I’ve been reading a pre-release copy of a friend’s new book and its gotten me thinking about words we use without giving them much thought or the weight they deserve. I’ll be writing more about the book itself later; for today the word I’ve been pondering is

I don’t know about you but if I pay attention during my day I have so many things to be thankful for. Most of the time they’re not things; a driver who waves me to go first in a parking lot, the smile of a stranger, the singing of birds in early morning light.

Practicing thankfulness isn’t hard if we’ve learned to slow down and pay attention in our moments.

That’s the hard thing isn’t it? We get so busy with our to-do lists we forget to look around at what’s happening when all goes smoothly. We don’t have a problem noticing when something isn’t going our way; or maybe that’s just me?

In any case, I’m challenging myself this month to show up in areas I’ve taken for granted.

Practicing thankfulness is one.

I spent the day today with our 3 year-old grand-daughter. We went to her local library to participate in the summer family events offered each week; both free and fun. I said YES to both of those. We had a fabulous time doing a red, white & blue craft, looking for books, participating in the Creation Station and attending the outdoor story hour with puppet show. Every step of the way I was present, enjoying following her lead, joining in with the play and picking books to read at home. She is a creative child with a fabulous imagination. She told stories in the car on the way home that had us both laughing. What’s not to be thankful for?

I don’t spend all my days with children anymore; between my education career, years of being an SAHM, and a homeschooling mom, I grew accustomed to all the joy & laughter children bring. I hadn’t realized how much I miss regular time with children. Spending time with the Grands is double fun; in a not so distant way, they are part of me.

Thankful.

In the 55 days I’m not visiting the Grands, I have a long list of thankful items too. I’ve discovered God loves to give me love gifts; reminders of His watching, considerate love for me. These love gifts often come in two very personal forms: hummingbirds and random hearts in nature. I’ve written about hummingbirds in the past; the sweet, tender mercy of God brings tears to my eyes when I recount the many times He has gifted me with eyes to see His abiding love for me.

Here along the trail

 or here in the sand

Years ago I was challenged to count the gifts after reading Ann Voskamp’s great book One Thousand Gifts. Give thanks is plopped in the middle of a list of to-dos that Paul penned to the church in Thessalonica. Here’s a part of that list:

Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

I love to think about ways to give thanks, to express gratitude for the many gifts I’ve been given; especially the gifts I didn’t call gifts when they arrived. Click To Tweet

As a coach I’ve worked a lot on my own growth mindset; working to see possibilities, rather than allowing the weight of hard things to bring me down.

I’ve learned the best method is to admit something is hard, acknowledge the challenge to grow through the hard stuff, and look for the potential benefits from walking through the hard times.

The most important aspect? Talk to a trusted person who listens without trying to fix what’s wrong.

I have learned to give thanks for little things that I used to gloss over. I’ve learned to capture photos of light through trees, random hearts discovered in nature, and most of all learning to speak words of thanks out loud to anyone who has gifted me in some way.

How have you learned to give thanks? How do you practice thankfulness?

Join me on Thursdays this month to capture a thankful. Use the hashtag #ThankfulThursday . We can count together! Who knows, maybe we’ll grow into thankful people?!