Tag Archives: thankfulness

Day 3422 – How To Be Thankful When Life Slows Your Pace – repost

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I feel like I’m finally on the mend today, which is good because I have some work for one of my clients today! It was hard to take it easy this week. I thought this week would be one of knocking out a number of projects, making progress on things that have been sitting for a while, and just an all around catch up week. I was not expecting to get sick, and stuck in bed most of the week. But instead of getting discouraged in my lack of productivity, I decided to be thankful. Here are a handful of the things I AM thankful for this week:

– That Bret closed on his second house, which takes a little of the financial burden off me.
– That my clients are super understanding, and care about my health most of all.
– That it is a slow season on all fronts (Bret’s out of school, client projects are slower right now, etc)
– That I have jobs that allow me to take breaks when I need to.
– That I have learned over the years to listen to my body, and not push things.
– That the imperative things were accomplished.

What about you? What are you thankful for when life forces you to slow down?

Originally posted 8/12/17

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Day 3421 – How To Not Complain – or – I’m So Thankful That Bret Taught Me To Be A Devil’s Advocate – repost

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One thing that I absolutely love and hate about Bret is that he is a devil’s advocate. When we first got married, I barely got to complain because he would always have a comeback to what I was babbling on about. “Well, you don’t know….” “Well, maybe they XYZ….” “Well, at least….”

He is the reason I’m such a big proponent of the “if nothing else” game. As I’ve grown in my devil’s advocating skills, I can even encourage Bret (ha ha, the student has become the master).

This can be a really sad and hard world to live in. There are so many opinions and sides and deep hate out there. I think something that could really help us all is more devil’s advocating.

Instead of thinking things like “I cannot believe they think XYZ,” “I would never ABC,” “All of 123’s are XYZ.” Try to think of things from the other perspective. “Well, if I had been raised in this environment, I can see how I would think/have trouble/struggle with XYZ.” “Well, if I had been in this situation, I might actually ABC.” “Well, I guess not ALL 123’s are XYZ. Maybe I can find out more about 123’s.”

I am in no way saying I have everything figured out. I cannot solve the world’s problems. I believe only God can fix what’s wrong here. But we can make things a little better by putting ourselves in others’ shoes.

It is also a very thankful way to live. When there are really rough days, I try to be super specific thankful. Being thankful for shelter, food, and health can really turn your day around.

And because I miss the little guy, here’s our rental car – Devil’s Advocate

Originally posted by 8/20/17

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Day 3420 – I Really Am Thankful For Traffic Jams – repost

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Today, I had bible study in the morning in Joppa Maryland and then had to drive all the way over to Hunt Valley to grab lunch with my family. It was raining a little, so I wasn’t sure how timely I’d be….and I actually got stuck in a traffic jam about half way.

A little backstory….you may or may not know the full story of how Bret and I met….well, I won’t share that now (you can ask me later)….but a BIG part of the story is that on his drive from Quantico, VA (where he was for training) to Bel Air, MD (where I was), he wanted to turn around. It is a long drive. But then he looks over to the other side of 95 and there was a parking lot of traffic for about 10 minutes….and he said, ah, guess I’ll still go.

I try to remember this whenever I’m in traffic….and think….someone’s life may be changed forever because of this traffic jam….this is where I am now and I have to just deal with it.

While I was sitting there, in the traffic, I thought about it again….and I said, you know, I am content to sit in this traffic….and I realized that I truly meant it. It was so moving, it made me cry.

So, I challenge you to think about situations in your life that are like a traffic jam….they may be happening for a bigger purpose. But if not, you can grumble about me and traffic next time you hit a jam.

The following picture is about 4 months after I met Bret…who I met because of a traffic jam….and a friend who knew us both better than we knew ourselves.

Originally posted 10/2/12.

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Day 3220 – How We Wake Up At 5 AM And Actually Enjoy It – and – A Little Bit About Working With Your Spouse – repost

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I wrote the following post in September. Eight months later and we’re still getting up most days around 5 a.m. There are days we sleep in until 7 or 8, if we’ve been out late, haven’t been sleeping as much, or if we’re sick. It’s crazy the amount of work you can accomplish getting up earlier. It’s like the hours from 5:30-9 are magical time expanders. Do you get up early?

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I think we have a new habit, and I think it will be around for a while: waking up at 5:00 a.m. on work days. Since we are building a business (real estate investing), there is a lot to do, all the time. I’ve really been digging in with data mining and management. We’ve recently started outsourcing calls, and it helps to put the pressure on me to keep up with finding numbers and not find excuses to be lazy. Since I don’t track my time on the weekends, I have no idea how many hours I put it this weekend, but it has been a lot. Oy. I have looked at SO many houses online! Though, it does get me dreaming about a home for us down the line. We have some pretty specific needs and wants, so it will likely take a while until we find it. Since Bret is back to school (today is the first day for the kids), having a routine is much more important. One way we’re fitting more in each day is by waking up at 5:00 a.m. I cannot believe I’m saying it….but we haven’t snoozed once since we started. I have ALWAYS snoozed. I have snoozed for HOURS. We’ll still be in bed, but we aren’t hitting snooze and trying to sleep for those precious 9 minutes. Once we have somewhat of a mental faculty going, we’ll start to say things that we’re thankful for. It can be anything from “I’m thankful you’re alive today” to “I’m thankful for this blanket” to “I’m thankful we prepped the coffee last night.” It makes such a difference in mood of the day right from the start. We’ll spend a little time chatting about the day and different things once the coffee is ready. Then I launch into my morning firsts (devotions, writing, blogging, etc).

It’s funny that we’re working together again. After we stopped photography, I thought it would be me working my jobs, and Bret teaching. Us working together, in a lot of ways, came out of left field. But I am SO pumped to be working with Bret again! Working with your spouse isn’t easy, it can be difficult, for sure, but the benefits outweigh those difficulties for us. One thing we’ve noticed is that I can get grumpy if I don’t get 8-9 hours of sleep. It takes a few days, but there is a noticeable difference. Last week, I was REALLLLLLLY grumpy, and Bret was like, ummmmmmmm, what? After more time than it should have, we realize it was because of my lack of sleep. Because Bret knows me so well, he can call me out on things, and we can work through them together.

A bonus to waking up this early is getting to see the sunrise. I was not disappointed this morning.

originally posted 9/5/17

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Did you like what you read? Here’s some ways you can support us and this blog!
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Day 3218 – How To Not Complain – or – I’m So Thankful That Bret Taught Me To Be A Devil’s Advocate – repost

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One thing that I absolutely love and hate about Bret is that he is a devil’s advocate. When we first got married, I barely got to complain because he would always have a comeback to what I was babbling on about. “Well, you don’t know….” “Well, maybe they XYZ….” “Well, at least….”

He is the reason I’m such a big proponent of the “if nothing else” game. As I’ve grown in my devil’s advocating skills, I can even encourage Bret (ha ha, the student has become the master).

This can be a really sad and hard world to live in. There are so many opinions and sides and deep hate out there. I think something that could really help us all is more devil’s advocating.

Instead of thinking things like “I cannot believe they think XYZ,” “I would never ABC,” “All of 123’s are XYZ.” Try to think of things from the other perspective. “Well, if I had been raised in this environment, I can see how I would think/have trouble/struggle with XYZ.” “Well, if I had been in this situation, I might actually ABC.” “Well, I guess not ALL 123’s are XYZ. Maybe I can find out more about 123’s.”

I am in no way saying I have everything figured out. I cannot solve the world’s problems. I believe only God can fix what’s wrong here. But we can make things a little better by putting ourselves in others’ shoes.

It is also a very thankful way to live. When there are really rough days, I try to be super specific thankful. Being thankful for shelter, food, and health can really turn your day around.

And because I miss the little guy, here’s our rental car – Devil’s Advocate

– originally posted 8/20/17

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Did you like what you read? Here’s some ways you can support us and this blog!
Join our Facebook group, Planning an Epic Road Trip on Any Budget
Join the Journey With The G’s email list (bonus – you get my Epic Road Trip Budget spreadsheet)
Buy my book, Planning an Epic Road Trip on any Budget
Buy my book, Trusting God With 2 Cents: 22 Days To Becoming A Successful Christian Business Owner.
Shop on Amazon (no additional cost to you, this gives us a percentage of what you order).
Check out our resources page.
Subscribe to our YouTube Channel