The Contentment Project: Week 3.

It's Thanksgiving week! One of my favorite weeks of the year. Growing up, my memories surrounding this holiday consist of traveling to either Ohio or St. Louis to celebrate with family. The people, the food, the fun times and games... these were the best parts of joining together to fellowship with loved ones. The last few years have been different as we haven't traveled out of state. Our Thanksgiving traditions have changed because we have our 2 immediate families close by that we are able to see within the same day. I recognize this as a huge blessing! Now things are even more different this year as we are experiencing things as a family of 3 for the first time- and we have our own little Turkey to be thankful for! I'm getting so excited to start our own traditions for holidays and other special times (birthdays!), and while Lucy is still a little too young for most of them, there is one that I definitely want to start this year (mostly because I need it, ha!).

I've named it Attitude of Gratitude Week. This may already be a thing, but I'm going to use this phrase and start something new for our family. My thought behind the idea is that it's one thing to say you're thankful for something, and it's another thing to actually be thankful for something and show it in your attitude and actions. (At least this is difficult for me...) Saying you're thankful for things is very good and should definitely be happening on a regular basis. However, to make it more challenging, I'm going to try to implement an action along with each aspect of thankfulness. This is going to take some brainstorming and some creativity, but I think it will be fun, and will have a great outcome in our heart-attitudes. Want to join?

Come up with 5 things you're thankful for and think of 5 practical actions to go along with them. 

Do one each day Monday-Friday (or since Monday is almost over, Tuesday-Saturday :). For example, I wrote a note to a friend today to share how thankful to the Lord I am for her. Simple, intentional and not focused on me. Less stuff, more Jesus.

Challenge:

See above! "Attitude of Gratitude" week! This will be fun :)

Weekly Scripture Memory:

"Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him." Colossians 3:15-17

Encouragement:

How did last week go, with no extra spending and no extra Social Media/Email checks?? To be honest, it didn't go as well as I had hoped it would for me. I was distracted this past week by several difficult things going on and let my self-discipline slip. Initially I used the circumstances as an excuse not to deny myself those time-wasters. I felt that I "needed" a distraction but I was convicted and realized that I was just causing myself to miss out on the growth that could've happened if I had replaced the time wasters (i.e. internet, tv, social media) with face-to-face conversations, prayer time, Scripture reading, etc. I'm starting fresh this week... and I'm so thankful for God's grace! 

Happy Thanksgiving! I hope you have a wonderful week celebrating God's lavish blessings!




Artwork from Pinterest.