10 Best Things About Me Are:

I'm using these writing prompts like I promised :).

1. Honesty. Not everyone enjoys hearing the facts that come spilling out, but I hold honesty dear and consider it a gift I give others whether or not they like it at the time.  I've always erred on the side of honesty, at the age of 5 even over-sharing about Santa's authenticity to my entire Kindergarten class.  My poor embarrassed relatives tried to keep it in check, but honesty is one thing that I just cared deeply about and still do.
2. Sewing.  From the time my mom showed me it was possible to construct an entire outfit from just fabric, I was hooked.  I loved clothes and the power to create them was thrilling and confidence boosting.  It also helped that the adults in my life praised the skill I was developing.  I always felt like it was a unique contribution to the world.
3. Writing.  I never got the greatest grades or won awards for my writing, but I enjoy doing it because it gives me the ability to do more of #1 (honesty!) in a way that just speaking to people doesn't.  Often conversations leave out things the other person doesn't want to face or deal with so writing gives me a chance to express honesty even if it doesn't want heard.  People can take or leave what I write, but I still have the option to write it. That is very freeing.
4. Shopping.  It's fun to do, but I also find it to be a skill, when it gives me the opportunity to make good choices for our family's finances.  I am so glad to have discovered great thrift and re-sale shops in our area so that I can dress the children in high quality clothing for less than I could buy low-quality clothing.
5. I know the direction my life should go.  I am so thankful for choices in my youth that helped me follow God's plan...which is the plan of happiness.  So many things that have helped my happiness came from knowing that the Lord's way, which as a young person seems like a less fun way, ends up paying off in the end.
6. The way I was raised.  I am so grateful to have had a rural upbringing, learning the life-cycle of animals, learning how to fix things, maintain cars, work in/on the land, and live without some things.  Now that we are city dwellers, I realize how rare and precious those skills and that up-bringing was.
7. My education.  I got a bachelor's degree in Business Management 12 years ago.  As a stay-at-home mom it seems like something that might be considered irrelevant at this stage of my life.  I'm surprised that I call on that knowledge and experience more and more as life goes by.  Part of our family's survival and opportunity to take risks (like law school) has been rooted in our buying, selling and fixing up whatever type of home we are in at the time.  The principles I learned in economics and finance classes have been a huge help as I view family decisions from a business lens.  That has been a blessing to our whole family.
8. Willingness to change.  Being open to other ways to parent than I had planned, being open to living places I didn't like, being open to view someone else's viewpoint has opened my world and made it better.  It's a force of struggle for me but one that I fight to maintain.  I want to remain open to happiness and open to it being forms that my human mind can't always picture first.
9. That I am free.  So grateful for the blessing of this country.
10. Listening to the Spirit.  I think receiving personal revelation is the most helpful tool we have to thrive in this life.  Many big life changes have come as I sought direction and I want to incorporate that more into my daily life as well. I have a strong desire to follow God because I've taken big risks in doing that in the past and then been so surprised that things always turned out bigger and better than I could have planned for myself.

***I know the prompt said 25 but this was getting too long.  So did this trigger any ideas for you?  What are the best things about YOU?