joy of nine9

So with that in mind, Small Success Thursday returns.

This week, I feel most blessed to have:List three things you are grateful for this week: victories over minutia, victories over the big stuff, blessings which you have received which reveal the breathing presence of God’s grace in your life. Then ask a friend to come and participate too.

1. I am so grateful that God has set me free to write. Eighteen months ago,  whenever I closeted myself in a room to sit down and write, I froze. I considered writing to be a solitary craft but looking at a blank screen or talking into thin air was a sterile exercise in futility for me. I could not translate the same creative energy that I experienced telling a story verbally to the keyboard. My intuitive, imaginative side stayed buried and my logical intellect wrote boring drivel.He used blogging and other writers, especially people like Lisa and Sarah to encourage me not only with their comments but also by accepting me as a columnist on their sites. Sherri, an established writer told me I had what it takes to even receive payment for my stuff..what a wonderful boost that was.

2. I’m even grateful for an empty nest this fall!  I am not at a loss or falling apart which seems miraculous after 33 years of hands on mothering. After raising nine children, God is revealing a new vocation, a vocation to share my slice of life stories and humour with other mothers. My initial call has expanded rather than shriveled up as my youngest went off to university this fall.

Mothering

This is your call

This is your vocation

This is your witness to the world

3. In barely two years my family has enjoyed four weddings, three births and looking forward to two more grandchildren and another wedding. My kids like each other, spend time with each other and are coming back to their roots of faith and old-fashioned family values. They are even moving back out into the country to give their kids a similar upbringing to their own!