i have this issue. i’m competitive. not just a little bit but A LOT!
{having children has brought the notch down some – but it’s still there}
a natural, built-in desire to want to win at everything.
how do i win at giving thanks? so silly, right? wrong. God made me this way. He intended for me to have a personal competition with my human self to give thanks as much as i can throughout the day.
i am a happier wife {ask Craig}. a happier mom {ask my kids}. a happier daughter {ak my momma}. a happier co-worker {ask Erin}.
going back to last week: i started my Gratitude Journal and would often write something down, close it up, store it on my bedside to be seen again at the end of the day. i was just being thankful when I HAD TIME. i am busy every second of every day. wiping noses. wiping bums. cleaning floors. making a meal. dishes. laundry. designing. husband-time. playing games. life is so busy and the Gratitude Journal became one more thing to fit into my already busy schedule.
but God has called US, His people to give thanks. to put pen to paper and give words to the things in our lives that we are thankful for. the things that He has blessed us with – the big things. little things. silly things {like bacon}. our verse this month is 1Thesselonians 5:18 – In everything give thanks for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” {sidenote: I challenge you to memorize this verse this week — if my small boy last year at the age of 3 can & still recall it, so can YOU.}
my journal now sits on my kitchen counter or desk. i leave it open. i pass by it several times a day.
i pre-number each page.
i am competitive. i know this is what makes me tick.
i want to find something else to be thankful for to fill in that next #.
to get to the next page.
to get to 1,000 & then to 2,000 and to be thankful for the next several years. documenting my thanksgivings to God.
i encourage you to get a small notebook with a spiral binding – leave your book open on the counter or at work, pre-number your page and challenge yourself to give thanks in EVERYTHING. to obey God’s request to give all things back to Him.
i find myself mumbling thanks under my breath & sometimes i don’t remember to write them down. but God sees my heart of gratitude. the joy i must bring to Him when i acknowledge His abundance in my life.
what can YOU do to encourage yourself to be more thankful? a journal. a note on your phone. a word document open on your computer. find something that reminds you to be more thankful. i guarantee you will be happier, you will make those around you happier & you will bring God such joy.
About Someone Giving Thanks
i can confirm aimee’s increased happiness {though she has always been a very positive, encouraging person}, and also testify that your happiness has become infectious and inspirational. it has affected me in the work i do for you, and in every other aspect of my life {though i am still struggling to find thanks in month 4 of the potty training process}
) thank you, aimee – for your thankfulness and what it has done for those around you!
The most amazing thing to me is when the List {our attitude of gratitude} becomes our ministry to others!! You’re there, sweet friend!!
I have the same problem. The list is just another thing on my list this last week or so. I try to remember things throughout the day that I want to write down, but they don’t usually make it there. You’ve inspired me to get it out of my bag and onto the counter so it is there and capturing the day in progress.
i get that competitive drive. i’m there. i glanced at your journal and the number you were on and thought…what number am I on???
but this kind of competition…i think it might even be God-honoring. i love having my journal on my counter, open all day. i have caught my kids peering into it…i keep hoping it’s contagious. this challenge has made this Thanksgiving so meaningful for me…i love reading how it is changing all of us!
Thank you for thiis post, aimee. I have been submerged in the ‘terrible twos times two’ this week. If i can get my mind focused on thanksgiving instead of complaining, my outlook on life would change drastically! God is so good and knows i can handle these precious beings He has entrusted to me even when i feel like im falling apart.