Gratitude Archive

Paying for Our Daughter’s Wedding

LoLo Roberts

When our daughter’s impending wedding was coming up we knew we needed to review the budget.  Our wedding planner had confided in me that we were about $4300 over budget and we were two months away from the wedding date and the vendors needed to be paid in full.  I prepared an Excel spreadsheet with all of the expenses and the final numbers for each item.  These items included the venues, attire, flowers, cake, gifts, etc.  Yes for sure we were over budget by the reported total.  I sat down with my husband first thing the following Saturday morning over freshly brewed coffee to let him know.  He looked at my spreadsheet and agreed with the figures.  We needed to come up with more money.  We vowed at the beginning of this celebration we would only pay cash and not take out a loan.  The amount was set a year ago.  My wonderful husband said to me we would pay the overage to the vendors but to let the wedding planner know we were at our limit and no more could be spent.  My husband and I went about our day grocery shopping and tending to things around the house.  Around 4 pm we decided to sit down and watch a movie.  The movie escapes me now but the afternoon doesn’t.  As we watched the movie I hear my husband’s cell phone text alert chimed.  This was odd to me because my husband didn’t have a text sound alert then only a vibration alert.  I turned and looked at my husband and he said, “That’s weird, our tax refund just hit our bank account for $4500!”  I have believed in the Law of Attraction and God’s grace for a long time.  I knew that this was God’s blessing that this appeared immediately the same day as our discussion.  I truly believe your words create things and when things are released into the universe for God’s ears to hear,  blessings happen.  This blessing came because of God blessing me with my wonderful husband.

Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks – Bible

The Importance of a Gratitude Journal

LoLo Roberts

How often we may thank God for a blessing He has bestowed upon us and then it leaves  our mind due to a distraction.  It is vitally important we remember these blessings.  I write daily in my gratitude journal.  My journal is a soft leather book with bound pages and a loop closure securing my blessings inside.  You may choose a different type of gratitude journal such as your phone, an IPad  or even your own loose leaf filled binder.  You choose what fits your needs.   Your journal needs to be special for you and make you feel good just by touching it.  Remember, this is a remarkable vessel that will be holding your reminders of the beautiful and gracious things that happen to you.  My journal smells of leather and is very soft to the touch.  This reminds me of my father’s leather chair I use to sit in when I was little and my grandson’s soft baby skin.   I feel spectacular and comforted by my journal.  Each and every day I take time to write in my gratitude journal.  I list events that have happened in the day that I want to give thanks and praise for.  I use pens in different colors so daily blessing have their own individual characteristics for each day’s entry.  I tend to write in bright colors with a Papermate gel pen so I can express my mood through the color.  Pink colored ink being my favorite appears frequently and baby blue ink when I am feeling blessings for my baby grandson. I feel the colors add an uniqueness to my journal.  You may doodle your gratitude if you are artist or having difficulty putting your feelings into words.  You may use one word for each blessing if that is easier to you.  For example I may write in my journal that I am so happy for the beautiful streaming sunshine that warmed me on this first day of Spring.  You may just write the work sunshine.  It’s OK to use just one word because you will see that word and reference the feeling you received from the warm sun without writing the full statement.  I don’t date my entries but only number them.  I don’t want to have a reference of when I started my journal or consider how long I have recorded my blessings.  When making an entry,  I prefer to write what my blessing was and why it was important to me to get the most fulfillment  I recommend writing 3-5 entries a day although I have been known to write up to 10 in one day  It is important to do this daily journalism so on days you may be having a difficult time you are able look back and read your blessings from previous days.  Your mood will be lifted immediately when you see the things you were so grateful for and listed diligently in previous days.  You begin to realize no matter what obstacle seems to be hindering you on this day that you have much to be grateful for.  It reminds and inspires you on the spot.  These are also days it is critical to write 3-5 things you have been blessed with.  You may say very simple things like my family, my home or very basic things on these days you might tend to take for granted.  Just by recognizing the things your have without giving them any thought you will see you are blessed and feel better.  It is OK if you repeat things on your list if it is genuine and sincere because sometimes it takes some time to clear your mind after a long day.  You may write in your gratitude journal in the morning or evening or all throughout the day.  You decide what is comfortable for you.   I am going to share with you below what I am adding to my gratitude journal today.

  1. I am so happy and grateful that I am now blogging about gratitude with the possibility of touching another’s life.
  2. I am thankful for my friends that gave me input this morning regarding my upcoming projects and made me feel glorious.
  3. I am so grateful to be able to visit with my handsome two month old grandson so I can dream about his life’s possibilities and greatness.
  4. I am so excited and blessed to have great mentors and business people surrounding me to help make all my endeavors successful.

When you write in your gratitude journal, feel the love and blessing in your heart.  The truer and more sincere the entry the longer it will resonate with you.

 

When you are grateful – when you can see what you have – you unlock blessings to flow in your life.

Suze Orman

How I Met My Husband

LoLo Roberts

The story of meeting my husband still impresses  upon me of how God has a plan and how he delivers to us what is best.  My daughter and I were living in Illinois after a sad divorce from my first husband.  We had decided to relocate to Texas to be near my parents and start a new life.  I had been packing my house for the movers that were arriving in 5 days.  Boxes were stacked everywhere in our home anticipating our upcoming move.  On this particular Friday before heading to Texas I worked my last day at my job.  Two of my closest friends wanted to take me out for dinner and farewell drinks and somehow we all ended up back at my house to continue visiting.  Out of the blue one of my friends said “I know you have been exploring online dating and I want to see how it works!”  This was 2003 when online dating was the only way I, living in a town of 40,000 people could meet someone I didn’t already know their baggage and history.  I agreed to hook my computer back up and show them the dating site I was using.  This site no longer exists and actually closed about 6 months after I met my husband.  In order to show them how the online chatting worked, I would have to pick someone to chat with.  There was a display of about 25 potential chatters that fell into my classification (age, single and living in the Dallas area).  My friend said, “Talk to him” and pointed to a picture attached to a profile of a handsome man on the beach.  I agreed and messaged him and asked if he was busy or would he  like to chat.  This was 9:45 pm on a Friday night which I thought was odd he would be available to chat and not out.  He said he was available and we began to chat.  He was home on this particular Friday night because he had a big proposal do at work and he decided to get it done instead of going out.  He had been working all night but had just taken a break to go online for a few minutes.  We chatted back and forth for about 15 minutes so my friend could see how the process worked.  He asked if he could have my cell number to call me after my friends left.  I agreed because back them you couldn’t trace a cell phone number to see someone’s location. The was considered a safe practice at that time.  He called me and we talked for hours.  I told him I was moving the following week and he asked if he could  take me to lunch.  Of course I said yes.  Funny how a ten minute break in his night that coincided with me educating friends on online dating would cause our worlds to collide.   There was no way I would have met my future husband without the work of reconnecting my computer and having my friend pick him out of all the profiles.  Only a higher being could orchestrate that.  When I had my first lunch date with this wonderful man I knew he would be in my life forever.   It was the way he looked into my eyes so deeply that day at lunch that seemed  almost as if he were reading my soul.  To this day we still look into each others eye the same way continuing to to grow our love and connection.

 I don’t need paradise because I found you. I don’t need dreams because I already have you.

How I Practice Gratitude

LoLo Roberts

Each and every day I wake up and say thank you.  Thank you for my restful night’s sleep. Thank you for allowing me to open my eyes.  Thank you for feeling great.  Thank you for the day’s opportunities that will present themselves to me today.  I then get out of bed, start my bath and proceed to make my cup of coffee.  Once the tub is filled and my coffee brewed I begin a 10 minute meditation session.  I breathe 3 deep breaths and then focus on short breaths just releasing any morning worries or inadequacies that may hinder my perfect day.  Breathing in and out I think of nothing but my breath.  Breathing love in and gratitude out.  After my session I dry off, robe up and as I get ready for my day I listen to 20 minutes of motivational or inspirational words.  I listen to Joel Olsteen, Jack Canfield, Oprah Winfrey or anyone I feel will lift my day.  I listen as I put on my makeup and get dress, multitasking yet focusing on the words of my speaker.  Now that I am ready for the day I head out in my car to my business obligations.  I turn off the radio in my car and spend 10 minutes praying.  I take this time to thank God for my blessings and to heal or help those in need.  If I have recently been in contact with someone with a certain need  I will pray for God to heal all those suffering with that condition.  I don’t just ask for healing for the one I am aware of, but all suffering.  I always offer blessings outward to the whole world not just in my world.

As I come across people during my day I do my best to lift them up with positivity.  If the person is already positive I tap into their energy to raise us both.  Those that are negative I will always compliment  them in a genuine way.  One positive thought or action can negate 100 negative thoughts.  I will do this whether I know the person or not.  There is nothing greater than telling a waiter that they gave me exceptional service and thanking them with all my heart.  I tell my husband daily that I love him and I am so grateful God put him in my life.  Yes, put him in my life.  My husband and I met against all odds but with God’s love he landed us together.  I will tell that story in my stories of gratitude.  I also tell my daughter that I am so proud of her and my son-in-law whenever I see them.  They have within one years time graduated college, gotten married, suffered a great illness, shared the loss of an immediate family member, had my beautiful grandson and bought their first home.  Not many would withstand that type of world wind of life experiences but their love and determination made them successful.  I continue my day smiling at unknown people passing by me.  I always try to make eye contact as I smile to reinforce my sincerity.

Gratitude doesn’t stop for me when I climb into bed.  For me this begins my nightly routine.  I snuggle into my warm, comfy bed, prop myself up comfortably and begin 10 minutes of meditation guided by the Calm app.  I choose a topic to meditate to that may pertain to my day.  For example,  I may have a big presentation coming up the next day so I choose to mediate on focus or perhaps I felt a bit uneasy regarding a friend’s upcoming surgery so I will choose calming anxiety.  I always hold my gratitude stone in the palm of my hand after meditating and saying thanks for one big thing that happened to me that day that I am most grateful for.  I focus on one thing and don’t set my stone down until my heart feels full.  I then say “Thank you God, I love you and I will talk to you in the morning”.  In doing this daily practice I add 60 minutes of gratitude to my day without finding time for it.  It just interlocks into the things I am already doing.

Why do we close our eyes when we pray, cry, kiss, dream? Because the most beautiful things in life are not seen but felt only by heart.