Sometimes blessings sit quietly right under our noses. This grandma got a little God-wink today about appreciating what’s already been provided.

Every year around this time, this memory cracks me up all over again. 😂🤣Oh, the sweet moments we hold onto forever… It’s been 38 years since I divorced my children’s father on September 19, 1987 — and what I’m most grateful for is the life we lived during those formative years. Country living shaped my babies in ways a classroom never could. Because of those years… 🌾 My strong, multi-talented son, Michael, became the true “jack-of-all-trades Carpenter.” That boy can build a house from the ground up and do every single thing in between. 🌸 My beautiful daughter, Mishele, grew a green thumb so magical she can make anything bloom. Her knowledge of plants still blows me away. We chopped wood to heat our home — all five fireplaces of that big old antebellum house.We planted huge gardens, canned everything we grew (tomatoes, corn, green beans, salsa, jams — if it grew, we preserved it!).My husband and son hunted every season, and our freezer stayed stocked with venison and even squirrel. 💼 Small Town, Big Hustle During those years, we were living in the tiny farm town of Trenton, right outside my birthplace — Ft. Campbell, KY — near the border of Clarksville, TN. My husband had just lost his job when I noticed an empty Chevron gas station sitting right in the middle of that one-horse town. I called the Chevron jobber, he came to our home, interviewed us right there at our kitchen table… and the very next week, we were running a full-service gas station with a two-bay garage. My husband was in his element — he’d built his first car at 18 and had worked as a Ford Parts Manager and mechanic for years. He was either in the garage repairing vehicles or out on the farms fixing tractor tires and filling them with calcium. And me? Honey, I did EVERYTHING: ⛽ Pumped gas🧽 Cleaned windshields🔧 Checked oil & fluids📚 Did the books📦 Ordered all the parts The kids’ school was only one block away, so they’d walk over after school, do their homework, and help pump gas. We were open 7am–7pm, Monday through Saturday and closed only on Sundays.

💕 “Joy isn’t something you find — it’s something you decide. And honey, I decide daily.” “There were seasons I thought I had to wait for joy — after the bills were paid, the kids were grown, the storms passed. But joy doesn’t wait for perfect. It sneaks in while you’re washing dishes or laughing with a friend, or watching little children play. You just have to say, ‘Come on in.’” Grandma Grady's Message to YOU this week: “Wrinkles can’t dim a joyful heart.” When was the last time you experienced joy? Please feel free to share. “Follow Grandma Grady's WEEKLY Word — and let’s stay young together.”

My mentor, Mr. Robert Hollis shared something that stopped me in my tracks — the word ASK. Simple, right? Yet every great teacher, philosopher, and leader in history knew the power behind that word. When he looked into the writings of legends like Bob Proctor, Les Brown, Tony Robbins, Og Mandino, Napoleon Hill, and Jim Rohn, he found a common thread woven through them all: Those who succeed are those who ask. They ask for guidance. They ask for opportunity. They ask for wisdom. They ask — and then they act. Even Scripture repeats this timeless truth: “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.” – Matthew 7:7 “You do not have because you do not ask.” – James 4:2 “If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.” – John 14:14 And perhaps one of the most beautiful examples is found in 1 Chronicles 4:10, the Prayer of Jabez: “The Prayer of Jabez calls on God saying, ‘Oh, that You would bless me indeed, and enlarge my territory, that Your hand would be with me, and that You would keep me from evil, that I may not cause pain.’ And God granted what he asked.” Jabez could have accepted the pain his name represented… But instead, he asked for more — for blessing, expansion, protection, and purpose. And God answered. As entrepreneurs, as dreamers, as children of God — we are called to A.S.K. Align your heart with your purpose. Speak your desires with faith. Knock with persistence until the door opens. Because asking isn’t weakness. It’s faith in motion. It’s the bridge between where you are and where you’re meant to be. So today, dare to ASK. Your next breakthrough might just be waiting on your voice.

There are days when all you want is to disappear, when the weight of everything feels too heavy to carry. But then, out of nowhere, you catch yourself laughing at a friend’s story, savoring the comfort of your favorite meal, or simply breathing in the calm of the evening air as you walk home. It’s in these fleeting, almost unnoticed moments that life gently nudges you, reminding you that even in the darkest times, there are still tiny glimmers of light that make holding on worth it. Life may never be as easy as we hope, and its challenges can feel relentless, but sometimes, it’s the smallest joys that breathe life back into you. A kind word, a shared laugh, or the quiet peace of a sunset—they have a way of reminding you just how good life can still be, even when everything feels like it’s falling apart. Have you heard about "glimmers?" Glimmers are the opposite of triggers. Glimmers are those moments in your day that make you feel joy, happiness, peace, or gratitude. Once you train your brain to be on the lookout for glimmers, these tiny moments will appear more and more. And maybe, that’s the beauty of it: knowing that no matter how lost you feel, these moments will always be there to pull you back. ~ MJ Blossoms, Writer’s Blossoms Writer’s Blossoms ~ Art by Susanne Krauss