I get lost inside myself WAAAAY too much. As a result, I whine and complain about all the things I’m not happy about. I get consumed by self pity and the end result is one big, ugly mess.
I have friends with teenagers. Sometimes those teenagers get whiny. When they get real whiny, the parents will tell them, “I think it’s time to write a gratitude list.”
My husband once told me that same line. I wanted to punch him. I wasn’t done with my pity party yet. I refrained from my desired action and upon further contemplation, realized he was exactly right (as usual).
When I write a gratitude list, I make a list of ten items. No less. Rather than just picking a couple things, ten makes me think hard and dig deep into all the good in my life.
Part of worship is thankfulness. Bringing to God all the wonderful things He has done for us and thanking Him for it. I want to offer my gratitude here at rebooting worship, and allow you to offer yours. On the first Monday of each month, I will post my gratitude list. Lord knows I desperately need that reminder of all the good in my life.
So here’s my first one. I am thankful for:
1. People who are genuinely interested in how I’m doing. Someone unexpected went out of their way last week to come say hi and see how I was doing. It wasn’t just a “hit and run” conversation.
2. Rain. I love rain, and we got lots of it last week. (Thanks Tropical Storm Debby.) I also love how an afternoon rain shower dramatically cools down the hot, summer days that I really don’t like.
3. Being safe and dry. As much as I love rain, I love being snuggled up in my pjs watching it from my window. I was thankful to not have to venture out in the rain too much, and to not have any problems with flooding.
4. My amazing husband. I shared recently how we just celebrated four years of marriage. I am blessed with a man who makes me laugh all the time. We have a lot of fun.
5. A church service filled with people that I am beginning to connect with. I’ve been guarded and jaded for awhile. I’m slowly coming out of my shell.
6. Lots of friends, online and in real life. I am blessed with some great people and I love the new friends I’ve connected with via blogging.
7. Coffee. It’s one of the best parts of my morning routine.
8. Bubble baths.
9. My nephews. I have a ten and six year old nephew, and last weekend I invited them to sleep over at my house. We had a blast, and a game of tag showed me how desperately out of shape I am.
10. Music. I am finding that music music still speaks to me. Lately my soul has found a lot of peace in a J.S. Bach Pandora station.
What’s on your gratitude list today?
Love this topic and excellent way to start the month!! I am grateful for:
1. For God’s opening and closing doors; I finally have some idea of where I will be for the next 12 months.
2. Family and proper boundaries.
3. Returning health and a doctor that said “I know what’s wrong and we can help!”
4. The quiet moment of joy and assurance, even in the middle of crisis.
5. My cute miniature poodle, who is a reflection of God’s love and healing.
6. Starbucks and other coffee houses, both for the coffee and the environment.
7. America and the freedom we enjoy.
8. That I have a job.
9. Tallahassee: Even with the heat, it is great place to live.
10. Centering prayer, helping me learn to be quiet and be ok with quiet.
#1 and #3: YAY!
I love making a gratitude list. They change my attitude so quickly. I’ve made the personal rule that I can’t just list names of people I’m thankful for. I have to say specifically why I’m thankful for them/what they did that made me thankful. I find this to be more challenging but I can also cheat because I can be thankful for Neal’s encouraging email and for Neal’s hug since they were two separate instances rather than just being thankful for Neal. 😉
Katie
Good rule. Too easy to just put the name and move on. I try to be specific in my lists.
Wow. Thanks for challenging your readers with this. This is definitely a good habit. Here’s my list:
1. My family, and how much fun they are
2. I am almost totally healthy now- I had been sick for about 2 months and eventually had surgery…
3. Swimming
4. The baby birds in a little nest I found outside- so cute!
5. People. People are really cool.
6. Getting information about anything I want on the internet
7. Disney movies
8. Speaking Chinese- it’s so cool to know more than 1 language
9. Lots of topics to think about and discuss- the bible, the church, feminism, all this stuff I’m interested in- that’s why I started a blog
10. God is watching me and knows where my life is going, even though I don’t.
Thanks for sharing, and I’m glad you’re feeling better! And Chinese… WOW!
Yeah I think making a list like that is a really good idea- sometime I’ll put a post on my blog asking “what are you thankful for”. ^_^
Jamie,
I think being thankful helps also with pride. It helps us to realize what reality is. It helps put those things we like to whine about more in perspective… hard to do sometimes but a help. I also think it helps keep things sane. We don’t put so much value on what is wrong that we get consumed by that and put our soul in a bad place.
10 I am thankful for:
Having a good job
That my electricity is back on after 60 hours
That no one in our area was killed by the devastating storm Friday
For a hot shower that is coming up!
For deep friendships
For God’s mercy after my many failures
For God having my children’s back
For you and your blog
For answered prayer
For God caring about our cares
Laughter
For being good in math LOL
No electricity for 60 hours? Yikes. Glad it’s back on and that you didn’t have any major problems (although I guess that might count as major) from the storm!
Air conditioning this weekend. 🙂
Oh, amen, brother. A-MEN.
This is great exercise Jamie. Everyone needs a reminder once in a while. I do this in my head constantly, whenever I feel my spirits going down. You’ve encouraged me to write a list now, but it will require some thought and contemplation before completing. Thanks!
It does require thought, which is a good thing!
Really good post Jamie. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks Jason!
I’m thankful for my wife, daughter, birds and cookies. I am thankful for my job, even though I really dislike the tasks but I’m thankful that it provides food and shelter for my family. And also insurance and health care for my family. That’s a BIG one I often take for granted. I’m also thankful for music and writing. Ways to express myself. I’m also REALLY, thankful for friends I have like Jamie, Sophie, Larry and Katie here!
Thanks for sharing, Jim!