Bridget A. Thomas
Every day is a gift!
Grateful for Rest
A month of gratitude! Let’s focus on gratitude throughout the month of November. I challenge you to look around and be more aware of the blessings in your life. And each day write down at least five things you are thankful for.
When I have a lot of tasks on my To Do list, it makes me feel stressed. I worry about lack of time and getting everything accomplished. This is not a good environment when you are trying to grow in gratitude. And lately my life has seemed extra busy. So before this month began, I tried to clear my plate as much as possible. And each day I am trying to be intentional about how I spend my time.
When we begin to walk in gratitude, we might have to be extra diligent about focusing on gratitude. It’s not easy to change our mindsets. These things take time and practice. And I believe a key piece of the puzzle is to slow down and savor life. This helps us to keep gratitude in mind, instead of allowing a million other things to clutter our minds. Be picky about the things you do each day. Especially when you are first starting out on this path. Allow yourself time to rest in the Lord’s presence. Be still. Listen.
“Be still and know that I am God…” – Psalm 46:10
When we take time to slow down and rest in the Lord’s presence, this helps our gratitude attitude to prosper. The weight of the world falls off of our shoulders. Stress melts away. And we find a sense of peace.
“Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.” – Philippians 4:7 (NLT)
If you sit most of the day, you might think you are resting. But I am talking about resting the mind. Allow yourself to sit quietly with God for a few minutes. Even just five minutes with the Lord with refresh your soul.
So today take some time to sit quietly with the Lord. Reading your Bible for a few minutes would also be helpful to get yourself in the right mindset. Then ask Jesus to allow His peace to wash over you.
“I am leaving you with a gift – peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.” – John 14:27 (NIV)
Remember that every day is a gift from God!
(I will be sharing similar gratitude related posts here the first four Saturdays of this month. So be sure to visit again. And on each Thursday of this month, I will be sharing similar gratitude related posts on Christians Read. If you want to read the most recent Thursday post, click here.)
Grateful for My Journal
A month of gratitude! Let’s focus on gratitude throughout the month of November. I challenge you to look around and be more aware of the blessings in your life. And each day write down at least five things you are thankful for.
One thing I am thankful for today is my journal. I always liked the idea of journaling. However, throughout the years I would start a journal, then give up on it before too long. Now for the first time in my life, I have been able to consistently keep a journal for a couple of years.
What is the difference between then and now? Gratitude!
In the past I would use a journal to complain about the things in my life that I wished were different. The result was that journaling became a negative experience. Why would I want to keep a journal which only brought me down? When we complain and focus on the things that are wrong in our lives, we become bitter and resentful. And studies show that complaining can have harmful effects on our health.
A couple of years ago, I started using a journal to write down things I was thankful for. And I continue to do that today. Often I will write down good things that happened during the day. The things I write down could be something big, like publishing a book. But more often they are small things that are part of daily life, such as a beautiful sunset or my husband surprising me with a cooked dinner when I get home. These moments make up our lives. They might seem small because they are things that happen often. But they are still beautiful and meaningful moments.
It can be all too easy to allow life to bring us down. But if you open your eyes to the beauty that surrounds you, your perspective will change. Over time you will see miracles that you wouldn’t have noticed before. You will see all the blessings that God showers you with each and every day. As a result, your mood will improve and your health will also reap the benefits.
I believe that writing these special moments on paper is also vital when you want to focus on gratitude. There is something significant about putting pen to paper. Studies show that writing things down helps us to remember them better. In the case of gratitude, writing down the things we are grateful for helps our brain to remember the blessings in our lives. If we merely look around and don’t actually write these things down, we will forget them quickly. As soon as something bad happens, all our gratitude will go out the window.
Let’s take this a step further. Writing down what we are thankful for also helps us to enforce this new habit of gratitude in our lives. If we don’t write down the things we are thankful for, we will forget to continue to look around at the blessings in our lives. We will get busy with our normal day-to-day life and gratitude will be long forgotten.
When I began walking in gratitude, I started out by writing down ten things I was thankful for every day. And I intentionally laid my journal in a place where I would see it every day, so I wouldn’t forget. So this helped me to make gratitude a routine in my life that I still follow today. As a result, it helped my attitude to be more optimistic as well. That is why I am grateful for my journal. It was a key tool I used when implementing gratitude in my life.
So let’s make a point of writing down all of the wonderful treasures in our lives. Our Father is a loving Father who enjoys being good to us. I pray we can all be better about opening our eyes to all the wonderful blessings He gives us every single day.
I will give thanks to you, Lord, with all my heart; I will tell of all your wonderful deeds. – Psalm 9:1
And remember that every day is a gift from God!
A Month of Gratitude
As some of you know, last November I held a Gratitude Challenge. This was similar to what we just went through last month with the Redeemed Challenge. With the Gratitude Challenge, we walked through my book Every Day is a Gift, which is about … you guessed it, gratitude. I chose the month of November to do this last year because in the United States that is when we celebrate Thanksgiving.
Now since we all just went through the Redeemed Challenge, I felt it was best not to do another Gratitude Challenge this year. I know everyone is busy and it takes time to keep up with the daily posts. But in case there was anyone out there who really wanted to walk through it anyway, I compiled all the posts from last year for you. If you do decide to do this, you will just need to grab a copy of my book, Every Day is a Gift, read the chapter for that day, and then come back to this post and click on the corresponding link.
For the Gratitude Challenge, I did not include a music video, like I did with the Redeemed Challenge. But I did have a YouTube video each day where I personally spoke about each chapter. If you decide to walk through this, I hope you enjoy it. Of course if you are not ready to tackle this anytime soon, you can still save this post and go through it at a later date.
However, I have good news! I hope to have gratitude themed posts throughout the month of November both on here and on Christians Read. I will try to post here every Saturday. And I always post on Christians Read every Thursday. So stay tuned for those!
Gratitude is an essential part of our walk with the Lord. When we take note of the blessings in our lives, we draw closer to God because we see His love everywhere around us. And when we see how much He loves us, provides for us, and cares for us – this in turn helps us to have more peace and joy in our lives.
I would like to leave you with a song which speaks to the heart of my book, Every Day is a Gift. The song is Counting Every Blessing by Rend Collective. Enjoy!
Behind the Blogger 2.0
Exciting news – I have received the Behind the Blogger 2.0 award! Thank you to Tina at God’s Kid Speaks for nominating me! This blog is a source of encouragement for me, and I highly recommend it!
The Rules
- Thank the person who nominated you.
- Answer all the questions down below.
- Pingback to the creator: Ellyn @ Allonsythornraxx
- Nominate 5+ bloggers you’d like to know more about, to do this tag.
The Questions
Why did you start blogging and why have you kept blogging?
I actually created my website more as an author site. I didn’t intend to write blog posts initially. But in time I found it was a good place to share things I was learning. Also, when the Christians Read blog had an opening for a new blogger, I spoke to the creator of that blog, Vicki Hinze, in regards to filling that roll. So, I also blog there every Thursday. I must say that blogging has helped my writing to improve. So, if you want to be a writer, I encourage you to just keep writing!
Strengths include:
(This is a song, so click the hyperlink!)
I’m just a nobody, trying to tell everybody, all about Somebody, who saved my soul
Weaknesses include:
I allow stress to get the best of me. And I allow the enemy to get in my head.
What is your favorite type of blog post to write?
Anything spiritual, pertaining to Jesus, and/or the Bible.
What are your Top Three favorite blog posts?
I loved all thirty of the posts from The Redeemed Challenge, which we just walked through in September.
What are some of your favorite things to do to relax?
Read. Watch Hallmark Christmas movies. Sit on the couch and chill. Go to a Florida Gators baseball game. Go to the mountains.
What are three of your favorite things?
Jesus, my hubby, and my dogs. (But I have a lot more things that I can list. Why only three? LOL.)
What are your hobbies outside of blogging?
I like to crochet but I haven’t done much of it in a long time.
What are your top three pet peeves?
I don’t know if these are my top three, per se. But this is what came to mind… Angry typers. (If you worked in cubicle land like I do, you would understand!) Someone who whistles in a public place seems suspicious to me. (LOL.) Inconsiderate drivers. (If you spent two hours a day on the road like I do, you would understand!)
What’s something your followers don’t know about you?
I am from Long Island, NY.
My Nominees (if they so choose to accept the mission):
Giving God Your Whole Heart – Now in Paperback
What a beautiful morning in my neck of the woods! I don’t know what the low was last night, but at 8 AM the temperature was 54°. A small taste of fall before the thermometer works its way up to a high in the upper 80s.
The Lord greeted us with a majestic sunrise. I always love seeing the sunrise and the sunset. When I see the sunrise peeking over the horizon, I see God wishing me a good morning. When I see the sky streaked with brilliant yellows, oranges, and pinks in the evening, I see God sending me a hug as I end my day.
God is always there, by our sides, every moment of every day. Unfortunately, there are times when we forget this and we allow obstacles to get in the way of our relationship with Him. When we try to work God unto our lives, we fail because of other priorities on our plates. The key is to make God the center of your life and then you can’t go wrong.
In my book Giving God Your Whole Heart, I talk about our relationship with God and how we can make that relationship stronger. This in turn will help you to find true fulfillment in life.
For those of you who were waiting for the paperback version of the book – it is now available on Amazon! It is also available on Kindle. (Sorry other ebook formats not available yet. I will keep you posted.)
So get yourself something good to drink, grab a copy of my book, and find a comfy seat to sit in and read. If the weather is nice where you are, then perhaps you will want to sit outdoors.
Whatever you wind up doing today, I hope you have a beautiful and blessed day!
Giving God Your Whole Heart
I have exciting news! I am happy to announce that I just released a new book, Giving God Your Whole Heart!
(Currently it is only available on Kindle. But the paperback version and other ebook avenues are coming soon. I will keep you posted as they become available.)
Currently the Kindle version is on sale for only 99¢!
This book touches on numerous things which are essential in our Christian walk. Yet due to our busy lives, we tend to push God to the back burner. In this book I will show you how to seek the Lord with all your heart, mind and soul. As a result, you will find true fulfillment in life.
As with all my books, I ask that you please leave a review wherever you purchased it. This helps me in many ways. For one thing, it helps gain further sales. But it also helps me to better apply the things that worked well in my future books.
Whether you decide to get this book or not, I still want to say a heartfelt “Thank You” to each of you. Having this community is so encouraging to me and helps me to keep going. Having you here alongside me on this journey is something I will always be grateful for!
The Redeemed Challenge – Day 30
Good morning! Today is Day 30 of the Redeemed Challenge! I can’t believe today is the last day! This month has flown by! I sure hope you have enjoyed it as much as I have! But I must admit that I am sad to see this journey come to an end. I am going to miss the wonderful community and fellowship we had over the past month. At the beginning of this month, I hoped and prayed that the content would bless each of you. But guess what happened? I was the one who was blessed by each of you. Every day, you guys gave me a new perspective and rich insight as you shared your thoughts and feelings. Just as it says in Proverbs 27:17, “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.” So before we review our last day’s content, I just want to say to each of you: Thank you from the bottom of my heart for walking by my side these past thirty days. 💜
In the final chapter of the book we read about a beautiful Bible verse. Many people’s view of God is not one of love. Often times people believe God is condemning and judgmental. But that is not the case. God is love. And He loves you beyond belief. If you only remember one thing from reading this book, I hope you will remember how much God loves you. Long before you were born, God already had a plan in motion to bring you to Himself, to save you, to redeem you, and to love you. He loves you more than words can express. He loves you beyond measure. Think of one person who you love with all your heart, multiply that love by a trillion, and you still haven’t reached the capacity of God’s love for you.
Share in the comments: Is there something with today’s chapter of You Are Redeemed that resonates with you?
Don’t forget to listen to the song for the day!!!!!!! How He Loves by David Crowder Band
And here is the smartphone wallpaper image for the day:
(If you missed the Redeemed Challenge, you can still go through my book You Are Redeemed on your own. Get your copy on Amazon or your favorite online bookstore.)
The Redeemed Challenge – Day 29
Good morning! Today is Day 29 of the Redeemed Challenge! In today’s chapter of the book, we read that we have been set free. Maybe you know that when you gave your heart to Jesus, that meant you were free. But I think many Christians still struggle with allowing this truth to seep within their soul. For those who believe and accept Jesus into their lives, they have the ultimate freedom. Freedom from sin, freedom from death, freedom from the chains of the enemy. We were once enslaved to our flesh and sinful nature. But our old selves died on the cross with Jesus, and we became new creatures. Reflecting on how we have been set free makes me feel like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders. What an awesome gift we have! But that’s not all. As Christians we also have free access to our Father. We can call on Him at any moment of any day, and He will always answer. How amazing that we can go to Him in prayer at any given time! Take a moment today to thank God for your true freedom through Jesus!
Share in the comments: Is there something with today’s chapter of You Are Redeemed that resonates with you?
Don’t forget to listen to the song for the day!!!!!!! Freedom Reigns by Jesus Culture
And here is the smartphone wallpaper image for the day:
The Redeemed Challenge – Day 28
Good morning! Today is Day 28 of the Redeemed Challenge! In today’s chapter of the book, we read that God has made us as clean as snow. Sometimes we put ourselves down and we criticize ourselves for our mistakes. But God doesn’t see you the way you see yourself. If today’s verse doesn’t really strike you as all that amazing, maybe I can help explain it a little better. The day after it has snowed, when all the clouds have moved out, the sun hitting snow is so bright that you have to put sunglasses on. Thanks to Jesus, we sparkle and shine.
Share in the comments: Is there something with today’s chapter of You Are Redeemed that resonates with you?
Don’t forget to listen to the song for the day!!!!!!! Flawless by Mercy Me
And here is the smartphone wallpaper image for the day:
The Redeemed Challenge – Day 27
Good morning! Today is Day 27 of the Redeemed Challenge! Unfortunately, we live in a broken world. And this means that we will all face difficulties at times. But in today’s chapter of the book, we can see that no matter what we are facing, God will be there holding us up and strengthening us. Whatever you are facing today, do not be discouraged. Do not be dismayed. Keep pressing forward. There is no mountain too big for God. He will see you through whatever you are facing. He will hold you up when you don’t have the strength to hold yourself up. He’s got this. And He’s got you.
Share in the comments: Is there something with today’s chapter of You Are Redeemed that resonates with you?
Don’t forget to listen to the song for the day!!!!!!! I just need U by TobyMac
And here is the smartphone wallpaper image for the day:
Bridget A. Thomas 