Deo Gratias

 "If the only prayer you ever say in your life is thank you, it will be enough." - Meister Eckhart

Colleen, from her inspiring blog Thoughts on Grace, hosts this wonderful meme each Wednesday. She says, "Deo Gratias is Latin for Thanks be to God. Remembering to give thanks for all of our blessings, big & small, helps us to find God in our everyday moments and gives us an attitude of gratitude!"

Each week, I join Colleen in remembering & sharing the many blessings in my life. This is such a great exercise for me, helping me to focus on the good that truly is happening in my life, no matter how many trials & stresses I may have.

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1) After having the paint since Fall, the weather was finally cooperative enough for me to paint the living & kitchen ceilings, as well as the living room walls. Deo Gratias! 

2) I let go of a little control & allowed the Blessings to help me paint some. They did a great job. Deo Gratias! 

3) In addition to the new paint color in the living room, I wanted a new arrangement for the furniture but just couldn't figure out what to do. HelpfulGrammy came over Monday morning & between the two of us, we came up w/ a great arrangement! Deo Gratias! 

4) Even with the rain we've had, our weather the past couple weeks has been wonderful...esp. after the harsh winter we had. Deo Gratias! 

5) Some of the seeds I planted a couple weeks ago have started sprouting. I'm hoping for a great garden this year! Deo Gratias!

A Blog Award for Me...The Liebster Award

Kristin at St. Monica's Bridge tagged me for the following award!

The Liebster Award is for bloggers with less than 200 followers.  Liebster is a German word meaning dearest. The award is given to up-and-coming bloggers who deserve recognition and support to keep on blogging.

 
Here are the “rules”:

1. Answer the 11 questions given to you

2. Create 11 new questions for the bloggers you nominate for the award.

3. Choose bloggers with 200 or less followers to nominate. (The total suggested is 5, but I've cut back on a lot of my blog reading & most of the ones I do read are over 200 followers.)

4. Go to each blogger’s page and let them know about the award.

5. Thank the person who nominated you and link back to their blog!

My Questions from Kristen:

1. What is your favorite cuisine? Japanese

2. What is your favorite book of the Bible? There are so many great ones! The first that comes to mind is Hebrews...it's been a few years since I read through it, but I remember a lot of "A-ha" & "Wow! That's a great thought!" moments.

3. What is your favorite Bible verse? Philippians 4:4 - "Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say rejoice!" (It's my phrase for the year & so far, I think I've been really good at following St. Paul's advice!)

4. What is your favorite color? Purple (our wedding colors were purple, gold, & ivory)

5. What is the best way to spend “found money?” Donating it or spending it at a thrift store

6. What is the best way to spend “found time?” Relaxing w/ a good book

7. What is the grossest/weirdest food you’ve ever tried? Did you like it? I don't normally try gross or weird things, so I guess the closest thing would be escargots. Yes, I liked them a lot (& still do). I love the buttery garlic sauce they're saturated in. I haven't had any in years, though.

8. What is your favorite holiday tradition? (Can be any holiday!) Baking Christmas cookies w/ our Blessings. Each child chooses a cookie to bake w/ me & it gives us great one-on-one time in the kitchen.

9. What state would you like to visit? Depending on how I feel about the current weather status, either Alaska or Hawaii

10. What are your feelings on buzzfeed quizzes? They're okay...some are fun & interesting, but others just end up being a waste of my time.

11. What is your favorite social media outlet? Facebook is the only one I use (unless you count my blog), so I guess that's my answer!

And now for my questions...
1. What household task do you like the most?

2. What household task do you like the least?

3. Are you usually early, on time, or late when going places?

4. Which Biblical figure (besides Jesus) would you most like to meet in person?

5. If you wrote a book about your life, what would the title be?

6. M&Ms or Reeses Pieces?

7. What country would you most like to visit?

8. Do you have a favorite prayer? If so, which one?

9. When you get time to yourself, what are you most likely to be doing?

10. What do you find to be the biggest waste of your time?

11. When it comes to reading, do you prefer the old-fashioned actual books, an e-reader, or a combination of both?

Now for my tags...
The Caffeinated Geek at Coffee, Yarn, and Words

Colleen at Thoughts on Grace

Anyone else who feels so inclined to answer my questions & wants to share other blogs they follow!

Light in the Darkness

Welcome to my Light in the Darkness meme! (If you missed my post on the inspiration for this meme, you can read all about it HERE.)

This is the place to share good things that are happening in our world...whether it's a link to a news article/video, something from your personal experience...anything good that can bring light into darkness!

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Since I've started this weekly link-up, I've come across more & more stories of teens doing wonderful things for others. This is great because much of the news is filled w/ negative stories of teens getting into &/or causing trouble. 

The story I'm sharing this week comes from Texas...a group of students throws prom & graduation for a classmate w/ brain cancer.

Prom & Graduation for Classmate w/ Cancer