Show Gratitude at All Times

      Happy Autumn! It is hard to believe that the leaves are changing colors, the nights are growing cooler, and October is almost over. 

     I have been focusing on all the things I love about this season and all that I am grateful for. Gratitude is a virtue. It's something I strive to integrate into my life each and every day, though I often fail. Beyond the pursuit of moral excellence, gratitude is a value that can produce substantial pay off. When I am grateful, I can escape the comparison trap. Instead, my heart becomes full as I recognize my many blessings.

    For me, gratitude does not always come naturally, and so giving thanks has to be a very intentional practice on my heart. I'm thankful for my faith, family and friends, the job I have as the Director of Religious Education, and being able to go back to school at Valley City State University to get yet another degree. I'm blessed to have had a wonderful experience at VCSU and I can't wait to continue that. 

    What are you thankful for this fall? 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

50 years: An Anomaly

Image
Do you know the percentage of people who make it to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary? If you are like me, you understand with all that our world is going through, the number may be low but I was shocked when I learned this week just how low that number is. Seven percent. SEVEN PERCENT! That is absolutely crazy to me.  Yesterday I had the honor nad privilege of taking photos for a couple who celebrated 50 years of marriage. I have known this couple for more than 20 years. In those 20 years, I've witnessed the ebb and flow of life take place within their family.  Life has not always been easy for them but one thing that kept them part of the anomaly of our world has been their faith, which is why I found myself thinking what a beautiful testament to have most of their family present for the private Mass and celebration.  As I drove home, after the celebration, I thought about that seven percent. I thought about all the people in my life. I've known many couples who have g
Read more

Sexual Assault Awareness Month

Image
     The older I get the more I'm becoming comfortable with speaking out about my truth and doing work to help our most vulnerable people...children. I do not want any child to go through the kind of abuse I experienced as a child but if they do, I want them to have a place they can go to get help and justice.     Helping children has become a huge priority to me, which is why I donate 100% of the proceeds from my books to organizations that help children be safe from all kinds of abuse, especially sexual abuse.      Today, I was blessed to go on my second television interview to talk about Erin's Law , my books, and my story. Today was my interview on Living Local and two weeks ago I was on Paula Sands Live. Click on the videos below to see the interviews. April 11, 2023: Paula Sands Live April 25, 2023:  Living Local
Read more

Meet and Greet

Image
      I've been asked to join a butterfly educator, Linda Prior, to do a presentation for the Washington Elementary Summer School Program and so we decided to do a meet and greet program. Come out and learn more about how to help and care for endangered monarchs. f
Read more