pine cones and holly berries

1. I am grateful for alone time. First, because I enjoy having time and space to collect my thoughts and do/think about anything that I choose. I never want to lose my own sense of identity or my ability to function without others there. Second, because it makes me more excited to have the people I love return.

2. I am grateful that I can come home from church to the smell of dinner cooking in the slow cooker.

3. I am grateful for the chance to substitute in other callings so that I can appreciate more the calling that I have.

"In ordinary life we hardly realize that we receive a great deal more than we give, and that it is only with gratitude that life becomes rich." --Dietrich Bonhoeffer