February’s Blessings and Reminders

Posted on March 2, 2024 by

20 Comments

A few weeks ago I posted about January’s blessings and reminders. I enjoyed that post so much that I am back to talk about February and some of it’s key moments.

Complimenting Others – My job has recently started something called High Fives. We can electronically send someone a High Five as a way of recognizing them. For example, if someone did an exceptional job with their work, or if they provided help with a task, or if they went above and beyond on something. I received several this month, which brought smiles to my work days. But what brought me more joy was giving High Fives to others. I want to be intentional about looking for the good that others have done and pointing it out. Brightening someone else’s day is a priceless way of spreading joy. And bonus – it brings joy to both parties.

We Choose – There were several things throughout the month that kept reminding me of a valuable truth. We get to choose our own attitudes and mindsets. Yes, we might hit some negative circumstances along our path. But we don’t have to let that steal our joy. When we keep in mind that God is always there, He allows everything that comes our way, and He is working all things together for good – that can make a tremendous difference in how we face each day.

And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. – Romans 8:28

Stepping Stones – There were several days in February when I had internet issues. Since I work from home, this is a big deal. I figured out how to use my iPhone as a hot spot. But it only worked for my iPad. My laptop wouldn’t connect to it. Something to do with iCloud, I think? My iPad screen is smaller than my laptop. Also I don’t have a mouse for my iPad. But I do have a wireless keyboard I can use. Overall, it wasn’t ideal. However, despite the frustrations, I was amazed that I was able to work. I was amazed with things God helped me learn long ago, which was groundwork for me in this situation. I don’t consider myself to be a techy. I have a nephew who can spin circles around me in that department. So figuring out how to do things with limitations of not using all the tools that I am used to was a victory. This reminded me that God uses the things in our lives as stepping stones. Some things that I learned over twenty years ago came to light. (Matt over at Jesusluvsall had a posted this week that also resonated with this theme – God Never Stops Working in our Lives.)

Don’t Fret – That is something I say to my dog when he gets stressed over something. But it’s good advice for all of us… My apologies because this is kind of a long story…. Part 1 – The last time I got my driver’s license renewed they noted that I needed to wear glasses. Since I recently had eye surgery, I planned at some point to go to the DMV and get that removed. But I wasn’t in a hurry. I mean, who likes going to the DMV? (No offense if you work there. And I do have a neighbor who works there. 😅) … Part 2 – We received in the mail our vehicle registration renewals. But the one for my husband’s truck wasn’t included, which was odd. I usually renew online, but with this situation we felt we should go down to see about it… Part 3 – I had been looking at our escrow in our mortgage and I felt that the company wasn’t taking out enough for the property taxes that will be due at the end of the year. I talked to the property appraiser’s office and they said we could come down and get a mortgage letter which would show the amount they expect we will owe. And I could send that to my mortgage company… Part 4 – Suddenly we had three reasons to go downtown to the tax collector’s office. It was a Friday afternoon and they closed at 4:30. We got in the door at 4:05. The first two items we handled together downstairs. Then we had to run upstairs to handle the third item. We got it all done before 4:30. And the lovely people in the property appraiser’s office actually had the mortgage letter we needed already printed and waiting on us! I talked to them that day on the phone. But I didn’t tell them I would be up there that day. (God bless them!) … All of this might seem like a silly thing, but my husband and I were tickled to get it all knocked out. And normally I dread doing stuff like this. So this reminded me that often when I dread something, it turns out better than expected. We spend a lot of our time worrying about things that never happen. Fretting is usually something that brings us down and makes us feel worse, but ultimately gets us nowhere. May we learn to hand our worries, big or small, over to God. And trust Him to handle the speed bumps in the road.

Lean On God – At work there was a task I have been dealing with for a couple of weeks. Not a couple of weeks straight. I worked on it some here and there, but also put it aside for awhile and worked on other things. I wasn’t sure how to make it work the way I wanted it to. Sometimes a big part of my job means spending time going over it in my mind, trying to think of a way to get the results I need. (And I pray for wisdom. 😅 ) Well in this case, I was making it harder than it had to be. I credit God for a new idea that popped into my head. It was much easier than the path I originally went down. This reminded me that sometimes in life we make things harder than they have to be. Often this is when we try to do things in our own strength. When we seek God for wisdom and guidance, He provides.

Also in the last few weeks, two blogger friends have each published a book:

Now it’s your turn. I would love to hear about some of the blessings or lessons you encountered in February.

Thank you for reading. I hope you have a blessed weekend!

Photo Credit: Sixteen Miles Out on unsplash.com

© 2018-2024 Bridget A. Thomas. All rights reserved.

Category: Seeking GodTags: , , , , , , ,

20 Comments on “February’s Blessings and Reminders”

  1. Bridget, I love this post. It made me reflect on things. I have a couple of things coming up that I am dreading a bit and your post reminded me to trust God and not stress over it. The don’t fret and leaning on God really spoke to me.
    And thankyou my friend for the shout out wrt to my book. And thank you for the review ( am thinking it is you). Much appreciated 💙.
    I got Matt’s book too and am looking forward to reading it.

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    • Manu, I will be praying for you and the things you are worried about. I do understand. Sometimes even though I know God is with me, I’m still tempted to fret. I have to remind myself to lean on Him. I’m so glad that this post was encouraging. And you’re very welcome for the shout out. Yes the review was from me! 😁 The book really is a treasure and I hope that many will read it and be blessed by it. ♥️

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  2. Hello, sister Bridget. As I mentioned earlier, on leap day (February 29) I was at a conference for work. The special thing I did (per your challenge in an earlier post) was to have the courage to meet two major role models for my profession. These two people are nationally known, so it was hard for little old me to approach them with confidence—but I did. They both turned out to be gracious and kind and encouraging to a newbie school administrator like me. I walked away with a full heart and two business cards (complete with cell #’s) and a “Please call me if I can help you.” Book shocka locka!💥

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    • That’s awesome! So glad that you took away a special moment from your conference. And it resonates with the fact that usually when we are worried about something, it turns out better than we expect. I’m really glad to hear it. Thank you for sharing!

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  3. Great post! I like the reminders you pointed out. That’s a nice program your job started, especially working remotely. It keeps people connected. Our DMV here stopped sending out vehicle registration notices during the pandemic and because of it many people ended up with late fees. But last time I renewed for 2 years to be on the safe side lol. My greatest blessing in February was another year of life. I’m truly thankful for that.

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    • Happy belated birthday to you, Dawn! You are right, each year of life is a gift. 🎁. A very good point about the program at work keeping people connected when working remotely. Relationships are different when working remotely. I can’t just swing by someone’s desk to chat. So it is nice to find ways to connect. 😊. Oh that is interesting about your DMV no longer sending out the registration renewals. I can definitely see why many people were overdue. Good idea to do the two year renewal. ✅. I hope you were able to celebrate your birthday in a special way. I pray the year ahead is filled with God’s blessings! ♥️

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      • Thank you! It was a nice birthday. I received free lunch/dinner, many well wishes and some gifts. Relationships are different when remote. During Covid I was in the office for one day per week. But now I work a hybrid schedule so I have two days at home and three in the office. It’s nice not to have to worry about traffic on the home days. Thank you! Blessings to you as well. ❤️

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      • I’m so glad you had a nice birthday. And I’m glad you are able to work remotely a couple days a week. That sounds like a nice balance, so you still have the opportunity to see coworkers. You’re very welcome for the blessings. And thank you for the blessings as well. ♥️🤗

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  4. I loved this post…so much wisdom to live by. We do need to turn our cares over to God. Worrying does not do anything but make us unhappy. Also, understanding that God’s plans are way above ours helps us to keep the bumps in the road in perspective. Sometimes, those bumps offer us a learning curve we might not know about otherwise.

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    • So very well said. It boils down to trust. God can see the big picture and He will always work things out way better than we could. When we look back, it helps us to see the ways the Lord has been there and orchestrated everything on our behalf. What a loving and faithful God we have! ♥️🙌

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  5. Thanks for your wisdom and oh how we continue to learn don’t we? So you said you have a pup. What kind? Mine is a goldendoodle and she really has her own mind but she stresses on things too. 

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  6. Bridget, great post of praise! Thank for including the story from the tax office, with a reminder to not worry because God has got things planned already according to His perfect way. I love what you said here, I needed to read this reminder today!..

    “We spend a lot of our time worrying about things that never happen. Fretting is usually something that brings us down and makes us feel worse, but ultimately gets us nowhere. May we learn to hand our worries, big or small, over to God. And trust Him to handle the speed bumps in the road.”

    Thank you sweet friend for sharing reminders of His faithfulness.

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    • You’re welcome! I’m glad this was encouraging. I need this reminder too. I am finding that I need to continually remind myself of truths like these. The enemy, our own emotions, and life circumstances will try to derail us. But God has all the answers. And sometimes we just need to give ourselves a pep talk. Thank you for stopping by and sharing your thoughts! I hope you have a great weekend! 🤗🤍

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© 2018-2025 Bridget A. Thomas. All rights reserved.