My Five Words of Gratitude

My five words of gratitude

I am happy to express my gratitude for at least five things which I enjoy.

Thankfulness for my acceptance by God by voicing with my mouth and acknowledging in my heart that Jesus is God’s Son.
Thankful for my wife, Fran. She is trustworthy, faithful, loving and kind and is my best friend.
I am thankful for every one of our five adult children; they consistently display in many ways their love and concern for me.
The enjoyment I receive in watching our grandchildren succeed in all there endeavors. I am so thankful for each of them.
I am deeply indebted to technology; hearing aids allow me to hear and converse with others, I am deaf without them. Technology is my friend and I am grateful!

“I shall hear in Heaven.” – Ludwig Von Beethoven (He lived before technology’s marvels.) I’m doubly grateful!!

“The more you express gratitude for what you have the more you will have to express gratitude for.“ – Zig Ziglar

What is required of me to live a life of gratitude?

I must pursue daily routines with intentionality.
It demands my effort!
It requires a certain sense of humility on my part.
Gratitude necessitates awareness of what people and situations mean to me.
Thankfulness calls for an openness towards acceptance of others instead of close-mindedness.
A mindfulness of what I do already have, instead of coveting what I do not have.

“Do not indulge in dreams of having what you have not, but reckon up the chief of the blessings you do possess, and then thankfully remember how you would crave for them if they were not yours.”–Marcus Aurelius

Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name! Psalms 100:4 (ESV)

Saying, ‘thank you’, should be a constant in interacting with family, friends, and others. Yes, saying these two words out loud with sincerity will be rewarded with smiles of affirmation. This requires an acknowledgement of what the other person desires to hear from us. This skill can be learned and should be put into practice first at home, with our spouse and family. Culivate and nuture the art of gratitude and see the difference it makes in our lives.

What are you thankful for?

How are you showing gratitude towards those in your spear of influence?

How have you expressed gratefulness for the possessions you already own?

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God bless you.

Richard

www.wheelsaroundtown.com

Pictures by: Unsplash; Turkeys- Mikkel Bergmann / Autumn road-Lukas H

07/06/201702/11/2018

Is your life defined by what you do?

The thin line between who we are and what we do.

Harry* and I worked side by side for over 15 years, and then the factory closed sending us into the world of unemployment. Years later I met Harry while waiting in my eye doctor’s office. He was still distraught about the factory closing. We talked about the years working side-by-side until my appointment, I never saw him again. Months later I read that he had taken his own life. Of course, there could be other circumstances surrounding his tragic choice, but his loss of a job had demoralized him. Could it be that what he did was more important to him than who he was? (*not his real name)

“If you are what you do when you don’t, you aren’t.” William J. Byron in Finding Work Without Losing Heart.

Unsplash-john t

Are you defined by what you do, or defined by the person you are?

Do not buy into the idea that what you do is of greater importance than who you are!

When I think of these two people my mind focuses more on who they are than on what they did:

Mother Teresa – She exhibited a heart of compassion.

Billie Graham – He defines integrity.

When I’m in a social gathering, I notice that when men initially meet each other the first question after getting each other’s names is; “what do you do for a living?” After that is defined, men can go on to favorite sport’s teams, politics, who they know, then maybe one will venture to ask; how’s your family?” Men peg each other first by what they do.

The question remains, not how do others define you but how do you view yourself?

We define ourselves more by our ‘NO’ than by our ‘YES’ in life.

In describing the life, you want to live, to what have you already said no?

I have said no to drinking acholic beverages, no to watching pornography, no to spending money foolishly, and a list of other things. In making these decisions, I have provided a boundary around my lifestyle giving me complete freedom to live a happy, fulfilled life.

It defines who I am to myself. I have peace of mind by saying no to a few things rather than yes to anything.

“A man’s heart is what he is.” R. B. Kuiper

“For as he thinks in his heart, so is he…” Proverbs 23:7a

Some retirees have the problem since no longer what they do matters much. Don’t let that be you.

Whatever age you may be, you can define yourself by being the person you attain to be. Not what others think of you.

Being thankful for ‘who’ I am.

Richard

Write a comment, I appreciate hearing from you.

(header image by; Unsplash – Mohammad Alizade)

06/29/201702/11/2019

What three issues I deal with in retirement?

Addressing three issues, I deal with in my retirement years.

First off, I look at my life as a book of having many chapters. When I finish one chapter of a book, I do not throw the book away, no, I turn the page revealing a new episode. So it is in life. Previous chapters record my history. A new chapter opens for me to experience. My life book purposely omits an index, and yours also does. I can address my past and current life’s successes and failures but it is not possible to index future events which will complete my life’s book.

Here are 3, of the many, issues I’m addressing in retirement.

Number one: Reality!

Am I secure in my present state? Do I have an ongoing internal discussion with myself as to a personal truth? When I survey my Christian faith, is it vibrant? Is my physical body in the best of health? Am I satisfied with the state of my relationships, with my spouse, my children, my siblings and my friends? If I do not face my reality, it will slam me in my face someday.

John Townsend, in his book, ‘Leadership Beyond Reason,’ makes this statement:

“Reality happens, and it always wins.”

Consider this;

Face reality as it is, not as you, [I], wish it to be.” Peter Koestenbaum

Number two: Recognition!

I’m not talking about me gaining recognition.

Am I living with a sense of unending gratitude for what I have and for those who have poured into my life?

Does my behavior exhibit a genuine sense of gratitude?

Do I work on being a kind person?

I want to recognize the successes of others and grieve with their losses equally.

“The more you express gratitude for what you have the more you will have to express gratitude for.“ – Zig Ziglar

Number three: Respect!

Am I worthy of the respect given me?

Lately, what have I done that is deserving of respect?

Do I willingly offer verbal admiration to family members and friends for their achievements?

I’m sure I can give more ‘pats on the back’ for jobs well done.

The light in my soul shines brightest when I’m fully engaged in the present.

When I take the time to consider these three, then my steps are made secure.

reality
recognition
respect

Do you need more wisdom for your journey into and through retirement? Remembering these scriptures will help.

If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking. (James 1:5 NLT)

He grants a treasure of common sense to the honest. He is a shield to those who walk with integrity. (Proverbs 2:7 NLT)

I welcome your comments.

Let me know what you think about this subject.

I always enjoy your comments.

Thanks, Richard

06/19/201703/10/2018

Do We Ever Get To Go HOME?

Do we ever get to go HOME?

Home is more a time, rather than a place, I think.

We cannot repeat the past.

You can never step into a river the same place you did before, simply because the water in the river keeps flowing.

Time indeed keeps marching on.

Where do we go; ‘home’?

The clock keeps ticking.

Minutes and seconds are irreplaceable.

The years in our past are past.

As much as we try to rewrite history, the truth in history remains permanently etched in place.

Our past can haunt us or it can spur us to change.

We never become unhinged from the moments of our past. It is the fabric that makes up our history, who we were.

How we allow it to handle us, is what matters.

It has been said that a person’s history gives a good indication of a person’s future direction. Is this true? I think but not always!

Going “home again”

Chases up the memories of both the good times and not so good times in our past.

Brings to mind some moments that should remain buried. So are their regrets?

Regrets,

Yes, I have many.

What do we do with regrets?

Do we let them hang around our necks pulling us down into depression?

Can we “flip” them off as insignificant?

What is the purpose of regrets?

Maybe it is a sign of a healthy mental attitude to harbor regrets.

Harboring regrets

Brings to mind a flotilla of boats sitting quietly in the water waiting for someone to start their engines.

Every now and then I “start the engine ” on one of my regrets.

Not good!

The moments I regret are in my past and I do not have it in my power to change my past.

So, I have to let go of my regrets. Learn from them, never repeat doing what I have regretted.

Regrets have become part of the fabric of my past,

unfortunately, sown into my history, with the purpose of influencing me to make better choices going forward.

Do we ever get to go home again?

Yes!

Memories build the home we visit.

Home is a moment or moments in time, captured in pictures, etched in our memories but unavailable in the present.

So I make the most of this present time since this time will fill my memories in the future.

“…forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead” Phil. 3:13b

What are your fondest memories?

Do you ‘harbor’ regrets? Why?

Please leave a comment, let’s have a discussion.

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Wheels Around Town

Richard

Category: Retirement