Gratitude

I remember a sermon my senior pastor shared a couple years ago about giving thanks and gratitude. It was the Sabbath right after Thanksgiving in 2011. That was an incredible message about cultivating a lifestyle of thanksgiving and gratitude for what God has done and is doing in our lives. Tonight, I'm going to focus on the things that excite me and things that I'm grateful for in this present moment. 

1. I am thankful to be alive. Life is truly a gift and the fact that I have a pulse is a sign that I am able to make things better for myself and for those around me. Service is the rent you pay for living. 

2. I am thankful for the wonderful invention of audiobooks. I was stuck in a little bit of traffic this evening which made the commute a little bit longer than usual. The audiobook I am currently listening really helped to make the commute a total breeze. The book I'm listening to is called So Good They Can't Ignore You by Cal Newport. 

3. I have a working car that can take me from Point A to Point B safely. I am very grateful and thankful for my car and I love it very much! 

4. My reading list so far is so incredible. I am really excited about one of the books I am reading called Steal Like An Artist: 10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative by Austin Kleon. I am really enjoying the book and a lot of the information is more like a stimulant for my brain which is a good thing. I don't want to be stimulated by coffee :) 

5. God's hand of protection is constantly over me. God has been removing people from my life that are no good for me. And I'm grateful because some of these people are folk that I wouldn't have the strength to leave myself. So God is doing it for me. 

6. God put it in my heart to start a dance ministry and I have wonderful dancers! They are excited to dance and be a part of the team. In addition to that, I've been getting more and more ideas of how to create more of a familial environment so that my members can bond more with one another. I know it will happen with time but I just want to make sure I'm facilitating an environment that encourages that. 

7. I have the opportunity to serve as an Elder-in-training at my church. I really see it as an opportunity to grow and go deeper in my relationship with Christ. My mentor is so awesome and I'm excited to see what this year will bring with this new role. 

8. This challenge is forcing me to stick to something and really push through even on the days when I'm tired. I fell off the wagon over the weekend but I made sure that I did the catch-up posts so I wouldn't fall behind! 

Okay. That's it for now! I'm going to call it quits for tonight but I like this list. I'll do this from time to time as the challenge continues.