The Aftermath of a Week of Thankful
Every year, I embark on a week of written thankfuls. I cannot tell you how my dedication to writing about my 'Thankfuls' each week has changed me, and the yearly tradition of thanksgiving week is a piece of that. This year, I had some thoughts in hindsight. Nothing brilliant or earth shattering but reaffirmation of things I knew.
* Gratitude attitude is really about perspective. And perspective will be the dose of reality needed to stanch complaining, discontent and anti-worship from happening. One day, I was busy at work and thinking of how blah my job is and then looked down at my House of Hope bracelet and went..."wait a second...I'm not forced into selling my sexuality to a man to provide for myself. Shut up about this being a crappy job, Amanda." Perspective shift 2,456....or something like that.
* You cannot stay focused on thankfuls and self at the same time. This week, I was shoved into thinking about my job and workplace vastly differently. In a 'look out for yourself' environment, as I delved deeper into gratitude daily (especially about my job), I found myself not wanting to wrong the second shift people left behind me by slacking on cleaning or leaving behind a difficult rack of clothes to inspect because I didn't want to. I found that my 'self' was greatly diminished. That's a good thing.
*Eyes on the prize - that's kind of how I view thankfuls. It's keeping eternity in mind, but knowing that God allows pieces of eternity in the here and now and those are the things that warrant our gratitude. It also helps to remind us that while we are thankful, this mortal coil is not what we live for.
*Putting thought and heart in thinking of thankfuls, well, ultimately that's about giving God the glory due Him. And when we focus on God being who God is - in all of His ginormousness (elf-isms permeate everything these days) - then we find we are small, and He deserves worship in every breath.
*The more you think on thankfuls and focus on it, the easier it becomes....and the more you find to be thankful for. It is a shift in thinking. And not only that, you want to put it all down and write about everything you're thankful for from bad days to harry potter purchases that make you happy for a moment.
*All of my life, in every season, I have a reason to praise. Amen.
* Gratitude attitude is really about perspective. And perspective will be the dose of reality needed to stanch complaining, discontent and anti-worship from happening. One day, I was busy at work and thinking of how blah my job is and then looked down at my House of Hope bracelet and went..."wait a second...I'm not forced into selling my sexuality to a man to provide for myself. Shut up about this being a crappy job, Amanda." Perspective shift 2,456....or something like that.
* You cannot stay focused on thankfuls and self at the same time. This week, I was shoved into thinking about my job and workplace vastly differently. In a 'look out for yourself' environment, as I delved deeper into gratitude daily (especially about my job), I found myself not wanting to wrong the second shift people left behind me by slacking on cleaning or leaving behind a difficult rack of clothes to inspect because I didn't want to. I found that my 'self' was greatly diminished. That's a good thing.
*Eyes on the prize - that's kind of how I view thankfuls. It's keeping eternity in mind, but knowing that God allows pieces of eternity in the here and now and those are the things that warrant our gratitude. It also helps to remind us that while we are thankful, this mortal coil is not what we live for.
*Putting thought and heart in thinking of thankfuls, well, ultimately that's about giving God the glory due Him. And when we focus on God being who God is - in all of His ginormousness (elf-isms permeate everything these days) - then we find we are small, and He deserves worship in every breath.
*The more you think on thankfuls and focus on it, the easier it becomes....and the more you find to be thankful for. It is a shift in thinking. And not only that, you want to put it all down and write about everything you're thankful for from bad days to harry potter purchases that make you happy for a moment.
*All of my life, in every season, I have a reason to praise. Amen.
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