Praise and Thankfulness

Praise God from Whom all blessings flow

Praise Him all creatures here below

Praise Him above ye heavenly host

Praise Father Son and Holy Ghost

Amen

The doxology was sung on Thanksgiving evening, which I had the privilege to partake in with a newly made friend and her family.  I think it fitting to begin with it as I share a belated giving of thanks post.

I have so much to be thankful for... it's mind-boggling!  I do enjoy taking the time to think through all the things, people, and events that I sam thankful to have in my life.  It's not just a one day out of the year time.  Yet, I take a lot of things for granted so having one special day to really evaluate what to be thankful for is a blessing.  It's my favorite holiday for many reasons, that being one.

My family passes around a leaf that says "I'm thankful for…"  When you have the leaf, you can say as much or as little as you wish.  I think that's one tradition that's actually kept going, and I love it. 

Although I was not present this year to hold the leaf and there's SO much to list, I will say that I'm thankful for:

Family 

   They are always there for me, and I know they are proud of me and care about me and love me very much. 

Friends

   Who are forever friends

   Who stay in touch

   Who come visit

   Who are "new"

   Who love me despite the ugly 

   Who offer advice

   Who listen

   Who comfort me

   Who care

   Who let ME into their lives

Health 

   It seems crazy but I'm actually thankful for my knee injury because it's made me slow down, made me relatable and not invincible, made me try other things out, and has actually made me more grateful for the ability to be active (thankful to be able to run in particular) because there was a time when I didn't know if it would be possible. 

Entertainment 

   It may seem silly but I am actually really thankful for good music and the talented people who provide it.  I'm realizing how much I listen to music and now I even seek out concerts of some of my favorite's. I also truly appreciate a talented artist. 

My job

   I love being a Dietitian and learning from my coworkers and even patients.  Some nurses are pretty awesome, too ;)  Every day is different and holds new challenges.  It also pays the bills so praise God!  

Hard times

   Details aren't necessary but I've definitely had highs and lows, and have had a lot of lessons learned.  I am definitely better off for them, so I will give thanks.  Plus, I've also realized that a good, ugly cry is okay; A weight was lifted. 

Misc. 

   Sleep

   Scarves

   Fall and it's glorious weather 

   Personal passions

   Books

   Food

   

And yet, all of this pales in comparison to the fact that I am most thankful for my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Praise God from Whom all blessings flow

Praise Him all creatures here below

Praise Him above ye heavenly host

Praise Father Son and Holy Ghost

Amen

Focus, Fire a Gun

Okay, who else thought the lyric in the song "Lean On" was "focus, fire a gun"?? I just looked it up and it's actually "blow a kiss, fire a gun."  Hmm.  Oh, well.  I have made and have heard of worse lyric snafus!!

That is definitely not the point of this blog post, don't worry.  It's really about focus or being focused, of which I'm not being at the moment.  Hmm.  Haha! 

The epiphany of not being focused happened when analyzing this one dreary day when I was just having an "off" day.  There just really isn't another way to put it.  The day was off-putting, not the norm, slightly strange.  I had pockets of goodness and of it being a more typical day but the overall air was odd.  There are reasons, of course, such as having different events come down the pipe that were "I'm happy for you but sad for me" deals and lots of thoughts ranging from dating to future decisions to work that bombarded my somewhat normally clear vision. 

The details have been largely hashed out Jessie-style and some important things that I got from that day were 1) I need to take things one day at a time, 2) I need to pray, and 3) I need to refocus. 

I even had a friend ask how I was doing that day, and I would have given the quintessential "good" in response but, trying to be honest, the day was so weird that I said so.  What was basically said in response was that things would turn around and I wouldn't remember why we were even having the conversation, but I know why we had that conversation.

One reason, I think, is to realize that sometimes I can't rely on someone else being able to talk to but that God is always available to talk to and the best option.  Another reason was to reveal, possibly in a roundabout way, my lost focus. 

Because this assignment is different from my last one, I lost sight as to why I am here and got swept up in things I can't even change, like not having certain friends around.  Missing people, in and of itself, is not bad and quite possibly not unavoidable but it has its consequences in shifting focus away from what I need to do in the present. 

Instead of focusing on the people I don't have around whom I miss, I started looking at the people who are around -- my patients, coworkers, and new friends -- and how to engage with them. 

Instead of focusing on the lack of things to do, I started looking at the possibilities that are near and far and planning accordingly while being thankful for what I've already been able to do and see. 

Other facets of life that need readjusting are numerous and the struggle is real.  It most assuredly doesn't happen overnight.

Tangent time... Take the election.  Everyone can relate to that, right?

Wow.

I think I could stop at just that one word and people would understand.  I mean, the Facebook feed was blowing up.  Yet, what's done is done.

I don't care who you voted for; The results are in and I'm glad this election is over.  Honestly though, I'm just so baffled by the fact that there's been so much hate and disgust and utter disrespect amongst everyone.  I know religion and politics are taboo subjects to talk about and the uproar encircling this election clearly depicts why, yet it is important and should be talked about.  I just think it should have been done and should be done in a much better way.

I do think this was an important event and an obvious history-making event, yet it is only one event.  Life still goes on.  Happy things happen...  Sad things happen...  People are still in the hospital...  People are still losing their loved ones...  People are still remembering their loved ones...  Life doesn't stop or pause because of a new president. 

Overall, I feel like this election was blown out of proportion for various reasons and that our focus as a nation was a bit off the mark. 

Personally, I really tried to view it like any other day.  Yes, I voted and I'm glad I did but I didn't really do anything different that day.  I'm still just a Dietitian trying to help people get well while growing personally, exercising my rights when I can, loving those around me, and praying for myself and others, and much more. 

There were obvious pros and cons to both candidates.  Trump won so good for him and I wait to see what he does, and I hope he does a good job.  The end. 

So, whether I'm voting or not or whether I'm having an off day or not, I pray that I refocus my life to Christ.  He alone makes life better. 

Pants

I wore my dance pants a few days ago.  So great.  I'm not a dancer per se, but I love them.

At first, I couldn't find them.  Don't.  Freak.  Out.  I told myself that maybe I didn't pack them or that they were bound to be here somewhere!  It ended up being one of those moments where I was deciding between taking the time to find them or just throwing something else on that would have been perfectly suitable to go out in.  Then I was like, No! I need to find my dance pants.  I have to find them and wear them! Tonight!

The search was on.  Although, I'm sure my grandma would have been happy to have known I could not find them because she does not like them.  She thinks they aren't flattering, but I don't care.  They are cute to me and definitely super comfy!  I'm all about the comfy. 

Duh.  I wear scrubs as often as I can for work!  Then there are my fairly comfy business casual pants.  Moving on from the comfy category, there are pants that fall into the "super cute" or "my butt looks good" or "I just struck gold and have got to buy a pair in every possible color" ! categories of pants. 

Now I know some of you are all about the No Pants Club, which I am a fan of, but I was going out, so yeah.  Also, for clarification, these are not yoga pants.  They are far superior.   Besides, yoga pants are not pants.  They should not be worn as such.

After a couple minutes, I found my dance pants.  Victory and relief.  I put them on and smiled, then giggled with glee, did a lil jig, and went off to a movie.