My Gratitude Journal
Because November culminates with Thanksgiving week, we are using the month to hone skills of expressing gratitude to God and others; we will practice celebrating with God and others. We are looking to focus on at least one instance of gratitude each day: Relationships, encounters, opportunities, etc. To prime the pump, Pastor Paul has written a gratitude or joy story that relates to Hope, described from his vantage point.
Help for participating in this skill-building act of gratitude
Practice 1A:
PAUSE in Gratitude (1-5 minutes)
Pause to reflect on something you are grateful for. It can be from that day, recently, or even from the distant past – whatever enters your mind -- maybe a sunset or a phone call. If comfortable, let your reflection time involve prayer by welcoming God to share in your moment of gratitude. He will likely be thrilled to do so.
And / or
Practice 1B:
WRITE your gratitude
(1-5 minutes)
Write down or type up something you are grateful for. Beyond journaling your thoughts, try putting your words of gratitude into a simple prayer conversation form, i.e. going from
- “I really enjoyed the sunset”
to
- “Jesus, I really appreciated the sunset yesterday.
I’m glad that I was able to be outside to see it.”
Doing so enhances your connection to God and connects Him to your moments or gratitude. James 1:17 tells us that:
James 1:17
Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows
Let God share in your joy.
Practice 2A:
LISTEN TO GOD about your gratitude
(1-5 minutes)
Try to picture how God might be responding to your attitude of gratitude in the moment. Is he smiling? Is He grateful too? Let the character of God you know from Scripture set the tone. Try not to worry about “getting it wrong.” We are not seeking new teaching from God, but rather an awareness of His presence.
Practice 2B:
INTERACTIVE GRATITUDE WITH GOD
(1-5 minutes)
Write down what crosses your mind from God, as if He were writing, such as “I enjoyed watching you as you watched the sunset” See the box below regarding concerns about a practice of writing down thoughts from God. This is not about “hearing God’s voice,” but instead learning to align with His ways and thoughts. We learn that character from the person of Christ, God’s Word, mature disciples, and the presence of godly fruit associated with the Holy Spirit.
PRACTICING INTERACTIVE GRATITUDE WITH GOD
The first step in interactive gratitude is voicing our appreciation to God. The next step involves writing down our impression of what God is thinking and saying to us. There are many questions that arise for us when we attempt to write down our impressions of what God might be saying to us. Some of the questions that arise are:
- How can we be sure that our impression of God's response to us is not just from our imagination or what we want to hear?
- Could those thoughts be lies from Satan?
- God only speaks through The Bible, doesn't he?
We may find writing God's response is difficult if we think we are putting words in God's mouth. We know we are capable of misunderstanding what God might be saying to us, yet the greater danger arises from never attempting or desiring to understand what God might be saying to us to guide us.
~ Jim Wilder+, Joyful Journey, p.19
Practice 3:
Share your gratitude with someone else
Take time to share your joy or gratitude story with at least one person or set of persons. This cements the gratitude deeper inside of you while also sharing a contagious joy that positively affects many of those you share with. If you have written your insights down, share those as well.
Let me EMPHASIZE that the value of these practices ratchets up tremendously when you do interactive gratitude with God and with others. Push into deeper waters here. Share these moments. You will thank God (and maybe me) later.
To review here is what it might look like as a journal sample:
Today I am grateful for:
“I really enjoyed the sunset”
In prayer form:
“Jesus, I really appreciated the sunset yesterday.
I’m glad that I was able to be outside to see it.”
Thoughts from God:
“I enjoyed watching you as you watched the sunset”
I will share my instance of gratitude with: John [X] (shared)