It seems I've been doing too much griping.

I've forgotten to look on the bright side and to think upon the good things.

There really are a whole lot of blessings that I've been pushing to the back of the closet.

First, I'm forever grateful for my two children. They are a blessing, especially in my golden years.

It's really a wonderful thing to have true love between a parent and a child.

Both my children are good people, who have kept their heads above water despite setbacks.

I've tried to give support without meddling, but that hasn't always been easy to do.

My life would be empty without the children in my life.

I personally know older women who have no children. I think how much they are missing without children and grandchildren.

Another major thing to be grateful for is good health. It doesn't matter how much wealth one has, without good health, money doesn't mean much. To be able to walk, talk, laugh, hear, see, feel good and enjoy life, that is true wealth. Those are the gifts we should guard and treasure.

In America, we have much material wealth.

I've heard foreign missionaries tell about the extreme poverty in the lands where they minister. It's a way of life for those people who've never known the luxury we have in America.

Yes, of course, I know there is poverty in areas of this country, but I speak of our nation as a whole. We are blessed with an abundance of food, housing, clothing, and luxuries unheard of in many lands.

Some of our pets get better care and attention than many children in faraway lands. The forsaken children beg for their daily bread and sleep on the streets at night.

We go to bed at night on our soft dream mattresses, and we open refrigerators crammed with food. And we are not the wealthy. Many of us are on a fixed income, perhaps on Social Security, yet we have an abundance.

On every turn, we hear that Americans are overweight, obese, because we overeat. We are constantly on one diet or another to lose weight or to attain or regain good health. It isn't that we don't have access to food, it is that we have an overabundance of it.

That, in some ways, is a bright side, a blessing.

Actually, the list is long:

A best friend, the song of a bluebird, socializing on a Saturday night, listening to good music, a flower garden, a faithful mate, enjoying a nature walk, a needed rain, a good crop, a happy baby, an uplifting sermon or word of encouragement when times are tough.

And the list goes on.

We are exhorted to think about such things as "whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, admirable". If anything is excellent or praiseworthy, then we should think about such things.

I'm trying to do that today.

I'm accentuating the positive, the bright side..