A Year Of Gratefulness

  So where have I been? Did I run out of things to be grateful for? No, not really.  I had lots of posts written in my head but they just didn't get from my head to my blog. Not an excuse, just a fact.

  Now, as we come to the end of the year, I want to share all the things I am grateful for this year. First, I am so grateful for the one who holds my life in His hands. He is the center of all I am and without him, I am nothing.  I reflect on the year and I see God's hand in everything I have done and will do.

  The biggest event in the first part of the year that I am grateful for is my trip to Ireland with my mom and two daughters. It was an experience I will never forget. Being able to share something that big with my family was such a special thing. It was my first trip to another country (Canada and Mexico not included).  It was a great first of many, hopefully, trips to see more of this wonderful world we live in.

  I was also blessed to be able to take a trip to see my daughter and grandkids. Sometimes you just need some grandma time and since my grandkids live far away, it means a trip to see them. Also, since my husband couldn't do any extended vacations this year due to impending retirement, we did some fun short trips together. Anytime I can get away and see new places, I am in a happy place. I was born with the travel gene and any travel, even for a weekend away, is a great time for me.

  This year was a milestone year for my marriage also. 35 years together and still going strong. It may not count as a special Hallmark card year, but it still a good long number.  We did our big trip to celebrate last fall but were able to get away for a few days. My husband is still my best friend and we enjoy spending time together. 

  The big event for our end of year is my husband's retirement. After 40+ years at his job, he is able to finally take a long and permanent vacation. We are so grateful that he had a job for all of those years, that he had a good retirement fund and we can now look at what new adventures God has for us.

  Now for the small, but no less important things I am grateful for. 1) I am grateful that we had another year with my husband's mom. At age 91, she is still going strong. 2) I am grateful for the town I live in. There are so many wonderful people who live here and seeing their generosity through the 'Buy Nothing Poulsbo' Facebook page, I am amazed and impressed with how good people can be when given a chance. In a time where all the national news seems to be bad, seeing people doing good reminds me of the good things. 3) I am grateful for friends both near and far. We had a visit from two our our longtime friends this year and had a great time catching up with them. We also have enjoyed connecting, and reconnecting with friends we enjoy spending time with. We will try to do better next year with seeing them more often. 4) And finally, I am grateful for my family. I have three great kids, a wonderful son-in-law and two special grandkids. They are all unique and I love seeing how they live their lives. 

  The last thing I want to mention in closing out this year of gratitude is my plan to start my own Gratefulness Jar. I have read about them on many blogs and love the idea.  You put little notes in the jar throughout the year and read them at Thanksgiving. What a wonderful way to start a new tradition of reminders that we all have things to be grateful for. Have a wonderful new year!

I Am Grateful For Creativity, and For Music

I am constantly in awe of how creative human beings are. Whether it is through art, music, photography, music or whatever else people use their creative brains for, I am amazed that we keep on coming up with new ideas.

The way people continue to create new things boggles my mind. Every day someone is thinking of new ways to make our lives easier (think appliances) or more challenging (think exercise). New songs and books are written, movies are made, inventions are funded.  No one has woken up and declared 'there are no new songs to be written, everything that can be written is done'.

I am especially amazed at music and so grateful for those who write, sing, and play it. Lately I have been reading dystopian stories and have noticed that in these bleak futures there seems to be no music. Since music has been around since the dawn of man, it's hard to believe that even if the power grid goes down that the music will stop. People have been creating music long before there was media to play it on. Voices can never be silenced but in the stories people seem to be too depressed or oppressed to break out into song.  I have a feeling that no matter what happens, singing will continue and instruments that don't need power will flourish.

I remember when transitor radios made music portable. I was so thrilled to be able to listen to music wherever I was. Then came cassette players and we could record songs from the radio to listen to over and over again. We even called the radio station and requested a song so we could record it and then make our own 'mix tape' of our favorite songs. Now we can buy songs in a minute and download them to create a very personal playlist. The newest thing is streaming music where you can listen to stations that curate music based on our interests. I think we have come full circle and have returned to the radio in a new way.  They say there is nothing new under the sun but when I hear a new song that really moves me, I know that is not true. Keep the music coming.

Today, turn up the radio a little louder and sing along. And even if the world loses power, it can never take our music away.

To My Women Friends (and The Men Too)...You Are Enough!

  Have you ever looked at a magazine and the more you read, the more dissatisfied with your life you become? I noticed that many years ago when we bought our home in Washington. I was looking for decorating ideas but the more I compared the pictures in the magazine to my home, the more I became unhappy with my home. I eventually stopped getting those magazines and became a happier person.
  It is the same thing we are experiencing in our culture as we see, hear, and read about how we can improve our bodies, faces, etc.  The more we view the media, the more we think something is wrong with us.  And, we become dissatisfied. So, we spend our time, money and energy trying to fix ourselves.
  Fortunately, God does not look at the outside, he looks at our spirit and says "you are enough". Many people have the idea that we have to fix ourselves before we come to God. The reality is that we only have to give ourselves to Him and then He completes us. We just have to stop trying so hard.
  My heart hurts for the young women in our society that are being bombarded by the message that they need to look a certain way. I thought the women's movement of the 60s put an end to the idea that we are to spend all our energy making ourselves look good for a man. But, it seems like the messages in the movies and music tell them that the way to get noticed is to be the sexiest, most desirable one. What is on the inside doesn't matter, as long as you look good.
  I'm currently reading a book called "7, An Experiment Mutiny Against Excess" by Jen Hatmaker. I am being challenged in so many ways. How many hours do we waste on 'stuff'? One chapter in particular about clothing was especially challenging to me. How much time do I spend buying clothes and then thinking about what I am going to wear. While we can't completely live in a bubble, if we spent some of that energy focusing on the underserved, we would all be happier and less self-focused.
  My encouragement to my friends is that we can start by purging our closets, and also purge our minds of the negative image of ourselves and let God tell us that we are loved just the way we are.

Today I Am Grateful For Andrae Crouch

I learned today that gospel singer Andrae Crouch died at age 72. I am grateful to this man because he was an influence to me at the tender age of 14 to begin my journey of faith. I saw him in concert at Balboa stadium the summer of 1970. That night he gave an alter call and even though I didn't go forward right then, later that night I surrendered my life to Jesus and began the journey I have been on for the past 45 years. He was a powerful voice in the 70s of the goodness and grace of God. I am who I am today because of his message, as well as the persistence of my best friend, Karen Knapp.  She invited me to the concert and kept inviting me to hear the gospel message until I finally saw the power of the message. I will be forever grateful to her, and to all who have encouraged me on my journey over the years. It has been, and continues to be, the best trip I could take.  Here is a sample of Andrae Crouch's wonderful voice and powerful message. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0RZTYDPavEY

My New Years Resolution 2015

My name is Marilea and this is my new blog for a new year. This year, instead of the usual resolutions that people choose to make that fail within the first week, I have decided to choose something to do that will go beyond myself and hopefully be something positive. The idea came from a few things: a book I am reading, 7 An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess by Jen Hatmaker, a Facebook post about a gratitude jar and from my desire to use social media for something more than just sharing pictures, activities and cute videos.

So, I have created this blog, and a new Facebook page that will be used to share words of encouragement and gratitude for the things that are good, and maybe even a few that aren't so good. Sometimes the 'not so good' is where the most growth in our lives is comes from.

I hope that the posts are uplifting and give encouragement to those who visit my site. I believe we all need more of the positive in our lives. I have always been a 'glass half full' person and according to personality tests, I am an encourager, so I decided to use this forum to make use of the gifts I have been given.

It's amazing how words we hear and read can either make our day better or worse. I have stopped listening or reading most of the news stories because I realized how little most of it really was necessary to know and with the sensationalism of the media, creates and atmosphere of fear, sadness and hopelessness. We need to be informed, but sometimes a diet of negative news is just bad for us.

So my journey begins this first week of January and we will see where the journey takes us. I hope you come on this journey with me and enjoy the ride.