Gratitude Blog for October 2:
by Jay Kelly
Today is Day 2 of a month of gratitude!
Homework: “Whatever You Do”
“Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” -Colossians 3:15-17
Today the gratitude challenge will require focus. Get yourself a scrap of paper to carry around in your pocket, prop up on your desk, hold in your hand. Write on the paper, “Whatever You Do.” The homework is to give thanks to God as many times as possible today for the ordinary, “whatever you do,” things. Go ahead and get weird about it. Use your God-given creativity, something to give thanks for (I'm practically doing this for you). Have some fun and share a few laughs with God.
How many things can you express thanks for today... 10? 100? 1,000?
"Thank you, God, that whenever I turn this faucet on clean water comes out for me to drink, wash & brush my teeth!" (that counts for three)
"Thank you, God, that this closet if full of shirts, pants and belts!" (three more)
Have fun growing in gratitude today… see you tomorrow.
Love,
Jay Kelly (and the Staff of the Seattle Church of Christ)
PS, We'll get deeper with this sometimes for you Emo Disciples, I promise.
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5 comments:
I think I started this today! Just thinking of a month of gratitude during the past few days has got me walking down the street or driving in my car and talking to God about all I am grateful for all throughout the day. Look forward to tomorrow!
Jay; You are the Dave Ramsey of spirituality. This is a God snowball that just keeps growing.
A beautiful new spin-
Jay I love this gratefulness exercise, it is bringing the body and my physical family closer together.
Since my daughter Morgan was pre-school age we have been playing a game we call the “grateful game”. It was my way of training her heart whenever she was not satisfied with what she had. It could be time at the park, toys etc. Whenever she would start to complain, I would say “I’m grateful for….”, and then I would say “your turn”. We would go back and forth saying what we were grateful for until it was obvious that her heart had changed.
This morning I printed off your day two entry on gratefulness and planned to go over it with Morgan on my way to dropping her off at school.
During the car ride I said “let’s play the grateful game” she responded with “but I’m not being ungrateful.”
I realized that I solely used the grateful game as a reaction to ungratefulness instead of a reaction to God’s love for us.
I pulled out the copy of your blog and had Morgan read it and as she realized that I was not pointing out ungratefulness in her we enjoyed the rest of the drive to school trading great fullness back and forth.
I believe character training is important however; today I found out that it was a beautiful spin on our game when we were being grateful as a response to God’s love for us.
Thank you Jay for giving me a tangible way to apply Deuteronomy 6:6-8 with my daughter
Thanks Jay! It is so easy for me to get caught up in the angst of any given moment - having a little reminder in my pocket (I think I'll change out the paper for a gratitude talisman of some sort) helps me to remember to breath and remember who I am before God and all that he has given me.
One thing I am really grateful for today is the ability to work; I am just beginning to understand what a blessing that is. Not just having a job, but to be able to use my mind, talents and body to accomplish a variety of tasks and to be able to glorify God in the process. Knowing that I am saved by grace, but have this ability to bring glory to God by works, that is something to be grateful for!
I cheated. I didn't use a piece of paper. I used an electronic device that I keep in my pocket. It is so fun. I am grateful for this mini computer/phone which I can pay for because I have a job. Grateful that I can use it to keep in touch with my amazing wife and our family.
We have been playing the "One thing I love about you game", similar to Marlo's "Grateful game". Our family takes turns telling each other one thing we love about one another. The only rule we have is that you can't repeat what has already been stated, forcing us to be creative.
Thanks again for your heart.
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