Tag: Holidays

Posts related to a holiday.

Gratitude Dare

Day 2: Blessed

Keira

Congratulations on making it to day 2! Wasn’t yesterday so hard? Today, Instead of writing one word, we’re going to make it into a sentence. Write 1 sentence of gratitude beginning with “I am blessed because.” The beginning of this sentence is very important. “I am blessed” has a very different feel than “I am thankful for.”

Lets have a little grammar-geek talk here. We’re dealing with subjects and objects. Subjects are the persons, places, things, or ideas that are DOING the action:

 I am, you did, it was, etc.

Objects are the persons, places, things or ideas that are RECEIVING the action:

to him, for her, from there, 

As natural human beings, we tend to look at everything from the subject perspective. We put ourselves in the drivers chair. I am, I had, I made, etc. And that makes sense, It’s a rather healthy place to be… Most of the time. But it’s also exhausting, pressure-laden, and self-centered; the opposite of what we want to gain from this challenge. That is the main difference in

I am thankful for…

(We’re in the driver’s seat. We’re creating the action. We’re thinking of Ourselves and what we are doing), and

I am blessed because…

(We are receiving the action here. We are thinking about some outside force acting upon ourselves.It’s passive. It’s a way for us to step out of the driver’s seat and let someone else lead).

Today, lets take a break from blazing our trail, and just let our blessings happen to us. Oh, and write them down, of course.

 

Gratitude Dare

Day 1: Just One Word

Keira

We’re going to start out really easily on our gratitude dare. Today we just need one word. Like I said, easy-peasy-lemon-squeezy. Didn’t want to overwhelm everyone (okay, I didn’t want to overwhelm ME). Lets start small and just get our feet wet. Besides, this is going to take off quickly enough.

What is one word that sums up the thing you are most grateful for?

There. That wasn’t too hard. Was it? Babysteps, people. It’s all about the babysteps.

Gratitude Dare

Gratitude Dare

Keira

I’m having this dilemma in my head. All about gratitude vs. cheesiness. It seems as though November first runs around and everyone is all about flooding Facebook, blogs, and the internet at large with thanksgiving. Good for them. I’ve done the research. Everything points towards health benefits. There are no negative side effects (aside from utter cheesiness). But I just can’t get past the “everyone is doing it,” thing. I want to be grateful. I like that it can help re-align your life and your brain. And I have no doubt I could use an emotional detox after this  year. So how do I join the bandwagon without jumping on the back of the very-overcrowded November Challenge truck? Especially because come December 1st, that truck tends to dump it’s members right out in a frenzy of “Christmas Grump.” I want a permanent detox. I want a genuine heart. I want a thorough cleanse that goes deeper than words. I think I’m going to start my own November Challenge. It just hit me. Up until this paragraph, I had no clue where this post was going. I guess I should call it a Gratitude Dare. Do you remember a few years ago (okay, more than a few) when Fireproof came out, with all of its truth and cheesiness? I guess the concept is the same. Except instead of saving a marriage, it’s more about saving a life. So if I remember right, you start out with one step, and you add one step a day, and by the end you’ve made a whole month’s worth of good habits. So… Here goes. My Gratitude Dare.

  1. Write one word to describe something you’re grateful for.
  2. Write 1 sentence of gratitude beginning with “I am blessed because.”
  3. Write a paragraph about why you’re grateful for something.
  4. Now make it 3 things. Write a paragraph about each.
  5. Look at the bright side.
  6. When you wake up this morning, tell yourself it’s going to be a great day.
  7. Take 30 seconds with your eyes closed and just give thanks for being awake, alive, and cognitive.
  8. Go for a walk. Enjoy the weather.
  9. Tell some one thank you.
  10. Get out of your comfort zone to tell someone thank you.
  11. Send out a thank you note.
  12. Apply the anyway principle.
  13. Serve someone less fortunate than yourself.
  14. Serve someone you feel is more fortunate than yourself.
  15. Give a gift.
  16. Give something you own to someone without.
  17. leave an anonymous unexpected surprise.
  18. Give of yourself.
  19. Call your mother. Or your father. Thank them.
  20. Dedicate today to expressing gratitude to your spouse.
  21. Is there a person you’ve always been grateful to that you’ve never expressed? Thank them.
  22. Wake up early.
  23. Read scriptures/doctrine.
  24. Pray.
  25. Practice Mindfulness.
  26. Solve your own problem.
  27. Now onto the harder stuff. Today, give thanks for the negatives.
  28. Today, thank God for your imperfections.
  29. Give thanks for the things you’re still waiting for.
  30. Have you thanked yourself yet?

I confess that this sounds hard, and if I didn’t really want a change of heart, I’d put it off until next November. That makes much mores sense, right? I mean, I may actually have followers on this blog by then. And yet, I don’t know what’s going to happen this year. It already feels like I need to be grateful now and not postpone (there’s a concept. Not postponing gratitude…), so ready or not. Here goes. If you’d like to join in, you can post here and let us know how you’re dong or you can write on our Search for Seven Facebook page.

A Day in the Life

Happy Halloween

Keira

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It’s Halloween, but most of the festivities here are already done.

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The mummy hotdogs and pizza are eaten. The witch has a nose pinned back on, the fish are all “caught”, and the “potions” are strewn around. The costumes are set aside for tonight, and the punch bowl is empty. That being said, there’s still a brain mold full of jello sitting in my fridge because I forgot all about it.

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Yeah, I wish I could say that was out of the norm for me… But oh well. We’ll just have a family game night tonight.

These mob bosses and one adorable Hello Kitty are looking forward to a night full of treats, tricks, and freezing temperatures.

A Day in the Life

Pioneer Day

Keira
I love being in places that embrace their heritage! not many places celebrate Pioneer Day. For those who don’t know Pioneer Day is a memorial occasion of when the pioneers (finally) made it to their destination in the dear old west: Salt Lake City. It’s celebrated most often by simple, kid-filled parades, “western” food and fun, and the occasional cotton dress and bonnet. Our Parade was lots earlier, and we didn’t go to it, but the rest is right on. Although the western food this time consisted of a sandwich, a brownie, a bag of chips, and an apple. (come to think of it, I put my apple in the car to eat later and never took it out …I bet it’s still in there… somewhere … baked apple, anyone? Now I KNOW you’re all dying to ride with me some place, aren’t ya?)

 

We rode horses, we ate dinner, we played in the de-fished water (they let the kids “catch” real fish in a little pool made by tarps and hay bails. Needless to say, I DIDN’T want a fish. But once the fish were all gone, we let B. and her friends play) I have pics but I haven’t asked their mommy for permission to put their cute faces online yet.

And then Mommy had to go work, so we had to go…

B. had a great time, and is STILL telling anyone who will listen that she rode “the little horses, but not the big ones, because they were too big. but I rode the little ones.” (except repeat that line of thought 4 more times…)