A Thankful Thursday

I keep a lot of journals (just counting, I have 4 or 5 going right now). One that I started this year, which I've thought about starting in the past, is a Gratefulness Journal. It's a journal that I record what I am thankful for each day.

I''ve heard of this in the past, where the instructions were to write down 5 things you are grateful for, but for some reason , I never did it.

I feared that I couldn't come up with 5 things I was grateful or thankful for. Which is a shame.

And I must put that in context: I was thinking of it in terms of coming up with 5 different things I'm thankful for, totally different from what I wrote the day before.

Doing such is overwhelming. When it wasn't even meant to be that way in the first place.

So when my baby blog sista Serenity mentioned to me last year that she was going to start keeping such a journal, I decided to do one too (and you know I must chaperone her in whatever she is doing, lol). It is individual, nothing we particularly discuss. But I gave myself a small goal: I'd only write one sentence, only a few words long. And if I wrote the same sentence over and over again, then that's cool.

It'd only take a few seconds a day. At least I had something to be thankful for.

What was interesting is that in addition to my days of writing one sentence a day, I'd sometimes write much more.

A few sentences. A whole page.

I read back over my entries fromt time to time. And now, looking back over this journal containing 3 months of entries, I've realized something.

It has served to rein me back into reality when my mind wonders off or if I'm down.

Most importantly, I can see a snapshot of where my head and my heart is right now. It has given me insight into what is most important to me and what's bothering me.

So I'd like to post some of the entries from time to time. There are close to 100 of them. Some of these are simple. Some are terribly complicated. Some are deeply personal. These are some that I've found to not only be repetitive entries, but some that have made me think, and have also served as journalling prompts for my personal journals.


I am thankful for peaceful and quiet days.

I am thankful that I am 40.

I am thankful for time spent at my Auntie's table. These are sacred times for me.

I am thankful that God believes in me even though I sometimes don't have the faith to believe in myself.

I am thankful that I can speak words of encouragement to someone.

I am thankful for the Holy Spirit's counsel, and for His continuous effort in trying to get this one thing through my head: "Do not concern yourself with folks who set a standard for you that they themselves don't even meet."

I am thankful for my tears, even though they are tears of sadness.

I am thankful for the positive words of my fellow bloggers.

I am thankful that God is on the hustle tip - 24 hours a day. He never sleeps. He never slumbers.

I am thankful for a new day, where I can hit the internal reset button, and another chance to get it right.

I am thankful for my best friend.

I am thankful for Minister Hayes sermon on favor tonight, and for the following confession: "I walk in favor and honor in the midst of chaos and adversity."

I am thankful for good nutritious food, and the wisdom to choose it and to eat it.

I am thankful for God's grace, redemption and restoration.

I am thankful for clarity and insight.

I am thankful for honesty and integrity.


Those are just a few of the entries. But they encompasss the general scope and theme of my life over the first quarter of the year.

I feel like I am sometimes upset about one thing or another not going my way in life, or things just not happening fast enough. Although it is human to feel this way, it is a slap in the face to God, and very childish. The older I get, the more I understand that.

For I can't neglect, at the same time, I have so much to be thankful for.

Even if it is for the pollen enriched air I'm breathing today, I have something to be thankful for.

This journal is helping me to realize that.

I am thankful for this journal.