On August 17th I implemented a small tweak in my day that has made a huge difference. On August 17th at 10:37pm I started a gratefulness journal. I can’t take credit for the idea, but I can tell you that I heard about the concept on 2 separate occasions in the same week. Once from a Elevation Church podcast and once from my favorite design podcast, Young House Love.
(What? I like my podcasts. And here’s a few I think you’d like too! 😉
I’ve learned this in my 36 years on this planet: when you get nudged about something a few times back to back, it may just be the Lord saying, “hey love, take notice.” So I did.
I grabbed the cutest empty notebook we had at home.
Wha-la:
And took about 3 min to think over my day and write down a few specifics of what I was grateful for. That’s it.
For the last 2 years ever since I read (Ok, I totally Audiobook listened to, but it still counts!) a book called “Crash the Chatterbox,” I’ve challenged myself to be more intentional about being grateful. (Read more about it here and here.) And this little journal is my way of taking it to the next level.
See, I don’t know about you, but at the end of the day, it’s much easier for me to see all the things that didn’t happen as opposed to all the things that did. Sometimes my drive and ambition can get in the way of celebrating the things that ARE happening and that God IS doing in the here and now. And that’s not the perspective I want to live in.
God is constantly up to something. Constantly orchestrating the events of your life and continuously depositing beautiful things into your path. And I want to get much better at recognizing and relishing those. And if you have trouble getting started, just start thanking Him for all the things that didn’t happen today. The 8 million things He shielded you from that you’ll never know about.
Those moments when life gets dark and challenging or you simply find yourself SO annoyed at the amount of traffic you’re sitting it, 😉 I’ve found that gratefulness, literally stopping yourself in your tracks and finding things to be thankful for, can be the life raft back to perspective. Cultivating Thankfulness (as the msg bible so eloquently puts it) can lift you out of the moment and shift you back into a mindset rooted in truth instead of ever fluctuating circumstances.
The Bible tells us to be thankful in all our circumstances. I know, I wish it didn’t say the word “all” either. 😉
Choosing gratefulness isn’t a natural first instinct. It can feel silly to say “Thank you God…” when frustration & discouragement hit because it’s like training a new muscle you’ve never used before. When the discouraging lies flood your mind, it’s much easier to wallow than to fight. However, that’s a pretty miserable existence and a guaranteed way to keep your life small wouldn’t you agree?
So to help us all train that Gratefulness muscle, we’re hosting…drumroll please….The No Small Life Gratefulness Photo Challenge! For the month of November, we’re giving you photo prompts of something to be grateful for each and every day. It’s our practical way of helping you Live a Life Worth Celebrating this month!
Here’s how you can join in:
-Follow the prompts everyday and capture a moment that you’re grateful for
-upload your pic to your favorite social media site with the #NSLGratefulnessChallenge
-Feel free to tag us in your posts too! We’re NoSmallLife all across the social medias 😀
*Disclaimer: There is ZERO pressure to post everyday, BUT…seriously give it a shot! It will be so much fun seeing us all interpret the prompts in a way that speaks to us.
Let’s blow up social media this month with some #NSLGratefulnessChallenge Pics.
Chris and I will be posting daily. And we are so looking forward to seeing all of the big and little ways you’ll be celebrating life and cultivating gratefulness.
Until next time,
Meg
What a perfect challenge for November. I used to be really good about keeping a thankfulness journal but have fallen out of the practice, I should get in to it again.
It’s easy to get out of the habit of! Really glad you came by Stacia, hope you’ll join in the challenge!
Thanks Megan, I love this and am going to do this. Such an encourager (my spell check says this is wrong, is it?) you are. Love you
Silly Spell check! Love you Miss Cheryl, so glad you’ll be joining in the challenge!!
Just found this – going to give it a try!
Yay! We hope you jump in Roseann! Just make sure to use the #nslgratefulnesschallenge so we can see all of your awesomeness 😉
Love this idea, but I’m terrible at keeping up with Instagram. I think this would be such a great way to remind ourselves to look at all the wonderful things in our lives vs. the bad.
Thanks Erlene! hope you’ll join in the fun or at least enjoy all the pics on the hashtag 😉
This is fabulous! I have been writing down three things I’m thankful for each day this month but I love the idea of adding a photo element to it. Thanks for sharing your challenge with us at Merry Monday this week!
Well thanks Marie!! You’ll have to join in! 🙂
What a great idea for remembering to be grateful! I love the reminder to thank God not just for the things we have, but for the things He spares us from. I’m a little late to the challenge, but I’m excited to start!
Well thanks Anne! Can’t wait to see your pics!
Gratefulness really does shift our mindset. You are right: God is always doing something. I wanna be more grateful as well. I think I might start even though the month is halfway over! Haha! 🙂
Thank you so much for linking up at Grace + Lace!
Sarah
Bows & Clothes
Never too late! 🙂
Love this, you guys! Awesome challenge! Another blogger and I are just completing our #GratefulHeart Series so this definitely connected with me. Gratitude is a weapon against hopelessness. Thanks so much for sharing it at #MomentsofHope!
Blessings and smiles,
Lori
Yes Lori, “Gratitude is a weapon against hopelessness.” What a powerful quote. We caught some of your #gratefulheart series! I need to go back and catch up now 🙂
Megan, on Hannah’s Prayer Ministries, we are a few ladies following your challenge. It has been such a blessing to me day after day to choose to be thankful about all these items. I am experiencing a tough time right now with my husband being ill and I can see how my God uses thankfulness to release peace and joy in my life. I have hope. Thank you so much!!
Anneli, this blesses our hearts SO much! We’d love to see what you guys are doing is there a way we can follow along? We have yet to connect with Hannah’s Prayer Ministries, but we love the heart behind it! We’re so sorry to hear about your husbands health right now, we’re praying for both of you friend.
I LOVE photo challenges! I’m kind of bummed I didn’t see this until the end of November but we did participate in a written 30 days of Thankfulness so I’ll give myself some grace. I am, however, totally pinning this for next year!!
Pin away! We’d love to have you join in next year 🙂