Gratitude 2018
Day 1 Nov. 1 – Every year I challenge myself with the discipline of thanksgiving and gratitude. So here I go:
The Bread of Life thanked God for food. (Mt. 15:36, 37) I too am grateful for enough food to eat everyday.
Day 2 Nov. 2 Jesus gave thanks for a God who listens. I too am grateful for that God hears every cry of my heart. John 11:39
Day 3 Nov 3 Jesus thanked God when facing the cross (Luke 22:19,20). Thank you Lord for salvation because he faced the cross.
Day 4 Nov 4 – I’m thankful for friends (John 12:13ff) as Jesus was! And that He calls me friend.
Day 5 Nov. 5 – I’m thankful for the future (John 10:10) and the hope of glory (Col 1:20)
Day 6 Nov. 6 I am grateful for true freedom! (John 3:32, 36)
Day 7 Nov. 7 Today I am grateful for forgiveness, like David.
Day 8 Nov. 8 Like every woman Jesus encountered. I am grateful for equality!
Day 9 Nov. 9 – Like Paul, I’m thankful for the abundance of material blessings (Phil. 4:19)
Day 10 Nov.10 – Like the Israelites, I’m grateful for the power and joy of shared memories.
Day 11 Nov 11 – I am grateful for all who have bravely defended this country – so much more than imaginable. I am trying to live worthy of your sacrifice. Thank you!
Day 12 Nov 12 – Life is not meant to be lived alone or for self. I am grateful for those who make my life better including doctors, first responders, firemen and police officers, and other public servants. I am humbled that I matter to you.
day 13 Nov 13 – I am grateful for clean water and for the Living Well that never runs dry
Day 14 Nov. 14 – I am grateful for laughter. It is an instant vacation, a splash of confetti, an effective weapon, an internal jog, a restorative act and the best part of everyday!
Day 15 Nov. 15 – I’m grateful for gifts, both material and immaterial. It is a blessing to give them and it is a glad surprise to receive one; I am so blessed that someone thought of me and that I matter to them.
Day 16 Nov. 16 – LIke Ruth, Today I am thankful for the reminder of faithful love and commitment in marriage made so many years ago as I witnessed the wedding of Stephen and Stephanie today.
Day 17 Nov.17 – Like the leper who returned I am challenged to be thankful as a way of life. (Luke 17)
Day 18 Nov. 18 – I am grateful to witness the public expression of faith through baptism tonight.
Day 19 Nov. 19 – Like Moses, I want to worship gratefully (Ex. 15). “because a thankful heart is a happy heart. I’m glad for what I have. It’s an easy way to start!”
Day 20 Nov. 20 – I am grateful that there is always something to be thankful for.
Day 21 Nov 21 – I am thankful for perspective. Gratitude changes perspective. But feeling grateful and being grateful are two different things. While we cannot will ourselves to feel thankful, we can choose how to look at the world. Being grateful is a choice, an overarching attitude that endures and is immune to the gains and losses in our lives. Gratitude provides a perspective that helps us see life in its entirety and not be undone by temporary situations.
Day 22 Nov. 22 May I be like the man with the Legion, he couldn’t stop telling all that God had done for him (Mark 5)!
Day 23 Nov 23 Like Mary, I am grateful that God chose me to carry the Christ (Luke 2) everyday.
Day 24 Nov. 24 Isn’t life an amazing thing?!
Day 25 nov. 25 I am thankful for today
Day 26 Nov. 26 I am grateful for my children who continue to startle me with their kindness, their hope and their humor.
Day 27 Nov. 27 I am thankful for my family. My siblings. My cousins. my aunts and uncles. my grandparents. What an awesome thing to belong to people.
Day 28 Nov. 28 I am thankful that God loves me in spite of me.
Day 29 Nov. 29 I am thankful for my parents on this, their 61st wedding anniversary. I am blessed to be part of the family they created.
Day 30 Nov. 30 I am grateful that being thankful is a way of life and not just an exercise. May it be so.