10 Things Tuesday~

I was never good at keeping a journal whether it was to log my day, keep a prayer list, to doodle or otherwise. When I came across the '10 Things' group on Flickr and the premise behind its start, I thought it was a great idea. But then she had to go and mention a journal and well...I just told you my history on journals so instead I've decided to do "10 Things Tuesday'. I really like the idea of being grateful rather than focusing on what's going wrong which can lead to bitterness. I don't want to grow to be an old bitter person.

My Nana had 11 children and lost one as an infant. Her husband wanted to go back to Mexico but she chose to stay in the United States because "Mexico holds nothing for my children." Can you imagine choosing to stay with 10 children knowing that she would have to support them herself? She wanted her kids to have the best opportunities available and that was in the United States. She worked as a cook to support her family and was able to feed them from the restaurant too.

They lived in Arizona. They had no heat, no air conditioning, dirt floors for some time, no shoes for the kids until they went to work themselves and her only indulgence was a scoop of ice cream when she'd go to town each weekend. The kids took turns going to town so they received their scoop every 10 weeks. They lived a very frugal life but my Nana trusted God for their every need until the day she died.

Her story was probably not so special back in her day but as I recall all my memories of my Nana, I can say I never saw her ungrateful, angry at the world, wallowing in self pity or bitter. She had a sweet, gentle face, soft voice and a quick smile. She crocheted, cooked, loved gardening and read when she wasn't doing these things. She loved Reader's Digest, National Geographic and the Bible.

While I know that she had to have had her faults, I know she chose to dwell on the good things in her life and trusted God to take care of those that were not so good. I want to live my life by her example. I would love to be remembered this way. So here are my 10 things for Tuesday.

1. The sun that came out today to give us a beautiful afternoon.

2. The anticipation of fall colors.

3. A healthy family. 1 Husband, 3 sons, 1 daughter, 1 daughter-in-law and 1 granddaughter. All healthy. Thank you Lord.

4. My daughter asking to make tomorrows lunch for her and her brother. I love that she's getting older and loves to exercise her Independence this way!

5. The peace and quiet that comes with hand watering recent transplants.

6. The rhythm of taking down the laundry off the clothes line.

7. A phone call from my oldest "just to talk".

8. Provision for all our needs. I'm always grateful for this.

9. A job that I don't mind going to daily.

10. Watching a John Wayne movie, Big Jake.

Well I hope you find at least 10 things to be grateful for today and tomorrow too.