Day 7,

I am seriously slacking on my 30 day gratitude challenge. I have to be honest. I have decided that I will continue it until I reach 30 days, no matter how long it takes me. I drastically underestimated the time it takes to blog. So here begins Day 7 -
I was reading a blog, Passionate Homemaking, and her post One Thousand Gifts: Learning to See and Name Every One. Many years ago I kept a gratitude journal. I believe it was Oprah who originally suggested it, and I did it when I was in high school and sometimes in college. Then this week, Becky Horst, my old adviser at Goshen College wrote this excellent Advent devotional. My Mom said she spent some intentional time saying what she is grateful for, at Becky's urging. I think it's an excellent practice to adopt in our daily lives. When I used to keep a gratitude journal I wrote 5 things I was thankful for every day, and they were as simple as my Dad's excellent dinner or getting a good grade on a test. I believe this practice opens our hearts to realize how much we have in our lives. It doesn't take much to think of five things each day, and the things that you think of will amaze you. I have to include a picture of the thing I'm most thankful for each and every day -