Week 45: Wow...can you believe how close to the end we're getting? The number of weeks left (if you're doing 52 blessings in a year format) is in the single digits. And with all the holidays and extra excitement in those remaining weeks, they will be gone before you know it.

I chose the concept of giving back as my blessing this week. As we travel through life, each of us is on the receiving end of many good things, and one of the best ways of acknowledging and appreciating them is to actively engage in activities that give back.

How about you...how are you repaying the debt of gratitude you owe for what has come your way? Are you a volunteer at church, at your child's school or for a charitable cause you believe in? Offering our services with no expectation of monetary compensation is one way of giving back to our community. Perhaps life is to hectic right now for public service but you willingly offer financial support for people, organizations and ideas important to you. That's another way to give back. And while we don't tend to think of it that way, the small kindness we extend to both those we know and those we don't are a form of giving back, too. We're making the world a better place, one good-hearted act at a time. The surprising thing is that our debt only increases as we gain much more than we give.

This week's prompt is to think about how you're serving others as a means of giving back for what has come your way and to see if it doesn't rise to the level of a blessing worthy of mention in your book. My layout is in the gallery and there's more on this idea on my blog.



Week 44: I've chosen retirement and the freedom that comes with it as my blessing for this week. It's one of many stages we all go through in our lives, often without pausing to reflect on how these changes affect us and how we feel about them.

Where are you in the stages of your life and how are you coping when those changes occur? Some welcome the idea of an empty nest, not because they don't love their children but because they look forward to focusing more time and energy on the couple relationship; others are distraught at the prospect of their children leaving home. Some resist the idea of becoming a grandparent, saying they're just not ready to be that old; others long for the special relationship that come when a generation is skipped. And some vow never to retire, fearing they'll be bored with all the extra time; others long for the day they can throw the alarm clock and work uniform out the window.

Each stage has its own rewards and problems, and we learn about ourselves when we can take a step back and examine exactly what those are for each state and how they've shaped the person we are today. This week I'm encouraging you to look at where you've been and where you are going in these stages of life. I hope in doing so you'll find there is much to be grateful for in the current stage and that there is a blessing in anticipating the next stage of your life.

Our travels prevented me from completing a layout for this blessing. I'm hoping this merry-go-round called life is ready to slow down a bit as I've fallen behind in more areas of my life than I would like. Hopefully, I can catch up soon.



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