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Today I woke up with a very grateful heart

by Will Phillips

Today I woke up with a very grateful heart. As I look back at our past, we have gone through a lot of trials, failures, sorrow, blessings, happy times and lots of laughs. 

A lot has happened during the past 51 years of my life. I ask myself, “Would I change any of it?” I think that I would like to change a few years of things we went through, but really the journey we have been on has made us what we are today. I don’t think I would be who I am without it. 

I come from a big family and lately I have been thinking about all the great times we had together growing up.  

As I started my first attempt at a very small garden this year, I remember going to my Grammy’s in Canada and picking out of her huge garden every summer. They would send all of us cousins outside with a butter dish and tell us to go pick strawberries for supper.  

These strawberries weren’t normal strawberries. They were very small. They were called field or wild strawberries.  

We would spend hours out there picking, because we ate more than we picked. Now that I think back on it they knew this and knew we would stay out of their hair all afternoon.

I also came from an alcoholic family. My whole dad’s side of the family were alcoholics.  We always had what we needed, never went without, but it wasn’t fun to watch my mom and our family go through this.

This is why I choose not to drink to this day. I don’t want to go down the same road that my family did.  

In all honesty, I did drink early on in my adult life, and enjoyed it too much.

By the grace of God, and His salvation, my life has changed for the better. I really don’t like to be around anyone that drinks a bunch, because I know what it can turn into.

I believe because of all the things I have gone through in my life, it has made me a better person. I am not perfect by any means, but I have big goals and dreams to where I want to be, and nothing and no one will stop me.  

My husband and I have big goals and dreams for us and our family. We know we are on the right path to where we want to be. The path is not always easy, but when you know you are on the right path I believe the devil gets mad and tries to throw road bumps in the way to get you off track. 

People think that because we are Christians, we won’t have trouble and things will go smoothly. The problem is we are all human and have free will to do what we want.  Sometimes, we don’t always do the right thing. We are all a work in progress.  

Give others grace along the way like God gives you grace.

As the summer begins, and you open your eyes each morning, spend a minute or two with the Lord and tell Him how thankful you are for all that you have.  

Tell Him how thankful for your family you have, thankful for the job you get to go to each day, thankful for your health.  

I can go on and on but know this, we are always going through a season in life.  We may be at the bottom of the mountain, going up the mountain or sitting at the top. 

Wherever you are, stay humble and grateful.  Focus on your goals and dreams and you will accomplish much.

Blueberry Lemon Poppyseed Broccoli Salad

Ingredients

8 cups chopped broccoli

1 cup fresh blueberries

1/3 cup dried blueberries

1/2 cup cashews

1/4 cup chopped green onions

1 tablespoon lemon zest

1 cup Lemon Poppyseed Dressing

Lemon Poppyseed Dressing

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1/2 cup sour cream

1 tablespoon sugar

2 teaspoons poppy seeds

1 tablespoon lemon juice

Instructions

Add all the ingredients to the Lemon Poppyseed dressing together in a bowl and whisk together. Set aside.

Add Broccoli, blueberries, dried blueberries, cashews, green onions and lemon zest in a bowl.

Drizzle the lemon poppyseed dressing onto the broccoli salad and mix. 

refrigerate until you are ready to serve.

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