Bridget A. Thomas
Every day is a gift!
Conclusion of the 2021 Gratitude Challenge
Hello, Friends! As you might know, I normally post on Tuesdays. But today is a special day, so I am interrupting the regular schedule. On Tuesday, September 21 we started a 100 day gratitude challenge. And that makes today day 100 of that challenge. Congratulations! You did it! You made it though!
Now what? Should we dismiss gratitude and go on with our lives? Personally, I plan to keep gratitude in my heart, and I hope you do too.
Every day is a gift from God. And gratitude is a decision that we can make every day, as a way of extending our thanks to the Lord. We will always have ups and downs in life, but we can choose how we face them.
I love the quote below by Charles Swindoll. While he talks about our attitude in general, I think we can also apply it to gratitude. After all, as we have learned over the past 100 days, having an attitude of gratitude impacts our overall mood and outlook.
“The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company…a church….a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past…we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude…I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it. And so it is with you…we are in charge of our attitudes.” – Charles Swindoll
I hope that we all continue to embrace gratitude. I hope we see ourselves being more optimistic and joyful. And I hope that gratitude helps us to praise God for His goodness. If you participated in the challenge, please let me know how it went. Even if you missed some days, that’s okay! It’s all about the heart.
And I pray you all have a Happy New Year and a blessed 2022!
Let all that I am praise the LORD; may I never forget the good things he does for me. – Psalm 103:2 NLT
© 2021 Bridget A. Thomas
Bridget A. Thomas 
I am thrilled I managed to stick with it for the duration. As I mentioned at some point earlier, I have never been consistent with writing down things I am grateful for. I have wanted to do it. Doing it with you helped me stay accountable in a way and I must say what a blessing the process was. It helped me slow down and intentionally think about the good things in my day. It extended into prayer. Even though there were days I missed, I did not give up and got back to it. Thank you Bridget, I am going to try and be consistent in picking up my journal and writing down my heart and praising the Lord.
Happy new year to you too 🤗🌺
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Manu, I am so happy to hear how much you got out of this journey!! And I especially love that many times when you were recording your gratitude list, it extended into prayer. Because really, seeking God and remembering His goodness is essential in our walk. And it warms my heart to know that you will try to continue on! I will be with you, friend!! Blessings and Happy New Year!! I hope 2022 is happy and healthy!! 🙏🤗🙌
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I agree, Bridget. Gratitude is fundamental to living a life that honors God and gives us the life He so much desires for us. There is much to be thankful for even in our most challenging times. Thanks for these posts that teach the value of gratitude. Happy 2022!
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I agree! Our gratitude does honor God! Thank you for pointing that out. That alone should inspire us to walk in gratitude. And so very true – there is always something to be thankful for, even when we are facing something difficult. Thanks so much for stopping by. I hope your 2022 is happy and healthy!
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Thanks Bridget. I wrote down something most days although I missed some. This was helpful to cultivate a grateful heart. We have so much to be thankful for. ❤️
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I am so glad to hear that! You are absolutely right- we do have so much to be grateful for. Our amazing God is so good to us!! 🙌✝️🙏
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May 2022 be a year of that outpouring of gratitude for the things we’ve learned and the ways we’ve grown in our trials over the last couple of years. May God make us rivers bending us where He wills. Have a blessed New Year in 2022 my friend. Your posts are always a comfort and inspiration . Blessings. ❤❤
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I love the way you put that – “May God make us rivers bending us where He wills.” So beautiful. Amen. I pray we flow easily along with His hand as He sends us in the right direction. Blessings in 2022 to you too, my friend! 🙏♥️🙌
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I can’t steal God’s thunder. 😆❤ Those beautiful words are straight from Scripture. I’m using this verse in my next F(L)ight songs post:
“The king’s heart is in the hand of the LORD, Like the rivers of water; He turns it wherever He wishes.”
Proverbs 21:1 (New King James Version)
Blessings back at ya Bridget! 🙏❤🙌
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Ah nice! Thanks for enlightening me! Funny how we can keep reading the Bible and catch new things. I don’t remember those words, but I have read them. Lol. 😁♥️
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I struggled with the challenge this year, but still worked at carrying gratitude in my heart. Thanks for the inspiration, Bridget! ❤️
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I understand. My heart wasn’t in it every day either. But that is one of the reasons why I tried to push myself, to help improve my mood and outlook. But depending on the season we are walking through, we just might not be able to follow through. And that’s ok too. I appreciate you being here and I love that you are genuine about where you are. Thank you! I pray you and yours have a blessed 2022.
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Thank you, Bridget! I pray the same for you!
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