Category: Thankfulness

Love, Thankfulness

Ten Reasons to Celebrate Veterans’ Day

Pam B. Newberry

Celebrate Veterans’ Day

There are many reasons to celebrate holidays during this time of year. Today, I’m sharing my ten reasons to celebrate Veterans’ Day on Friday, November 11, 2016.

Image of morning sky--The following image came from FreeDigitalPhotos.net by Guilberto-107 with modifications by Pam

You should celebrate Veterans’ Day because:

  1. Our Veterans’ do what is HARD – they put THEIR lives on the line to protect OUR freedoms.
  2. Our Veterans’ do not always come HOME after giving of their TIME and their LIVES.
  3. Our Veterans’ Families GIVE more than we can ever IMAGINE of their LOVED ONES for US.
  4. Our Veterans’ sacrifices GIVE us one VERY precious gift – the RIGHT TO VOTE–We should ALWAYS remember and EXERCISE that right at EVERY election, not just the ones we agree with or don’t agree with.
  5. Our Veterans’ go away from THEIR homes to foreign lands to PROTECT our RIGHTS, which means WE can then AGREE to DISAGREE without FEAR of being arrested practicing FREEDOM of SPEECH, FREEDOM of PRESS, FREEDOM of ASSEMBLY, & FREEDOM of PETITION.
Image of Poppies in England-British War Memorial--The following image came from FreeDigitalPhotos.net by Stuart Miles
Image of Poppies in England-British War Memorial–The following image came from FreeDigitalPhotos.net by Stuart Miles
  1. Our Veterans’ go in harm’s way to ASSURE us the RIGHT to WORSHIP or NOT to WORSHIP — FREEDOM of RELIGION.
  2. Our Veterans’ VOLUNTEER to SERVE our country to ensure all SEXES – Male AND Female have the RIGHT to acquire an EDUCATION of his or her CHOICE.
  3. Our Veterans’ work to keep SAFE the borders of our Country that enables us FREE movement interstate and intrastate without FEAR of REPRISAL, SEARCH, or SEIZURE.
  4. Our Veterans’ practice and DEFEND the LAWS of the Land that enables us to have the FREEDOM to travel around the World and be able to come back home.
  5. Our Veterans’ give the ultimate sacrifice of their lives (physically, mentally, and emotionally) so that we have the RIGHT to Work HARD, LEARN, and DREAM as we PURSUE our ENABLE RIGHTS for the advancement of equality for all people regardless of race, sex, age, disability, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, or other protected characteristic.

There are many, many more reasons, but these are some to get you thinking.

THANK a VETERAN Today…

Here’s THANKS to my Father and my Mother – Both served in World War II. My mother as a WAC and my father as an infantry man. He also served in Korea.

May Blessings be given to our country, the United States of America.

Write On!
Pam's Signature

 

Love, Thankfulness

Being Patient while Protecting Me from Me

Pam B. Newberry

“I thank God for protecting me from me from what I thought I wanted and blessing me with what I didn’t know I needed.” ~ Estelea

When I read the above sentence from Estelea’s Blog, I found my self thinking of the blessings I’ve received. It is February 2015. At this writing, I am two months away from my sixty-second birthday. That almost seems preposterous to me. I mean, how on Earth did I get to be so lucky to live this long.

This evening (Sunday, February 1), I watched one of the many Super Bowl commercials. Besides falling in love with the Budweiser commercial. You know the one, the sweet puppy and those wonderful Clydesdales. I also loved the one by Dodge celebrating 100 years since it was “born” (as the ad stated). If you didn’t see it,  it featured men and women, all of whom had each lived at least 100 years. They shared words of wisdom of how to live and enjoy the life given to them, as they saw it. I marveled at the folks featured. I wondered about their lives–what joys they met along their journey. What pains they suffered, too.

My blessings are many. For that I’m eternally grateful. I have a friend, partner, and lover in my life — my husband. We are proud of our daughter and her dog, Miloh; they bring us great joy. We have a lovely home. And now, I find I am living a life I first dreamed of when I was in fifth grade and I had read The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis. I dreamed then that I wanted to be a writer.

For years, I didn’t understand that I wasn’t ready to have that dream. Until now. I wasn’t aware that  God was protecting me from me. That he was giving me what I needed at the time to prepare me for what I thought I wanted when I would appreciate it. That in the process, he would bless me with people, events, and the magical moments that I would cherish and use to help me understand I was blessed with what I didn’t know I needed.

I’ve heard the saying, when one door closes another one opens and you never know how much greater it will be on the other side. I didn’t always appreciate those words. I didn’t always want to hear them. But, they are valuable at helping one realize good things do indeed come to those who wait and have patience.

It’s hard, but it’s worth it. A book I have read and reread over the last couple of years has empowered me to believe. The book? The Secret by Rhonda Byrne. It has touched my life in a magnitude of ways. My recommendation: Read it. Believe it. Live it.

How about you? What do you have to be thankful for in your life? What people, events, or magical moments have touched you? Share in the comments your life experiences that are protecting you.

See you on the ether…
Pam