One Year of Thankful Thursdays. Susan W. Brown

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      INTRODUCTION

      In this day and age there seems to be an extra measure of complaining, condescending, belittling and more than we want to mention here with regards to negativity.

      It seems that somehow we have gotten so caught up in the "Gotta Hustle" mindset and chasing the “bigness” of fame and fortune that we have missed the absolute magnitude of the beauty that is right in front of us.

      How often do you stop and marvel at something as simple as a rooftop, tree trunks, a pipe, and so many more truly amazing gifts that we have been given?

      Have you thought about how we are to celebrate our differences and lift one another up towards greatness instead of trying to win and outshine one another? A thankful and humble heart is the first step towards that measure.

      There is a wave of change coming. If you stop for a moment, listen with the pulse of your soul, you can almost feel it….it’s a palpable stampede of beauty, positivity, lifting up, encouragement, and inspiration that’s on the horizon!

      Yes, it’s coming, but it has to start with you and me!

      One day I won’t be here, and you won’t either, but even that doesn’t have to be a negative thing. That should lead us not into a rabbit hole of worry or angst, but instead an unbelievable rabbit hole of gratitude and wonder for this very moment!

      I have learned so much from different stages in my life, whether as a child, single adult, married with no kids, and married with children. One thing I have learned over the course of my life is that people are people wherever you live, whatever age they are, and whatever station in life they are in.

      They all matter. They should all be celebrated, listened to, seen, appreciated and accepted.

      Gratitude truly changes EVERYTHING. It gives us eyes to actually SEE, a heart that can LOVE regardless of what is around us.

      It comes from a place of acknowledging that you don’t understand and know everything, but that you don’t have to in order to be grateful for it. Humility and grace are key ingredients to this recipe.

      I will be honest with you…some of the things I am thankful for I actually don't like, but we are told to give thanks in all things. I find great comfort and peace in just offering up thanksgiving for it all knowing it is all a part of His plan and therefore I can trust the providence that it leads to.

      Being thankful for what the world would call the small things brings you back to a childlike wonder and to be honest with you, can even give you great joy and make you a little giddy. So be forewarned, you may experience great joy while embarking on this journey.

      There are also some difficult ones, so there may be tears.

      They are all a part of our journey. This life is not a destination. There is not a final place we get to where we can say, “oh yup..I have this all figured out.”

      In fact, what if we decided to use the word LIFE as an anacronym?

      Live

      Intentionally

      Fully

      Everyday

      If we go about life with intention, it is so much easier to see the gratitude we should have for each and every blessing that we have been missing along the way.

      I love to be intentional about looking at the everyday things, finding beauty everywhere, and thanking God for it all.

      The way the curtains in my bedroom wave from the top to the bottom in just one little section due to the air blowing through the vent. Yes, I am thankful for air and that visual reminder of it cooling our home and giving us respite from the heat.

      When the freezer stopped working recently and there was ruined food in the freezer and water all over the floor, I became so thankful for a working freezer most of the time and that we still had enough food. It was a visual reminder of how He provides so generously for us everyday.

      Thanksgiving as an everyday routine is all about changing your PERSPECTIVE.

      It's focusing on what you DO have and the heightened awareness of the blessings, both seen, and unseen that surround you every moment of every day.

      This book was born for a few reasons.

      One was that some readers of my blog, www.the365family.com, requested that I put one of my social media themed days, Thankful Thursday, in book format.

      Another of the reasons is that for me, on a deeply personal level, being thankful has completely changed my life. It has helped me view things from a different vantage point and overcome the darkness of depression and anxiety that threatens to pull me down. It is a fight against the darkness. Being thankful no matter what is a way of standing up and choosing hope and choosing to live fully and see the positive regardless of what surrounds me!

      It was also born out of the fact that I get kind of tired of the whole "Thankful Thursdays" in November that everyone shares on Social Media. Here in our country, due to Thanksgiving being on a Thursday in November, it has become a popular practice to share a Thankful Thursday post on Social Media ONLY IN NOVEMBER. It’s usually the typical stuff: faith, family, food, and friends.

      And while it there is nothing wrong with that, and there are very good intentions and heart behind it, it left me wondering…is that the end of our scope... our vision?

      Do we not SEE so much more?

      The deeper stuff, the seemingly mundane and ordinary stuff, and how it all points to Him?

      Is our scope of giving thanks limited to only one month of the entire year? We then limit that to one day of the week? We have way more than 4 things to be thankful for without a doubt!

       Let’s kick that notion of only having Thankful Thursdays in November to the curb and have Thankful Thursday every Thursday of the year! Who knows? If you like this book, maybe I will do a Thankful Every Day Of The Year book next?!

       It’s all about taking out those perspective glasses out, dusting them off, and maybe seeing clearly for the first time what is right in front of you and that it all points to Him, our Lord and Savior. You start to see that everything really can be viewed through a heavenly perspective. Nothing is out of the realm of possibility no matter how unusual for pointing to the One who made us to seek Him out in all the details of life!

       Be grateful and watch your entire mindset, perspective, and life change! There is always, always, always something to be thankful for!

      Welcome to the journey!

      Thankful Thursday #1

       Today I am thankful for SHADOWS!

       As a child I loved watching finger shadows on the wall, and found it fascinating.

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