I read somewhere that Gratitude is \u201cthe quality of being thankful; readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness.\u201d<\/strong><\/em>
Gratitude is an emotion, expressed from a place of joy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I\u2019m sharing this because I feel it\u2019s timely. Why? We are already in the 2nd half of the year. The month of July ends soon and we enter into August. And August is the 8th month of the year, the number 8 is a special one which we understand signifies new beginnings.
So why write about the Gratitude jar at this time?
Because I know that for some when we look back at the last 7 months, it\u2019s easy to focus on that which we were unable to do and feel sad or terrible about it while lamenting about how little time we have left in the year to achieve everything.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But pause, take a deep breath and smile. Can we focus on the things that God has done for us? Can we focus on the beautiful moments, the answered prayers, the little things that all come together to make our lives a meaningful one? I have been taught to live every single day as a day of thanksgiving, so when in 2018 I came across the idea of a GRATITUDE JAR I loved it, especially since I still like to use a pen and a paper. \ud83d\ude00<\/p>\n\n\n\n Because it worked well in 2018, I did it again in 2019 and I have been practicing it ever since. And trust me when I say it has been most rewarding. It has helped me document even the smallest of victories, and writing it down ensured I can always go back, pick it up and read it on those days that were cloudy, I read it also in the days of big wins too, it reminds me that I am part of the bigger plan, reminds me to walk in God\u2019s purpose for me. Being grateful can be a hard thing to do sometimes, more so doing it everyday, but documenting each win makes it just a little bit more easy. Today I sat down, turned my jar upside down and read what I had written down. And boy, did it make me glad and thankful to God for all he did for me, in me and through me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Going into the remaining 5 months of the year, I would like to share this with you, it\u2019s something you can do too, and as a Christian, this will help your prayer life too, because going back to read can help you pray specifically in thanksgiving; knowing exactly the things you are thanking God for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Helpful tips \u2013 All you need.<\/p>\n\n\n\n a good clean container Now remember Gratitude keeps us positive. This is a re-written version, the original post was first shared by this author on December 31st 2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A Thousand Words<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" But pause, take a deep breath and smile. Can we focus on the things that God has done for us? Can we focus on the beautiful moments, the answered prayers, the little things that all come together to make our lives a meaningful one?
Yes, you see the Bible says \u201cin everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.\u201d
I Thessalonians 5:18 NKJV<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
It also reminds me of other things that still needed to be done, and more importantly it kept me grateful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One of the most amazing things being grateful does for us is make our relationships better. Yes, it will make our relationship with God better because we are constantly focused on His goodness and it will also make our relationship with others better. Everyone loves to be appreciated for what they\u2019ve done. Been grateful to your spouse, kids, boss, parents etc. not only makes them happy but also serves to encourage them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/atwtheblog.wordpress.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/whatsapp-image-2024-07-11-at-3.41.51-pm-1.jpeg?w=471\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Sheets of paper (I used sticky notes to make it colorful and keep it exciting)
A good writing pen, (keep it in the jar so you don\u2019t have an excuse to not write)
Keep the jar within reach and sight. That\u2019s all it takes.
For those who don\u2019t like to write, you can keep track electronically and here\u2019s a fun way to also involve others: 31 Days of thanksgiving. That is sharing something you\u2019re grateful for each day of the month via social media.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Wish you the very best in this journey and comment to let me know how it went for you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nYes, you see the Bible says \u201cin everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.\u201d
\nI Thessalonians 5:18 NKJV<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":340,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[58,59,60,61,62],"class_list":["post-138","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-being-thankful","tag-gratitude","tag-mindfulness","tag-positivity","tag-practicing-thanks"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/withlovedivine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/whatsapp-image-2024-07-11-at-3.41.51-pm-1.webp","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/withlovedivine.com\/wld-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/138","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/withlovedivine.com\/wld-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/withlovedivine.com\/wld-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/withlovedivine.com\/wld-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/withlovedivine.com\/wld-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=138"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/withlovedivine.com\/wld-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/138\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":341,"href":"https:\/\/withlovedivine.com\/wld-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/138\/revisions\/341"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/withlovedivine.com\/wld-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/340"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/withlovedivine.com\/wld-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=138"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/withlovedivine.com\/wld-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=138"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/withlovedivine.com\/wld-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=138"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}