{"id":1598,"date":"2015-03-19T22:41:02","date_gmt":"2015-03-19T22:41:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/?p=1598"},"modified":"2015-03-07T22:48:33","modified_gmt":"2015-03-07T22:48:33","slug":"just-because","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/2015\/03\/just-because.html","title":{"rendered":"Just Because"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Image<\/a>
Image Courtesy of Janes Barker\/FreeDigitalPhotos.net<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Today’s a great day to encourage yourself and others…just because.<\/p>\n

So often, we wait to express our appreciation, admiration, or pleasure to someone else. It might be a spouse who lives alongside of us, or it might be someone we don’t see, but hear at the end of the telephone during our daily business interactions. We might be in a bad flare, and not able to think or do much beyond “getting through the day,” so encouraging ourselves seems a far-off ability. We might be so busy that we don’t think beyond the surface of everyone we meet or interact with.<\/p>\n

Oh, yes, we remember those “days to commemorate,” that is, the birthdays or anniversaries marked on our calendar. We will drop everything and pick up the telephone if we hear of someone’s accident, loss, or diagnosis of a serious illness.<\/p>\n

But, sometimes, it is good to take time to say, “I appreciate you,” or “I’m going to encourage myself,” …yes, just because. Moreover, it can make the rest of the day seem more special and more enlivened.<\/p>\n

So, today, reach out. Cheer on. Appreciate.<\/p>\n

Just because!<\/p>\n

Peace,<\/p>\n

Maureen<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Today’s a great day to encourage yourself and others…just because. So often, we wait to express our appreciation, admiration, or pleasure to someone else. It might be a spouse who lives alongside of us, or it might be someone we don’t see, but hear at the end of the telephone during our daily business interactions.…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":548,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,1422,43,1242,1047,578,379,1245,1246],"tags":[1604,1607,1606,32,1605,1486],"class_list":["post-1598","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-chronic-pain-and-illness","category-chronic-pain-and-the-holidays","category-encouragement-in-life","category-food-for-thought","category-good","category-goodness","category-lupus-2","category-positive","category-uplifting","tag-appreciating-others","tag-being-encouraging","tag-encouraging-ourselves","tag-giving-thanks","tag-love-one-another","tag-saying-thank-you"],"yoast_head":"\nJust Because - Good Days...Bad Days With Maureen Pratt<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/2015\/03\/just-because.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Just Because - Good Days...Bad Days With Maureen Pratt\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Today’s a great day to encourage yourself and others…just because. 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She expected to be writing scripts. God had other plans. A few years after her graduation, Maureen was diagnosed with a life-threatening case of organ-involved lupus. Her life turned upside down as she grappled with the effects of the illness and other health conditions that ensued. She was no stranger to serious health challenges; even as a child, Maureen had survived numerous bouts of pneumonia, flu, and other infections. But lupus made her take a fresh look at her life goals - and took herlifelong, strong Catholic Christian faith and writing in a direction she'd never imagined. Today, Maureen writes and speaks about walking with the Lord while living with chronic pain and illness. Her most recent book is \"Don't Panic!: How to Keep Going When the Going Gets Tough (Franciscan Media). She is also the author of, \"Peace in the Storm: Meditations on Chronic Pain & Illness\" (Image Books\/Randomhouse), \"Beyond Pain: Job, Jesus, and Joy\" (Twenty-Third Publications), \"The First Year: Hypothyroidism, Second Edition\" (Perseus) and \"Taking Charge of Lupus: How to Manage the Disease and Make the Most of Your LIfe.\" She writes the syndicated column, \"Living Well,\" for Catholic News Service, and has also written for Saint Anthony Messenger Magazine, Journey for Women Magazine, The Upper Room Magazine, LupusNow, and Arthritis Today. Maureen's health continues to be a challenge, however she feels honored to be able to bring her perspective, from experience and knowledge, to others. \"Good Days...Bad Days with Maureen Pratt\" is a new way for Maureen to reach people who carry the burden of illness and pain in their lives, or who care for someone who does. Through the blog, she hopes to bring issues of health, wellness, and spirit into focus and, especially, inspire others that, no matter what health challenges, illness, or hardships they endure, each person can find a good way to realize the wonderful potential God has placed within each heart and soul.","sameAs":["http:\/\/www.maureenpratt.com"],"url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/author\/mpratt"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1598","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/548"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1598"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1598\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1599,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1598\/revisions\/1599"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1598"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1598"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1598"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}