I did something this morning that I thought I would never, ever, in a million years do. I saved a Ziploc bag to re-use. Good honk, what is this world coming to.

I am grateful for perfectly good Ziploc bags that are just as good the second time around.

However, when I begin washing them and letting them drip-dry over the kitchen faucet, when I have re-used them so many times their zipperness is no longer zippy, when they are coated with orange spaghetti sauce film and I still insist that they are perfectly fine, it’s all over, folks. Put me out of my misery, it’s time to go home.

I am grateful for maintenance guys who took their break and had a piece of chocolate in my corner of the world today.

I am grateful for friends who make me laugh out loud. Thanks, Julie.

I am grateful for a very fragile little recipe book that I received in the mail from Aunt Patsy. It belonged to Mom and was a school days gift from Steve when he was a little guy. Thank you for sending it to me!

The life that counts blessings discovers it is yielding more than it seems. – Ann Voskamp

I am grateful for evenings at home, making dinner together in the kitchen, challenging each other to figure out the Wheel of Fortune puzzle first.

I am grateful for empty computer paper boxes with lids.

I am grateful for weather girls and reporters on local TV who drive me crazy but are so funny to watch and mimic. That’s not okay. I need to stop doing that.

I am grateful for a granddaughter who is feeling better.

I am grateful for the purr of a cat.

I am grateful that I have the opportunity to see my CASA girl again tonight, AND, I have the opportunity to play the piano at church tonight. It’s good to fill the evening with activity when there is no Billy Butler stealing bases on TV.

And I am fairly certain I have shared this before, probably last October 9, but it was so good this morning, and apparently, I needed to hear it again, so for this, I am once again grateful:

You have been on a long, uphill journey, and your energy is almost spent. Though you have faltered at times, you have not let go of My hand. I am pleased with your desire to stay close to Me. There is one thing, however, that displeases Me: your tendency to complain. You may talk to Me as much as you like about the difficulty of the path we are following. I understand better than anyone else the stresses and strains that have afflicted you. You can ventilate safely to Me, because talking with Me tempers your thoughts and helps you see things from My Perspective.

Complaining to others is another matter altogether. It opens the door to deadly sins such as self-pity and rage. Whenever you are tempted to grumble, come to Me and talk it out. As you open up to Me, I will put My thoughts in your mind and My song in your heart.

Do everything without grumbling and arguing so that you may be blameless and pure, innocent children of God surrounded by people who are crooked and corrupt. Among these people you shine like stars in the world. Philippians 2:14-15 (CEB)

– Jesus Calling, by Sarah Young