Challenge #8--Midway Reflection & Voting Reminder

Hello to all our wonderful readers and participants.  It is the midpoint of our current challenge, where the theme this month is THANKFULNESS. Today I am going to share a little introspection with you all that I am also presenting on my own personal blog in my "Motivational Monday" feature. Today, we are going to take a look at the concept of gratitude...

PLEASE and THANK YOU.

Two simple phrases but they pack a lot of meaning.  Unfortunately, these days, we hear them less and less in our day-to-day lives.  People still want things but forget the niceties that go along with their requests. Today I am going to focus on the second phrase--thank you; or more aptly, the concept of thankfulness.

We have so much to be thankful for in our lives.  For some it is health, for others it is the friends and family that they surround themselves with.  For a fortunate few it is monetary wealth.  But what about the little things that are actually big things?  How many of you remember to thank God, your higher power or even the universe itself for things like the air that you breathe or the ground that you walk on; or more importantly, the fact that for most, you have the ability to walk unaided or the ability to breathe freely on your own without the use of a respirator?  Some people aren't as fortunate and many of us tend to take much of what we have for granted.

The act of gratitude is very important.  Being thankful, not just for the larger things but for the little thing too, allows us to fill our lives with love and appreciation.  It reminds us of all the positive things that we have going for us.  Sometimes it is easy to get down and dwell in the negativity but gratitude helps us remember just how much we have in our lives that is positive.  Having a difficult day at work?  Be thankful that you have work in this economy.  Complaining about all the aches and pains as you grow older?  Be thankful that you aren't a quadriplegic and still have the ability to feel.  Feel like you are facing too many challenges?  Be thankful that life isn't boring or that you have a mind smart and capable enough of handling the challenges thrown your way.   Be thankful that getting through these kinds of challenges, makes you a stronger person.

Being appreciative can also bring a little kindness into the lives of those we come across during our busy days.  Whether it is a loved one or a stranger, there is always time to say a quick thank you when someone holds open a door, hands us something, or in response to a compliment they have given us.  The act of saying thanks costs us little but can mean so much to the person on the other end.  It might also mean that person is in turn a little more thankful themselves.

Being thankful reminds us of what is important in life.  If you and your family are healthy and you have money coming in, then it is difficult to get upset over things that are really inconsequential in the larger scheme.  If you are upset over the cost of gas, just be thankful that you have a car.  Kids driving you crazy?  Be thankful that they are healthy enough to be running and jumping all over the place and that they have voices with which to scream.  If you are upset that you don't have enough money to buy something that you really want right at this moment, just be thankful that you have a home that you will be able to bring it to, once you have saved up a little more. When someone passes you the salt at the dinner table, remember to say thank you.  There are many people out there who don't have food let alone a dinner table or a home to put one in.  Even if your circumstances are not the best, I hope that there is still something, even something very small, for which you are able to show your gratitude.

Gratitude is the best attitude.  It really is.  However, like all things in life being grateful is a choice.  We can choose to show gratitude and take a more positive outlook on things or we can choose to continue to focus on the negative.  Of course, the simple act of being grateful will not make the bad things we are facing go away, it just helps us to look at our lives a little differently.  For some, showing gratitude is not an easy task at all.  If you live in darkness it is difficult to see the light never mind try to grasp onto something that you are thankful for.  However, I believe the end results will be worth the effort.  Everything important in life takes work. Start off with coming up with one thing you are grateful for in your life right now. We are only guaranteed the time we have today. Worry about tomorrow, when it comes.

To help inspire you down the path of thankfulness, check out the wonderful projects a couple of my Design Team had the opportunity to create...

 

Samara used the strong Army Female image from one of our on-going sponsors Ike's Art.  It is part of a bundle called Female Troops. She also used the fabulous sentiment that is in this bundle.  If you are interested in purchasing this cool digi set, click on the watermark to head over to its location in Ike's store.

 Next up is...

Vicky has also used a great image from Ike's Art.  This image is called Fall Kat.  If you are interested in purchasing this adorable image, click on the watermark to head over to its location in Ike's store.

 Finally, that leaves our...

Karin, a DT member with DS4J, is our guest designer for the midway this month...

My name is Karin and I’m from the Netherlands.  I’m 51 years and making cards since 2000.  I started with decoupage, and after a couple of years I have learnt to stamp.  Now I’m coloring with Copics.  I have learnt this in 2010 and I love it. Since last year I’m in the design team from DigiStamps4Joy and that is such a great team and Margy is so wonderful .

My blog address is http://KarinsArtScrap.blogspot.nl

Here is the lovely card she created.  She calls it, "Thank you for being a friend"...

Karen has used the oh so sweet image called Best Friends, from DigiStamps4Joy.  If you are interested in purchasing this digi, click on the watermark to head to its location in the store.

Clicking on the team members name (or in the case of our GDT, the blog name) will take you to their blog where you can check out the details for their inspirational creations!

So if you haven't entered already, what are you waiting for?  Create a project and/or post that is positive AND relates to thankfulness, provide an explanation of how your project and/or post relates to the theme somewhere in your post or come over and leave a comment with the explanation.  Easy, peasy!  You can enter our latest challenge by clicking HERE.

Also, I know that the participants would love for you to go and pay them a visit.  Remember we're creating a Path of Positivity to follow one project at a time and we'd love to see you somewhere on that route even if it just by leaving a comment on an entry from someone who has touched you somehow with their project and/or post!

If you are new to this unique challenge, you can find out the impetus behind why I started it under the 'Introductions' tab and all the details you need to know in order to participate, in the 'Challenge Details' tab (both tabs located at the top of the blog).

Don't Forget...

You still have 3 days to vote on your favourite entry for Challenge #7.  Voting is quick, easy and painless so I hope you will consider casting your vote if you haven't already.  Don't forget, if you leave a comment after voting, you have the opportunity to walk away with a digital paper created especially for you. To check out all the eligible images and cast your vote, click HERE.  You have until Thursday, October 24th at 11:55 pm to have your say in who walks away with the Voter's Choice prize.  If everything goes according to plan, the winners for Challenge #7 will be announced next Monday.

LOOKING FOR ANOTHER MOTIVATIONAL QUOTE ON HOPE?
If you need some motivation to get you started, I've provided another motivational quote free for you to download:

Credit Notes For This Creation:
© 2012, Lisa L. Décosse.  PUO.  However, you are allowed to use the sentiment on handmade projects that you intend to sell on a small scale basis provided credit is given. You also need to include a credit note and a link to this blog should you use any of my images in your creations and post them on your blog. Please be sure to familiarize yourself with my full terms of use found in the 'Download Instructions & T.O.U.' tab at the top of this page.  Of important note:  Please do not share my images with family, friends, etc. Additionally, do not post any images to file sharing services like Box®, 4-Shared®, etc. Instead, please direct people to my blog so they can grab the image for themselves. If you would like to post a watermarked version of the image, please contact me to obtain one. 

You will notice that the sentiment may appear huge depending on what software program you download it into.  You can always reduce the size without distorting the overall look. 

SUMMARY
Whether you are new and need to familiarize yourself with all the details,  or a returning participant and just need to refresh yourself, you can always find out everything you need to know in order to enter this challenge in the 'Challenge Details' tab at the top of the page. You can enter the challenge by clicking HERE to take you to the current challenge post where you can also find a quick summary of the details related to this challenge, towards the bottom of the post. 

GENEROUSLY SPONSORED BY...

Please show your support to our fabulous sponsors by going over and checking out their work and saying hi if you have the chance.  In addition to DS4J, our guest sponsors for the month...

...we also have our regular sponsors:

 

 

That is me and I'd love for you to visit me

on my personal blog.

If you ever have any questions be sure to EMAIL ME or just leave me a comment.

We look forward to seeing you participate!