Count Your Many Blessings

So things get crazy, and sometimes I forget to stop and breathe and remember how blessed I really am.  Life is too short to hurry through it, even when things don't seem to be going the way I think they should! So, here's my top ten list of blessings. Nothing out of the ordinary, but I just felt the need to put it in black and white, so here they are in no particular order:

• Faith.  It doesn't come easy to some, and I'm thankful that's not my burden. My faith has helped me through some pretty hard times, and I don't know where I'd be without it.
  
• Health. I can't remember the last time I was really, really sick.
  
• A good husband who loves me despite my many shortcomings, and encourages me to be better without nagging.
  
• Happy children who really do try to do what's right..
  
• Good friends that I don't thank often enough for being good friends. Thank you!
• Extended family that are always there when we need them, and are counted as good friends. (See previous!)
  
• Our home--it seems a little small at times, but it provides a refuge from the world and it's filled with love and that's what counts.
• Freedom. Even with all the outrageous stuff happening in our country, we still live in the most amazing place in the world.  I hope we can keep it that way.
• Good books. The Scriptures, classics, biographies, sci-fi, children's literature--there are sooooo many good stories in which to immerse myself and my family that we can learn and grow from.
• Good music.  When I need a kick to get going, there's music for that.  And when I need to calm down, there's something for that, too.  Or, when I just feel like dancing. . .well, you get the idea.

There you have it.  And I could go on.  But I think I'll savor the quiet of this Sabbath morning, in my refuge from the world, with some good reading and music together with my family in this wonderful country that allows me to enjoy all these blessings.