On Living a Life of Gratitude

Thanksgiving is the time of year when most Americans pause to be grateful for the blessings in their life. In recent years, some have begun “30 Days of Gratitude” and write down (some, publicly; for example, on Facebook) one thing for which they are grateful every day of November. Then the end of November comes, Thanksgiving passes, and that’s that. On to the next challenge.

Perhaps we should not stop being cognizant of our blessings just because Thanksgiving is over, or when our 30-day challenge is up. As Christians, we are commanded to “in everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” (1 Thess. 5:18) Giving thanks for everything is a much more daunting (but longer-lasting) project. Should we decide to truly live according to St. Paul’s directions, gratitude will change our life. Someone once said, “it is not happy people who are thankful. It is thankful people who are happy.”

August Gold has written a sweet picture book called Thank You, God, for Everything, which follows a little girl on her journey to learning to be grateful for all around her. Gold says in the introduction: “one important thing I discovered is that [happy people] didn’t wait to say ‘Thank you, God’ until after they received what they wanted. Instead, throughout their day they said, ‘Thank you, God’ for everything. They saw everything as a gift in their lives… and gave thanks for everything …even the things most people take for granted.”

Let us find ways to continue living gratefully. Let us keep on expressing our gratitude for everything in our lives as well, long beyond the Thanksgiving season. We will be living in obedience to God, and we will be happy.

Blessed continued Thanksgiving!

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One way to continue to practice gratitude is to keep a gratitude journal. It can be weekly, daily, or occasional. It can be a large journal, with whole pages dedicated to a theme. It can even be small; just enough to write one thing for which you are grateful each day/week. Transform a dollar-store week-at-a-glance calendar a small personalized gratitude journal. Need ideas? http://snailpacetransformations.com/make-your-own-inexpensive-gratitude-journal/

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Another idea for becoming more grateful is to write about it in a public forum. Perhaps you could create a blog, and regularly write what you are thankful for, in that blog. One person blogged their gratitude once a week for a year. Check out their list of topics here: http://localadventurer.com/52-weeks-of-gratitude-challenge-complete/

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Create a “gratitude jar” in which to store bits of paper on which you have written your gratitude. Some days you may add many new grateful notes; some days none: but your jar will always be there, reminding you that God is good and providing for your needs. (And those notes can be revisited anytime you are feeling otherwise!) See http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-11062/how-to-create-a-gratitude-jar.html for one suggested way to do so.

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Some say that it takes 21 days to create a habit. If you intend to become a grateful person and do not know how to begin on that journey, here is a bookmark featuring 21 journal/blog/gratitude jar prompts: http://a.dilcdn.com/bl/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2013/10/21-Days-of-Gratitude-Prompts-Printable.pdf

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Whether you are journaling, blogging, or gratitude-jar-filling, sometimes your heart will be naturally full of thanks, and you will know right away what you want to write about. Other times, you may be stumped or just need something to get the grateful “juices flowing.” For those times, check out: http://ripplerevolution.com/17-gratitude-prompting-questions-for-your-gratitude-journal/ and http://ripplerevolution.com/17-more-gratitude-prompting-questions/

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Check out these quotes about gratitude. Select a few to help you be more grateful, and plan how you will use them: http://www.quotegarden.com/gratitude.html

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The scriptures have much to say about gratitude. Find out for yourself here: http://www.openbible.info/topics/gratitude. Select a verse to memorize or to make your theme for the week.