My Abundant Life 3-3-26

On By Heather HoustonIn My Abundant Life2 Comments

March 3rd, 2026

Setting Aside a Personal Sabbath

“Anybody can observe the Sabbath but making it holy surely takes the rest of the week.”

Alice Malsenior Tallulah-Kate Walker (American Novelist, Short Story Writer, Poet, and Social Activist; February 9th, 1944 ~ )

“Some keep the Sabbath going to Church, I keep it, staying at Home.”

Emily Elizabeth Dickinson (American Poet; December 10th, 1830 ~ May 15th, 1886)

“It doesn’t matter what day of the week you set aside as your own personal Sabbath, it just matters that you keep one.”

“…meditation is intentional concentration on one thing, which can be either secular or spiritual.”

“This is what the Sabbath is for: reverence, rest, renewal, rejuvenation, reassuring rituals, recreation, rejoicing, revelation, remembering how much you have to be grateful for, and saying ‘thank you!'”

My Bucket List

My Church
Go on a Self-Drive Safari in Kruger National Park

“Before my story began…” (Heather Houston 3-3-22)

1972 Me…at my Aunt Carrie’s Baby Shower

“My church is anytime I commune with nature…simple…sweet!” (Heather Houston 3-3-22)

“My Sabbath is for: gratitude, sexy-time, imbibing, pleasuring, devouring, relaxing, passion, creativity and most of all…LOVING my husband.” ❤️ (Heather Houston 3-3-26)

–Ban Breathnach, Sarah. “Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy”. Grand Central Publishing. (1976). Kindle Page 70-71 of 501.

I challenge each of you on this blog series to post comments so we all can grow together.

Daily Gratitude 3-2-26

On By Heather HoustonIn 5 Daily GratitudesLeave a comment

March 2nd, 2026

  • “I am thankful for the yummy breakfast my husband provides me post my rowing workout: Hard Boiled Egg, English Muffin and Cantaloupe.” (Heather Houston 3-2-26)
  • “I am blessed to see an eagle on my morning commute.” (Heather Houston 3-2-26)
  • “I am thankful to share in my birthday celebration with my husband as one of our pronouns is ‘WE’.” (Heather Houston 3-2-26)
  • “I am blessed as my husband made Pho this week and a benefit by-product was a lovely Pho flavored brisket which we made into Pho French Dip Sandwiches…BRILLIANT! (Heather Houston 3-2-26)
  • “I appreciate my husband being supportive when I needed to retire early for the night. I used the whole day up and was wiped out!” (Heather Houston 3-2-26)
  • “I am grateful for my legs.” (Heather Houston 3-2-22)
  • “I am thankful for my insights.” (Heather Houston 3-2-22)
  • “I am blessed to have hard-earned wisdom.” (Heather Houston 3-2-22)
  • “I appreciate my paychecks.” (Heather Houston 3-2-22)
  • “I am thankful for clean and plentiful water.” (Heather Houston 3-2-22)

My Musical Life 3-2-26

On By Heather HoustonIn My Musical LifeLeave a comment

March 2nd, 2026

#47 Green Tambourine (Lemon Pipers) 👍🏼

Lyrics:
Drop your silver in my tambourine
Help a poor man fill a pretty dream
Give me pennies, I’ll take anything
Now listen while I play
My green tambourine🪄
Watch the jingle jangle start to shine
Reflections of the music that is mine
When you toss a coin, you’ll hear it sing
Now listen while I play
My green tambourine🪄
Drop a dime before I walk away
Any song you want, I’ll gladly play
Money feeds my music machine
Now listen while I play
My green tambourine🪄
Listen and I’ll play

My Abundant Life 3-2-26

On By Heather HoustonIn My Abundant LifeLeave a comment

March 2nd, 2026

Meditation: Many Paths to the Present Moment

“Meditation is simply about being yourself and knowing about who that is. It is about coming to realize that you are on a path whether you like it or not, namely the path that is your life.”

Jon Kabat-Zinn (American Professor Emeritus of Medicine and the creator of the Stress Reduction Clinic and the Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care, and Society at the University of Massachusetts Medical School; June 5th, 1944 ~ )

“…there are compelling physiological, psychological, and spiritual reasons why we should engage in regular meditation. It is the mortar that holds mind, body, and Spirit together.”

“…meditation is intentional concentration on one thing, which can be either secular or spiritual.”

“In this state creativity flowers, intuition leads to a deeper wisdom, the natural healing system of the body is engaged, our best physical and mental potentials manifests itself and we feel psychologically satisfied.” …Spiritual meditation, on the other hand…”will help you become aware of the presence of the divine in nature, in yourself and in other people. The love and joy that are inherent in Spirit–that are the very essence of Spirit–will begin to permeate your life.”

Dr. Joan Borysenko (Author; October 25th, 1945 ~ )

“…many different ways of meditating, depending on my inner needs: the golden mirror meditation, writing my daily dialogue pages, gazing into the flame of a candle, concentrating on a sacred word in a centering prayer, focusing on a poetic phrase to find deeper personal meaning, or setting out on a walking meditation.”

“…all-time favorite meditation is a small, moist piece of chocolate cake eaten with exquisite attention and tremendous gratitude. Any time we are fully present in the moment we are meditating.”

Dr. Joan Borysenko (Author; October 25th, 1945 ~ )

My Bucket List

Meditation
Chef Guided Food Tour of Pike Place Market

“Before my story began…” (Heather Houston 3-2-22)

1972 Me…at my Aunt Carrie’s Baby Shower

“I have a meditation practice I follow: 10-minutes in the morning and at lunch with a 5-10 minute Spiritual time-out to reflect on my day before bed. I also commune with nature daily for 30-minutes which consists of a walk or quiet sitting outdoors. Putting meditation in small chunks throughout my day reduces stress and keeps me centered.” (Heather Houston 3-2-22)

“If being present is meditation, then my life is mostly meditation. How magical is that?” (Heather Houston 3-2-26)

–Ban Breathnach, Sarah. “Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy”. Grand Central Publishing. (1976). Kindle Page 68-70 of 501.

I challenge each of you on this blog series to post comments so we all can grow together.

Daily Gratitude 3-1-26

On By Heather HoustonIn 5 Daily GratitudesLeave a comment

March 1st, 2026

  • “I am thankful to give myself grace to put off cleaning the kitchen and instead running out to McDonald’s to get breakfast for us on an Arsenal game day.” (Heather Houston 3-1-26)
  • “I am grateful Arsenal played a pretty good game against Chelsea and WON!” ⚽🥅🏆(Heather Houston 3-1-26)
  • “I am blessed to have a husband who cooks such yummy food. Tonight we had Korean Wings and they were the bomb!”💣(Heather Houston 3-1-26)
  • “I appreciate my husband is so adventurous. I sprung on him my birthday month exploration and he was immediately game!” (Heather Houston 3-1-26)
  • “I love that my dog chooses to sleep at my feet. He keeps my feet warm all night!” (Heather Houston 3-1-26)
  • “I am thankful to have had the opportunity to get s college education.” (Heather Houston 3-1-22)
  • “I am grateful at second…third chances at life and mistakes I repeat.” (Heather Houston 3-1-22)
  • “I am thankful it is my birthday month.  One more trip around the sun!” (Heather Houston 3-1-22)
  • “I appreciate a soft warm towel after exiting the shower on a cool morning.” (Heather Houston 3-1-22)
  • “I am thankful to my dog always looking for his morning pet and chat before I leave for work in the morning.” (Heather Houston 3-1-22)

My Musical Life 3-1-26

On By Heather HoustonIn My Musical LifeLeave a comment

March 1st, 2026

#46 Sweet Sweet Baby Since You’ve Been Gone (Aretha Franklin) 👍🏼

Lyrics:
Baby baby, sweet baby
There’s something that I just got to say
Baby baby, sweet baby
You left me hurtin’ in a real cold way🪄
Speak your name
Ooh and I feel a thrill
You said I do
Hey, and I said I will🪄
I told you to just be true
And give me just a little time
Wait on me, baby, I want you to be all mine
I just get so blue🪄
Since you’ve been gone, baby
(Why’d you do it? Why’d you have to do it?)
Since you’ve been gone
(Why’d you do it? Why’d you have to do it?)🪄
Baby baby, sweet baby
I didn’t mean to run you away
It was pride on my lips but not in my heart
To say the things that led you to stray🪄
But ah, me
Hear me now
I don’t know what I’m gonna do
Got to get you back somehow🪄
I’m praying, take me back
Consider me please
If you walk in that door, I can get up off my knees
I’ve just been so blue🪄
Since you’ve been gone, oh baby
(Why’d you do it? Why’d you have to do it?)
Since you’ve been gone
(Why’d you do it? Why’d you have to do it?)🪄
Well I’ve been so lonely
(Sweet sweet, sweet sweet baby
Baby, since you’ve been gone
(Sweet sweet, sweet sweet baby)🪄
I’ve been so lonely
(Why’d you do it? Why’d you have to do it?)
Since you’ve been gone
(Why’d you do it? Why’d you have to do it?)🪄
Baby baby baby been so lonely
(Sweet sweet, sweet sweet baby)

My Abundant Life 3-1-26

On By Heather HoustonIn My Abundant Life2 Comments

March 1st, 2026

“It is the first mild day of March.

Each minute sweeter than before…

There is a blessing in the air…”

William Wordsworth (English Romantic Poet; April 7th, 1770 ~ April 23rd, 1850)

Restoring Serenity to Your Daily Endeavors

“God give us the grace to accept with serenity the things that cannot be changed;

Courage to change the things that should be changed;

And the wisdom to distinguish the one from the other.”

Karl Paul Reinhold Niebuhr (American Reformed Theologian, Ethicist, Commentator on Politics and Public Affairs, and Professor at Union Theological Seminary; June 21st, 1892 ~ June 1st, 1971)

“…the time has come for us to stop associating serenity with things that cannot be changed. For we can dramatically change the quality of our lives when we consciously seek to restore serenity to our daily endeavors.”

“Sidetracked women, who scatter their energies to the four winds, never achieve serenity.”

“What we will gain from this exercise is the inner peace that comes from living fully in the present moment.”

My Bucket List

Serenity
Iceland’s Kirkjufell Mountain and waterfall at sunset.

“Before my story began…” (Heather Houston 3-1-22)

1972 Me…at my Aunt Carrie’s Baby Shower

“I am usually a six-trick pony. However, I am learning to focus on 1-task at a time to create more ease, efficiency, pleasure, and satisfaction when my mind, body and spirit is focused on one task at a time.” (Heather Houston 3-1-22)

“Happy month of my birth! I am embracing to be in less frenzy and more in flow.” (Heather Houston 3-1-26)

–Ban Breathnach, Sarah. “Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy”. Grand Central Publishing. (1976). Kindle Page 67-68 of 501.

I challenge each of you on this blog series to post comments so we all can grow together.

Daily Gratitude 2-28-26

On By Heather HoustonIn 5 Daily GratitudesLeave a comment

February 28th, 2026

  • “I appreciate grocery shopping with my husband…like food foreplay to a predictably delicious meal.” (Heather Houston 2-28-26)
  • “I am grateful my husband noticed the low fuel gauge and stopped to fill up the car before heading home from our errands.” (Heather Houston 2-28-26)
  • “I am thankful for having the energy to clean the kitchen and start the laundry before starting our weekend errands.” (Heather Houston 2-28-26)
  • “I am blessed to be the one my husband shares his chefy gifts. Today he made Pho that filled the house with beautiful smells. The Pho was amazing!” (Heather Houston 2-28-26)
  • “I appreciate our bedtime ritual to wind down our day and reflect with gratitude to bookend a perfect day.” (Heather Houston 2-28-26)
  • “I am thankful my eyesight is still reasonably good.” (Heather Houston 2-28-22)
  • “I appreciate being able to spend a sick day home with my favorite person.” (Heather Houston 2-28-22)
  • “I am blessed to have two children who are serving our country in the Army.” (Heather Houston 2-28-22)
  • “I am thankful I was able to create and working budget.” (Heather Houston 2-28-22)
  • “I appreciate my partner working tirelessly on a business plan to create abundance in our lives.” (Heather Houston 2-28-22)

My Musical Life 2-28-26

On By Heather HoustonIn My Musical LifeLeave a comment

February 28th, 2026

#45 Girl Watcher (The O’Kaysions) 👍🏼

Lyrics:
I’m a girl watcher, I’m a girl watcher
Watchin’ girls go by, my, my, my
I’m a girl watcher, I’m a girl watcher
Here comes one now, mh, mh, mh🪄
I was just a boy when I threw away my toys
I found a new pastime to dwell on
Whenever I detect members of the other sex
I play the game I do so well, oh🪄
I’m a girl watcher, I’m a girl watcher
Watchin’ girls go by, my, my, my
I’m a girl watcher, I’m a girl watcher
Here comes one now🪄
Hello, there, female, my, my, but you do look swell
Would you please walk a little slower?
I wonder if you know that you’re putting on a show
Could you please walk a little closer?🪄
I’m a girl watcher, I’m a girl watcher
Watchin’ girls go by, my, my, my
I’m a girl watcher, I’m a girl watcher
Here comes one now, mh, mh, mh