Okay, seriously. I cannot be the only one who is perplexed about the fact that every November there are a plethora of people who do this thankful campaign, when, for the last 11 months, they’ve pretty much done nothing but grumble about all the aspects of their life! Ugh. Come on. Is life that bad 11 months of the year? If it is, is it all-of-a-sudden amazing on November 1st every year?
Don’t hear what I’m not saying! I believe we SHOULD be thankful every November. and January. and April. and August. and … you get where I’m going here, right? Thankfulness isn’t something we should turn on and off. It should be in the on position all day, every day! Have you ever seen someone tape a light switch in the ‘on’ position so that no one could turn it off? THAT is how I feel like we should be about thankfulness!! and kindness … but that’s a post for another day 😉
1 Thessalonians 5:18 tells us we are called to ‘give thanks in everything’ … EV ER Y THING! It doesn’t say ‘give thanks in most things’ or to ‘give thanks in some things’ … it says ‘give thanks in everything’ and that means no matter the circumstance, no matter what you cannot control, no matter what your spouse does, no matter how your children act, no matter what the review that your boss gave you says, no matter!! Everything!
So here’s my November 30-day challenge to you. Just for you. You don’t have to post them publicly. Start internally, reflect on where you are and meditate on where you want to be when it comes to having this year-long grateful heart. You decide which challenge fits you / your life best right now and go from there!
Challenge Option 1 – Re-train Your Brain
If you lean toward the ‘I’ve been pretty grumpy the last 11 months so I need to practice being thankful since it’s November and all’ side of the scale, I challenge you to write down at least three things every day that you’re thankful for. Three things. Every day. Stop being so dang grumpy and start looking for the good in the day. Trust me, it’s there! You’ve just trained your brain to treat it as invisible. You’ve got to re-train your brain!! Three things. Every day! You can find at least three things to be thankful for every day, I promise. One of our previous pastors used to say ‘When was the last time you thanked God for your refrigerator? your washing machine? You better be thankful, baby!’
Challenge Option 2 – Dig Deeper
If you lean toward the ‘I’m thankful every day’ side of the scale, I challenge you to consider whether your thankfulness is superficial. {{Sucks in breath}} Yes, superficial. You see, I do this routine every night with my girls at bedtime. They have to state 3 things they’re thankful for from that day. When we started this routine a while back, the thankfulness was pretty superficial: I got to stay home today, I got new clothes today and we had pizza for dinner. I would respond ‘so what you’re really thankful for is being able to find rest in a busy world and the ability for daddy and me to provide basic needs for you’ and my oldest daughter would think on this and then agree. Over time, she started to realize the why behind the whats in her thankfulness. Dig deep for the whys behind your whats!
Thirty days. Start today. Right now. Get a notebook and write them down each day, open up the notes app on your phone and start a file to add to every day, create virtual or tangible sticky notes and post them where you can see them each day. Doesn’t matter how you track them but do track them. Put a date on them. It doesn’t have to be fancy or perfect. They’re just your raw thoughts on three things to be thankful for each day of your life.
Again, this isn’t for sharing, it’s for you. It’s not about participating in the social media expectation. It’s about some serious self reflection and action to help you turn your heart to gratefulness. I believe in you … believe in yourself … you can do this … good-bye grumpy, hello grateful
