Today God has blessed me with another year of life and I am not only grateful to Him for that but I also want to celebrate all that He had done in me.

As you know, I was born in October, the tenth month of the year, what we know as the Fall Season.   However, October really means eight and not ten and I was born in Argentina, not the USA and October is really the Spring Season.

Isn’t it funny how things aren’t always the way they appear?

As I reflect on my life I see how the enemy didn’t want me to succeed but God did and He has the final say in my life. Why?

Because it’s the way that I choose to live my life!

I choose to put Him in the driver’s seat. I choose to allow Him to guide me. I choose to allow the people that he has placed in my life to love on me and speak into my life. It’s a choice that I need to make daily!

I feel that this year has been a year of challenges, a year of personal growth and a year of many blessings and many opportunities!

Here are a “few” of the blessings that he has gifted me with this year:

1) My husband that is still healthy and able to walk. He brings joy into my life, he makes me laugh!

2) My first born is still home and God has been blessing her. She brings hope to my life.

3) My middle child has been faithful to her career of choice. She has also stepped into actively helping me in ministry by serving in our local church. She brings peace into my life.

4) My youngest child is doing well as she entered her second year of High School.  She has also started serving in the children ministry. She brings laughter into my life

5) My mother is closer to me and I am able to see her and share life with her.

6) My father is continuing to bless others with his gift of teaching

7) My middle sister is ministering to lives with her gift of singing

8) My brother in love is ministering into many lives as more doors are opening for him to serve as a pastor

9) My nephew is an example at his school and has been baptized in water and by His Holy Spirit

10) My niece continues to grow into a beautiful young lady also baptized this year of my life

11) God allowed me to start writing this blog.  A forum to be able to voice the things He gives me and shows me

12) He has showered me with many books

13) He has allowed me to be employed another year

14) He has allowed me to facilitate three book club sessions during this year

15) He has blessed me with deeper healthy friendships in my life, who value me for who I am

16) He has blessed be with taking unhealthy people out of my life

17) My youngest sister continues to bless me with her love

18) My brother in law continues to make me proud as he serves our country.

19) He has brought me to a church family that celebrates my gifts and desires to release me into my God-given destiny

20) Pastors/Shepard that are authentic and loving

21) A team of women that are passionate in their gifting and service

22) Coworkers that genuinely care about me although I am over a thousand miles away.

23) Mentors and leaders that pour into my life

24) Facebook friends that actually “like” me and my status updates

25) A wonderful prayer partner who lives clearly across the country but is faithful in her prayers on my life.

26) A roof over my head and a bank that reached out to us to lower our interest rate

27) A brother and sister in law who gifted me the trip of my life time! Spain and France.

28) A healthy marriage of 24 years

29) Countless answered prayers!!!!!

30) Being able to celebrate 30 years of ministry with one of my life long mentors

31) For belly laughs!

32) My grandfather is still with us and healthy as can be

33) Doors are opening and I am able to serve women in California and encourage other leaders

34) A wonderful little pooch who can make me smile even when I don’t want to

35) A continued hunger and desire to be closer to Him

36) The ability to try several unique restaurants from different ethnicities

37) The ability to gain weight, which means that I am healthy and have food to eat

38) The opportunity to plan my first women’s retreat with an amazing team of women

39) The opportunity to laugh, cry, embrace and listen to joyous and hurting hearts

40) The cutest biological nieces and nephews AND some adopted ones too

41) The open door that my local church and church leaders gave me to lead our women’s ministry

42) A family that loves me and supports me each step of this journey

43) With everything I need to continue on my journey and next year

So you see,  it would easy for me to focus on the “negative” things that have happened in my life or I can chose to focus on these “few” things  I have been blessed with this year.  I also know many, many more are coming my way because I choose to celebrate the gift-giver and not neccesarily the gifts in my life.

Thank you for taking the time to read this post and for celebrating our one year anniversary of Just Breathe~

Be blessed and always remember to ‘count’ your blessings and Just Breathe!