Gratitude Day 421

Thurs., Mar. 12, 2020

2 Corinthians 4:15: All these things are for your benefit. As grace increases to benefit more and more people, it will cause gratitude to increase, which results in God’s glory.

One of the most profound things I do nearly every day takes about 1.5 minutes to complete.

Yep. That’s right. Nearly no time at all.

Yet, it’s one of those things that is SO. IMPORTANT.

It’s more important than eating, answering e-mail or exercising. I value those 90 seconds it takes to complete more than my beautiful house or reliable car or shelves of books. While I often do it in a notebook, contemplating this one thing requires absolutely nothing.

I LOVE to spend a few moments everyday accounting for three things that I am grateful for. Just three things. But EVERY DAY.

It goes like this. I like to spend time in the morning preparing my heart and soul and mind for the day. As I wrap this time up, I close by writing down three things I am grateful for and then writing out a short prayer.

In my journal, I simply write “Gratitude” and on the next three lines, I write what I am grateful for in that moment. I jot down the first three things that come to mind. No filter. No contemplation. Just the three things my body and sould and mind fully appreciate in that moment.

Often, it’s not the big stuff that makes the list. It’s the little stuff that I love to write down:

Lunch with a friend

A beautiful sunrise or sunset

A special phone call

Having a flexible schedule

Reading something that touched my heart

Time with one of our grandkids at the Dollar Store

Or getting ice cream with them

A bike ride with Rick

Or a meaning conversation while in the car … together

A wonderful first cup of coffee

Running water to fill the coffee carafe

Internet service at home

A good book from the library

Vacation time

Or a quiet day at home

Clean laundry and fresh sheets

Connection with a person who I haven’t had contact with for awhile

A positive response to The Mary Experiment

Fresh flowers in a vase

A wonderfully scented candle

The list could go on and on … but you get the drill. Ninety seconds to recall something from the last 24 hours that touched my heart, spoke to me and makes me appreciate all that I have rather than contemplating what I only think I need and is missing from my life.

There’s a constant lesson in beginning the day by thinking about positive things in our lives … before we rush off and get caught up in with a to-do list or things that distract us or trying to figure out how we will accomplish the laundry list of things before us. It helps with perspective, mindset and seeing the joy in our lives.

It never takes me long to find just three things that I am grateful for on a particular day. Rather, I try to find the three things that truly made a different in my life most recently. Finding gratitude should be easy and spontaneous because, well, there must be something we value and appreciate in the moment.

I find it so interesting that Paul connects grace with gratitude in the scripture verse at the beginning of the post. But doesn’t it make sense? Grace … gratitude … glory. Three things that depend upon each other, that go together, just like peanut butter and jelly. Impossible to tell where one starts and another ends when we discover the true depth of what these attributes can mean in our lives.

Pause for a minute. What three things are YOU grateful for today? Can you make this a part of your daily activities? Just 90 seconds that allow you to recall the simple ways you see God’s grace and glory by expressing gratitude? Start a gratitude journal where you write those things down every day.

See where your soul is after doing this for 30 days and 60 days. Six months. Explore how daily gratitude changes YOU.

For finding gratitude daily, I am grateful.

Blessings –

Dianne

Holy God – Before I speed off to the next thing to do, help me to pause. Reflect. Think of three things I am grateful for today. May this become an important part of my daily living. Amen.

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