Count Your Blessings Instead of Sheep

Count your blessings instead of sheep for a good night’s sleep. That can make me fall asleep with a smile. I hope you can, too.

Count Your Blessings: My first one, my brother and sister-in-law’s grandsons

My brother and sister-in-law’s grandsons: Loddi Rebel Kempf and Kius Raven Kempf

Count Your Blessings Instead of Sheep by @YvonneOrtega1 on yvonneortega.com/count-your-blessings-instead-of-sheep/ Share on X

Those little guys are precious. Every time I receive pictures of them, I wish I could squeeze the “stuffins” out of them. They live without social media. My sister-in-law received permission from her son, Ty Kempf, for me to post a picture of them on my website and in my newsletter. I cried out loud with joy. What an honor.

If you don’t have grandchildren of your own, enjoy a sibling’s, a friend’s, or someone else’s.

My Second Blessing: Local Team Yvonne

This team consists of understanding men and women from my church and neighborhood. They offer me encouragement, support, and accountability. Through the head of the Compassion Ministry, they organized a birthday luncheon for me. You can see the pictures of my birthday crown, balloon, and cards. One of the gals, a professional baker, made me my favorite carrot cake with about a fourth of the icing, extra virgin olive oil, and other natural ingredients. Yummy.

At the party, we shared blessings we’ve received from one another. They mentioned I wear them out shopping. In my defense, I have the gift of shopping. I check the workmanship on the seams and hems of clothing, insist on zippered pockets for my keys and cellphone, and check the fabric content. I dislike wool, even a 10-15% content of washable wool blended with polyester. Instead, I prefer lightweight washable clothing that dries quickly and doesn’t irritate my skin.

Most of the men have full-time or part-time jobs. So they didn’t attend the luncheon.

Third: Worldwide Team Yvonne

My speaking, writing, and coaching gave me opportunities to meet people around the country and overseas where I spoke in English and Spanish. They taught me native Hispanic dances of the area: tango, cha-cha, and merengue. I performed puppet shows in Spanish with other missionaries and sang hymns and choruses with them. With the popularity of virtual events, I continue to present on Writing to Heal versus Writing about Trauma, Addiction, and Grief. Other topics include Forgiveness, Self-care After Death or Divorce, and Seeking God’s Will.

If you haven’t yet volunteered to serve others and be a friend to them, I encourage you to do so. Maybe health issues prevent you from traveling. You can pray for those who go, donate money toward their trip, or help with electronic duties from home.

For related books about counting your blessings, go to:

Internal link: Book Review of Make Time for Joy 

External link: http://amazon.com/Growing a Joyful Heart book review