The Gratitude Project

One word.

That's the concept that has been floating around the blogospohere recently.  Find one word to focus on for the year.  Instead of making lots of different resolutions and goals, grab a word for the year and center your resolutions and goals on that word.  It makes a lot of sense.  It funnels down your thoughts and actions so you can really focus on how you want to live your year.  (You can see it explained a lot more eloquently here.)

As I read about this concept and thought about it, several possible words came to mind to focus on this year: Contentment - satisfaction; ease of mind
Worship - reverent honor and homage paid to God

But the one I chose is:

Gratitude - the quality of being grateful or thankful

Too often I get caught up in the "woe is me" world.  I complain and lament about all the things that go wrong instead of looking around and noticing all the blessings that God has given me.  When I stop and think about all the things that go right and all the wonderful things in my life, I realize that I am a lot more blessed than I realize.  I need to realize it and I need to be aware of my blessings.  But more than that I need to be thankful for all the great things I have and I need to thank the one who gave them to me - God.

How does this play out in real life?  I decided at the end of January to start a Gratitude Journal.  Each day that I write in it (and I don't write in it every day), I find three things to be thankful for.  And it's cheating to write the same three things down over and over again, so I find three unique things to be thankful for.  I write them down along with anything that God has taught me that day.  It's so refreshing to go back and read where I was a month ago and where I am today.

Gratitude in a journal is all well and good but I also need to be accountable to others.  So each Thursday I'm going write out one of my journal entries including my gratitude list.  I would love it if you join me and write me a comment of something that you are thankful for that day.  Let's turn our focus off of what is wrong in our lives and onto what is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent and praiseworthy. And let's think on those things.

(From Jan 29)
I'm thankful that I have access to a lot of books and I can fill my time with reading.
I'm thankful that I have great heat in my house and I feel less pain because I'm warm.
I'm thankful that my computer is portable and I can take it to the chair that feels most comfortable to sit in.

"Whatever our need is, it is met by looking away from ourselves and casting ourselves with abandon on our Savior.  We must run to him.  He is the source of everything we need.  He is the solution." - The One Year Devotional Walk with God

"O, Lord, my God, I take refuge in You." Psalm 7:1