Abundantly Grateful

Happy Thanksgiving! 🙂

Since thankfulness is the reason for this time of year, I’ve summed up some things that have personally helped me to view gratitude with a truer, more sincere mindset. I hope that in some small way my thoughts might bless you this season.

No Negitivity

It seems obvious that in order to be thankful we have to stop complaining. But sometimes I still find myself expressing gratitude for one thing, while continuing to foster a poor mindset about another. To truly develop a habit of thankfulness we have to stop finding fault, and always finding joy. As Philippians 2:14 says, “Do all things without grumbling or disputing.”

Even the little thoughts we never even say out loud can have a big impact on the abundance of our gratefulness. In 2 Corinthians 10:5 it says to “take every thought captive to obey Christ.” The small complaints can make a big difference, and we must work our absolute best to destroy each one.

Looking Closer

This time of year, you hear a lot about how thankful everyone is for family, friends, food, and shelter. And obviously, these are truly good things we should never take for granted, but our gratitude shouldn’t stop with them. The small things of seeming insignificance are also important.

From the sunshine to the rain, to the morning to the night, to laughter to tears (yes, tears!), these are all things that we should be thankful for. It’s when we take the time to notice and remember little things that make up this beautiful life we live that we can have abundant gratitude for it at all!

Making Lists

You’ve probably heard of keeping a thankful journal, where you take time out of each day to document where you found reason to be grateful. It’s a wonderful idea, but one that I’ve never found the motivation to keep up with. However, I’ve found other ways to incorptrate the idea of list making into my additude of thankfulness.

Sometimes I like to just start listing things to myself as a reminder of why I am grateful. It starts simple, like the day, this food I’m preparing (that’s my favorite time to do it!), and the people in my life. But the longer I go on for the deeper I go to find things to list, sometimes diving into my memories or hopes. Everything in life (good and bad) can give us a reason to be thankful, if we look to the true Giver with our thankfulness, and whenever I start naming off the good things in my life it often turns into a prayerful praise of abundant gratitude.

Final Thoughts

I was a little hesitant to write this post in the first place, because… there are so many posts about thankfulness this time of year! Why try to write something that’s already been said?

But in the end I’m very glad I did, and it was a nice way to express my own thoughts on the subject, even if they aren’t unique or original. All the same, if you made it this far though the post I hope you enjoyed it, and found something to help you to feel abundantly grateful this holiday season.

What have you found that reminds you to be thankful? I’d love to hear your tips below! 🙂