Souls Day- day of the dead- follows the next day. It is a commemoration of all those who died and praying for them is part of our faith. Like Mass cards...

Catholics celebrate All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day in the belief that we have a prayerful spiritual communion with those who have died and are either being purified in purgatory or are in heaven.

So...

I will go to Mass today. I will pray for those who have gone before me. Even if, in my heart of hearts, I know they are the ones giving me strength on my bad days.

About going to Africa

Way back in the Peace Corps, circa 1992, I had my first introduction to Tropical Medicine. Specifically, we were vaccinated for all kinds of interesting diseases... Yellow Fever, Typhoid, Rabies... you get the idea.

In the course of my nursing career, I also received vaccine coverage for Hepatitis A and B, as well as annual flu shots, tetanus updates, well, you get the picture.

I was never so grateful as yesterday.

Yesterday was my first visit to the Traveler’s Medicine office (Passport Health) to get me ready for my trip. After reviewing my (extensive) international vaccine record, my nurse advised me two boosters would do it.

ONLY TWO SHOTS!

I figured I would need at least three.

Yellow Fever went in my left arm (it swelled rather impressively). Typhoid in my right (it hurts more, by the way). I had forgotten tropical vaccines can be like that.

I woke up aching today. But it will pass...

I CANNOT BELIEVE I AM REALLY GOING TO AFRICA!!!!!

And now all I have to do is call to have my anti-malaria meds ordered closer to our travel time. And get travel insurance. And book a flight.

CAN'T WAIT!!!!