November is synonymous with thankfulness. And this year (perhaps as I’m getting older), I feel such a deep gratitude. For every moment, every day with the ones that I love. It’s all a gift. I don’t want to take it for granted. And I don’t want to neglect saying it out loud, acting on it, letting the truth of it transform me.
So, I set an intention for the month of November, to be purposeful about expressing my gratitude. As a way to give feet to my words (or wings?). So it’s more than just a sentiment.
Here’s how I’m walking my intention out:
I start the day with this Psalms of Gratitude study. Of course, you don’t need to get the study and I’m not getting paid to promote it, but it’s been wonderful food for my soul in this season. It’s simple but significant. It’s been a wonderful way to focus my mind before the day begins.
Usually I’ll turn on the fire place, make my warm lemon water and sit down with the study. A wonderful dose of truth right when I need it. Perhaps morning is the best time for you, too? To carve out a little quiet time + soak your heart in God’s truth + tune your mind to thankfulness? Like I said, you don’t need any particular study. Perhaps read + pray through these verses or do a word study on thankfulness or just start keeping a running list of your praises.
I record the things I’m thankful for (big + little). I’ve been using the journal pages in my study to make my lists each day. Sometimes I’ll use the Notes app on my phone. Sometimes I write them out in a caption on Instagram. Another great idea is just to have a piece of paper or a notebook open on the kitchen counter with a pen ready to record what comes to mind in odd moments throughout the day.
I guess the whole point is just to keep your thankful list front and center. To be consistent about recording what your thankful for. I know that if I have a page of things I’m thankful for staring at me, it’s a lot harder to get upset about the little things.
And I know that you might not just be dealing with little things. Maybe there are some big things going on in your life. Hard things. Difficult things. And making a thankful list isn’t to trivialize that…but hopefully to shine some light in the darkness. God is there. He hasn’t left you.
I purpose to give thanks before every meal. I’m horrible at this. It seems so simple, I grew up doing it, yet I forget far too often. In the rush to get everyone fed + happy, food on all the plates, drinks to quench their thirst, and don’t forget about yourself, mama! Feeding yourself is just as important. But I forget to say thanks. Sometimes my daughter will remind me and I feel a pang of guilt.
God sees our hearts, he’s not keeping score. But I still want to remember to pause, take a breath in the chaos of meal time and tell Him thank you. Thank you that we are together. That we have food to give our children, food to nourish our bodies. Thank You that You are with us even when we neglect to acknowledge that You are. Forgive me, Jesus, and help me to acknowledge your presence more consistently.
I verbalize to my husband and children why I am thankful for them. So often these thoughts get stuck in my head and never make their way to my tongue. Other thoughts do. Mostly critical ones. And I want to change that. Instead of speaking criticism, I want to speak thankfulness. I want to build up and recharge and fill the person in front of me.
So I’ve started saying out loud things I’m thankful for about that person, to that person. It changes the dynamic of everything. It changes my heart. It shifts the presence in the room and brightens the eyes. I want to do it more, as much as I can.
How about you, mama? As we step into this holiday season? Now with November half over, we don’t have to consign thankfulness to just one month. Let’s step into every new month, every new day with this heart, this attitude that every moment is a gift. Let’s let our lives be woven through with thankfulness.
Speaking gratitude, giving feet to our thankfulness, this is #soulmindbodyselfcare. It’s foundational. If our hearts are content and brimming with gratitude, then our bodies are going to reflect that. And our minds will conform to that.
What are you thankful for? Won’t you list out a few things in the comments?
This post is the first in our #selfcareis series. If you’re new here and not sure where to start, how about reading my self-care story and then jumping on my email list by grabbing My Top 10 Self-care Tips for FREE. I promise I’ll never spam you, mama. My heart is to help you care for yourself well.
XOXO,
Hannah