A Dare to Be Grateful

I’ve been thinking a lot about my need to focus on giving specific, daily praise to God. Not just because He wants me to (although that alone is reason enough), but because I need to. 

I need to remind myself of the good things that He blesses me with, instead of always focusing on the negative things that happen. I need to become a more positive person, instead of one who often sees the glass half-empty. And I need to fight against my perfectionism – by learning that just because things don’t work out exactly the way I want them to, it doesn’t mean that my life is over. It just means that we live in an imperfect world. But there are still many, many things to be thankful for!

I didn’t know exactly how to go about beginning this “praise journey,” so I did a little research on the internet. I looked for ideas – prompts, if you will, for a specific thing to focus on each day.

God, in His goodness, led me to the Joy Dare. It was created by Ann Voskamp, author of the book One Thousand Gifts. In the dare, you use the prompts that she provides to help you “count your own One Thousand Gifts.”

I want to take this dare. I want to focus on praise to my God. And I want to “change perspective — give thanks — and live all His joy!” I want to become a more grateful person.

Will you join me on this praise journey?


Photo Credit: Ann Voskamp

Gold in the Rubble

A flood once washed away a poor man’s home and mill, taking with it everything he owned in the world. He stood at the scene of his great loss, brokenhearted and discouraged. Yet after the waters had subsided, he saw something shining in the riverbanks that the flood had washed bare. “It looks like gold,” he said. And it was gold. The storm that had impoverished him had made him rich. So it is oftentimes in life.

Henry Clay Trumbull


Photo Credit: Unknown

The Road to Recovery

Feeling somewhat better today. I had a nice morning with the Hubby, and my Mom came up to visit again.

Up and down. Up and down. That’s how my emotions seem to be manifesting, however. I want so much for them to be stable. For me to be stable. But I think that although I hit another “bump in the road,” I’m still on the “road to recovery.”

Thank you for coming along with me, friends and loved ones. It is an encouragement to know that there are people who are reading who care, and that even if they don’t know me personally, they wish the best for me.

It gives me that extra little boost to keep going. ❤

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Featured Image Credit: Bec Brown