Month: February 2012

Gratitude

A Second Blessing, and a Third

AuntGem3 Comments

Today I’m grateful for an in-house gym at work. All I have to do is ride the elevator to “B” and card-swipe my way in to the gym. No extra driving, no finding a parking spot. 

This year the company is pushing physical fitness like never before: they’re lowering the price of the gym memberships which were already a ridiculous $10 per pay period ($260 a year.) This year it’s $8 a pay period. And if you manage to make it 10 times in a four week period, then you get 50 percent off the price for the next month.

I’ve been to the gym 15 times this year. That’s roughly 14 times more than I’ve been in the past five years.

No. 3: Driving home from work (after working out) the sunset was the color of peach slices laid against a baby blue and white background.

Accentuate the Positive! · blogging · Books · Introspection · Something wonderful

Gratitude, no. 1

AuntGem4 Comments

Since Thanksgiving I’ve been wondering what I want to do with this blog. (You’re sure to have noticed I haven’t posted since … early November.) Most blogs focus on a theme, something more narrow than a general catch-all web diary, which this one has been. Over Christmas I read the book One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are by Ann Voskamp. A friend dared Ann to capture one thousand blessings, one thousand things she was thankful for, in her journal. The experience changed the way she saw thanksgiving – eucharisteo.

That’s what I’m going to be doing now with Notes from Aunt Jim. Maybe I’ll even change the name one day. But I’m going to start documenting at least one blessing, one gift, per day. From simple to profound. From a clean pair of slacks that didn’t need ironing on a day when I was rushing out the door, to … who knows where this will lead. But I do expect it to change my attitude, and so my life.

Today, my gift was being able to hear Beth Greer. She spoke and sang at our church tonight for the Ladies’ Night Out. Her passion for Jesus revitalized my flagging spirit.