“Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.” (Ps 100:4)
This month, the theme of my blog posts revolves around having an attitude of thanksgiving. Over on prestigeprose.com, I’ve written a series of writing prompts to inspire a grateful attitude. This week’s prompt is to write a list of 25 things for which I’m thankful. Family and friends are a given, as is Lilly, so I didn’t include people unless I’m referring to them as a group. My goal is to dive deeper, below the surface, to discover everyday things for which I’m thankful.
- Serving at church
- Eating at my favorite Mexican restaurant when I visit my parents
- Pizza
- Cooking with fresh herbs
- Watching the local news (after not having TV for a year)
- Working from home
- Internet connection that works consistently
- Beautiful fall leaves
- Peanut butter M&Ms
- Finding new authors that I love
- Listening to an inspiring sermon
- Reading something I’ve written, and then double checking to make sure I’m the one who wrote it because it’s that good!
- Clean teeth after a trip to the dentist
- Volunteering and hanging out with the older folks at the Rocky Senior Center
- Discovering new flavors of tea
- Discovering new foods that I like (That’s a big one for this picky eater!)
- Google (Finding fun facts is so easy!)
- Walking trails and parks
- Opportunities that take me outside of my comfort zone
- Old family photos
- Throw blankets
- Bathroom heaters
- Hanging out with my church teams (serve team and LifeGroup)
- Writing podcasts
- YouVersion Bible app plans
There are so many things I could add to this list, but I will add those to my gratitude journal, where I focus on one item per day and describe that item in detail. The Lord has blessed me abundantly, with family and friends and so many who encourage me. And all the items on this list – things I often take for granted – are things that people in many other countries don’t have. When I think of all the Lord has given me, I am filled with thankfulness and awe, and I pray I will pass some of this abundance on to others.
Dear Jesus, thank you for all of the blessings you have given me. Help me to have a grateful heart and never take these things for granted. I pray that you will continue to create a generous spirit within me so that I will share my blessings with those around me. Amen.