Thankful

In two days we will all celebrate Thanksgiving. I will also be celebrating my 40th birthday. On the outside, I'm cool and calm. I say things like I'm going to be forty and fabulous, and I will. However, on the inside, I'm beating myself up over the time I wasted in my 20's and some of my 30s doing nonproductive things like clubbing and dating knuckleheads who weren't worthy of me, my time, or my fabulous existence.

So, I'm freaking out a little, but deep inside, I am truly grateful for the blessings in my life. My father may no longer be with me and I lost the love of my life, but I am left with a wonderful mother, great siblings, awesome friends, and amazing nieces and nephews who help keep me sane. They all bring joy to my life, and have been there for me through thick and thin. They are a constant reminder of how blessed I am.

So in the spirit of Thanksgiving, I am sharing with you my gratitude list for 2011. Here are the things I am most thankful for:

1. Family


2. Friends


3. A stable job and freelance clients


4. Food to eat


5. Warm shelter


6. Cable television (without my favorite TV show Psych, life just wouldn’t be the same)


7. Sight, hearing and a sane mind (some days the sane mind is arguable)
   and last but never least,


8. a merciful God who continues to provide for me through the good, the bad and even the ugly (those non-angelic days I sometimes have.)

So on Thursday when you're enjoying your turkey and stuffing, and all the other stuff we stuff in our faces on Thanksgiving, don't just think about the one or two things you have to be thankful for, think of five or more things you’ve been blessed with, because there are others out there who would steal and sometimes kill (read the news) to have what we so often take for granted in this country.

And try to be thankful every day, not just on Thanksgiving. Because God brings blessings year round – not just during the holidays.

Peace and blessings and a very happy Thanksgiving holiday to you.

Alone or Single on Valentine’s Day? Pick Your Face off the Floor and Do Something About It!

Are you sweating being single on Valentine’s Day? If so, get over it and ponder this: do you have friends, family and/or church members who love you? All of us have someone who loves us and those people are who we should focus on. Or think of it this way: aren’t we just as worthy of love on February 15th as we are on February 14th? And what if you meet someone special a day or two, or even a week after February 14th? Wouldn't you then feel silly that you agonized about not having a date for Valentine’s Day? Nevertheless, I know some people are fanatics about being alone on this holiday, because I use to be. So for those folks, I say to you: don't sit around and mope, do something about it! Go out and find you some love! And I’m not talking about going to a bar and getting fresh with a drunken bar-goer, I’m talking about volunteering!

Yeah, I know it sounds corny and maybe even crazy to some, but you can find love through volunteering. I once found love at the news desk of a women’s conference where I was volunteering. But I'm not just talking about romantic love here. When you volunteer, you will feel love pour out not only from your own heart but from the hearts of those you help. Somewhere there is an individual or organization that can use your assistance. It could be a homeless shelter or church, like mine that has a food assistance program. Or it could be a youth literacy program, or a senior citizen who needs someone to fix them a meal. And who knows, you might find romantic love too! A woman’s conference was the last place I expected to meet a man, but it happened. That relationship eventually ended, but my point is that the possibilities are limitless when it comes to volunteering. There is even an organization called Single Volunteers who's members are all single. The link to that organization's website, and links to local places in the DC metropolitan area where you can volunteer are below.

All 50 States:
http://www.singlevolunteers.org/
http://www.voa.org/Get-Involved/Volunteer.aspx
http://www.idealist.org/ (click "Volunteer Opportunities" under the FIND section)

DC Metro Area:
http://www.arlingtonva.us/Departments/HumanServices/volunteer/HumanServicesVolunteerVolunteerOffice.aspx http://www.volunteeralexandria.org/
http://www.volunteerfairfax.org/
http://www.serve.dc.gov/
http://www.volunteermaryland.org/index.html

But here's what I really want you to take with you: Valentine's Day really means nothing if you don’t show love to the people in your life every day. The real lesson is not just to feel good about yourself on Valentine’s Day, but that you should feel good about yourself every day that you are alive, and make those you love feel great too. Tomorrow isn’t promised, so let the people you care about know you love them every day, not just on Valentine’s Day.