Hello Friends! It’s Faithful Friday. This week, I’m reflecting on my journey of faithfully practicing gratitude and how it’s changing my life.
If you recall, I began a gratitude challenge in the beginning of September. You can click here to view the post. Specifically, I challenged myself to faithfully practice gratitude by keeping a gratitude journal. I committed to writing down three things I’m grateful for in the morning and three things at night. Great news… this has become a new habit for me. Yay! And, this good habit of cultivating gratitude has truly made a difference in my life.
Starting My Day off on a Positive Note
First and foremost, cultivating an attitude of gratitude has helped me develop a positive mindset at the beginning of my day. This is so important. Let’s face it, we’ve all had those mornings when we wake up and dread the start of the day. For example, it could be a cold, rainy day where we’d rather pull the covers over our heads than get out of bed. Or, it could be the temptation to stay in bed and avoid a crazy work day ahead. But, what I’ve learned is that starting the day off being grateful boosts my mood and energizes my body for the day ahead.
Ending My Day Peacefully
Similarly, counting my blessings at night leaves me feeling relaxed and peaceful and has helped me sleep better.
Before starting this gratitude challenge, I fell into the trap of reviewing my day and feeling regret for how it unfolded. Maybe it was disappointment about how I handled a situation with my husband or kids. Or feeling pain or loss for what someone said or did. In entertaining these thoughts, I became tired and upset, and I didn’t sleep well.
By contrast, thinking of what I’m grateful for before I go to bed calms me down. It brings me peace. It’s teaching me to recognize just how involved God is in my life. I’m beginning to see God’s hand in the events of my day. His blessings upon me and my family are plenty from the big ones to the small.
I’ve Discovered that Blessings Abound
My gratitude challenge has led to a discovery. Blessings abound in my life. As I review my gratitude list each morning and evening, I find that I have more than just three things to be thankful for. Sometimes, the list goes on and on! In other words – my blessings are plenty!
So, if you haven’t yet given this gratitude challenge a try, please do. It doesn’t matter if you write down what you are grateful for or quietly talk to God about it through prayer. He knows what’s in your heart.
I hope you will find that being faithful in thanking God for his blessings each day will make a difference in your own life too.
Let me know how it goes😊
How about you? What is your Faithful Friday experience this week? What lessons did you learn? How did your faith carry you through? Please share in the comments section below.
Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. – 1 Thessalonians 5:18 (NIV)
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