One Bloom Saves Plant

I've had this cactus for five plus years and it's never bloomed. When it didn't bloom yet again during the 2010 Christmas season I threatened to throw it out. After all, the blooms and flowers on a plant are the whole reason for the plant, aren't they? Why keep around a plant that refuses to flower? I was convinced I would throw it out, but before I actually got around to it I saw this tiny bud form and then this beautiful bloom.....only one bloom on the whole plant, but enough to save the plant. I treat this one bloom with such tender love and care. When the grandkids look at it and touch it, I hold my breath - afraid the bloom will get damaged even though I'm happy they appreciate the beautiful bloom too. I'm so proud of that single bloom and now I have a renewed motivation to keep the plant and see if next time it will have more blooms! That one bloom has restored my faith and hope in the whole plant.

Now I'm waiting for my African Violet to bloom.

Choosing Gratitude

I attended the Farewell Avenue Christian Church's spring ladies retreat this weekend at the Princess Hotel. Nicole Welch and Ashley Lund also attended from LifePoint. The retreat theme was "Gratitude," taken from the book, "Choosing Gratitude - Your Journey to Joy," by Nancy Leigh DeMoss.

Here are some thoughts I carried home with me:

• Undeniable guilt + undeserved grace = unbridled gratitude.
• A grateful person is a humble person, while ingratitude reveals a proud heart.
• A grateful heart is God-centered and others-conscious, while an ungrateful person is self-centered and self-conscious.
• A grateful heart is a full heart, while an ungrateful heart is an empty one.
• People with grateful hearts are easily contented, while ungrateful people are subject to bitterness and discontent.
• A grateful heart will be revealed and expressed by thankful words, while an ungrateful heart will manifest itself in murmuring and complaining.
• Thankful people are refreshing, life-giving springs, while unthankful people pull others down with them into stagnant pools of their selfish, demanding unhappy ways.
• Gratitude - the fruit of a thousand choices.
• Choose gratitude. It's a discipline.
• Instigators of Ingratitude: unrealistic expectations, forgetfulness, entitlement, comparison and blindness to God's grace.
• We were encouraged to start a 30-day Gratitude Journal where we reflect on Scriptures of Thanksgiving and we list at least five things each day for which we're thankful.
• When sending a thank you note, consider the "who" (giver) and "why" more than the "what" (the gift). Don't just say "thank you for the gift", but express why the gift mattered to you.
• Take time to remember events in your life. Remember to be thankful.
• It takes intentional effort to be grateful.
• Ingratitude is a sin (and a tap root for other sins).
• Recognize, acknowledge and express thanks to God and others.
• Gratitude is a sure path to peace.
• Gratitude is a gauge of the heart.
• Gratitude is the will of God.
• Gratitude is a work of the Spirit.
• Gratitude reflects Jesus' heart.
• Gratitude gets us ready for heaven.
• Gratitude is an every day thing!
• I want to be more grateful.