3 Easy ways to start practicing gratitude

“Enter his gates with thanksgiving;
go into his courts with praise.
Give thanks to him and praise his name.

For the Lord is good.
His unfailing love continues forever,
and his faithfulness continues to each generation” Psalm 100:4-5

I’d looked for it everywhere and couldn’t find it anywhere. High and low, low and high… I’m tellin’ ya it’s like my “THANKFUL” banner it was hiding from me. I just wanted to remind myself, with a sign-in-my-face daily reminder to be grateful. However, my “THANKFUL” was missing in action.  Fall came and went. Thanksgiving too. And in the blissful excitement of the most wonderful time of year, it finally snuck in, gracing us with its presence. Tucked into my Christmas decor, was my Thanksgiving decor, and it just felt like too little too late. I mean, how else are we supposed to humble brag about being grateful, thankful and don’t forget #blessed unless we’re showing-off to everyone how much we actually are, right??! (Not to brag, but I’ve heard TRULY grateful people have decor around their house to demonstrate how grateful they actually are, just sayin’.) I think I was missing the point. I think many of us often do. 

Gratitude is something most of us acknowledge we want to practice, and yet few of us take the steps to actually do. Like a misplaced banner to remind us, we pacify ourselves thinking we’ll start when things come together, get put in their place, or simply show up. What if it’s as simple as putting our hand up, and giving it a go? I might have misplaced my banner again this year, but I’m willing to keep trying if gratitude really is the end goal. 

Here’s what I’m thinking…. while I know we are all people in process, I know that leaning into gratitude is an invitation to intimacy with God.  We enter his gates with thanksgiving, but his courts, the most intimate place where the Lord resides, with praise. Gratitude/praise  are often used interchangeably in Scripture, but they both invite his presence here and now into today saying “Lord, I acknowledge you are work here, here, and here…and I want to praise you for it.”

While we admit it’s presence, we have to live gratitude in practice. So here’s my cheat sheet friends, as I’m working on this, maybe it will help you too: 

1. Schedule it in your day. It’s as simple as trying to build a new habit that will be set in motion by a normal part of your daily routine. Whether you are walking the dog, grabbing your first cuppa or before you fall asleep at night, park your thinking on what you have to be grateful for. That way, everyday when you are out for a walk, or grabbing your daily coffee, you’ve created space and place to cultivate gratitude. 
2. Practice it in your home. We all work on building this muscle as a family. Sometimes it is in the car ride, sometimes it is around the dinner table and sometimes we do it when everyone is in a bad mood, but we’ve gotten into the habit of listing out (yes, verbally) what we are grateful for. What’s amazing is, hearing what other people are grateful for in their life triggers gratitude in your own. 
3. Change comparison to gratitude. Ugh. I know, this one might be the hardest, but it’s worth it. As I was out for a walk this am, I could feel my thoughts swirl downward along with the harsh autumn winds. It was too easy to be thinking about how great everyone else was doing in the midst of my own present struggles. I didn’t want to feel this way, and knew the best thing possible was to pivot and change focus. So I began thinking through things that blessed me lately or that I was grateful for. Our community group at church. The $65 order my business just recieved. That my kids are doing well in school. Yes, I even starting saying it out loud, in the park,BY MYSELF. But you know what? My attitude began to change. 

The truth is we don’t need writing (or a mildly obnoxious banner) on the wall to remind us. The opportunity to put it in our day is always there, waiting for us to take a hold of and lead us into a deeper walk with God. 

Go ahead friend, you’ve got nothing to loose and a deeper walk to gain. 

Much love, 

Joy