Today I’m going to do something here on the blog that I don’t often do. I’m going to talk a little about myself. While I don’t do this often because I truly want to be more helpful for you all, I’m hopeful that today’s post will provide a little inspiration for you.
While we all have our struggles in life, there are so many ways that we are truly blessed and it’s important to remember those, especially when life is hard.
Today I want to share with you my top 3 things I’m grateful for as well as 5 things I’m doing to encourage myself to remember these blessings daily.
- I’m so incredibly blessed to be saved by grace through faith by my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. “And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.” – 2 Corinthians 5:15
- I’m blessed to be married to my best friend and the man of my dreams. It only took us 7 weeks to go from first date to engaged. We were blessed beyond measure to find each other. For that I’m eternally grateful.
- I have two beautiful, smart, energetic, and hilarious boys. Both were planned by God in his timing, one unexpected and the other through many prayerful tears. Both a blessing and a joy.
There are 5 things I’m doing to encourage myself to remember my blessings daily. I hope you find some ways to help encourage and inspire yourself to do the same. 🙂
1. Create Small Daily Reminders
Try to have little reminders of encouragement scattered around you throughout the day. You could simply write a short message or reminder on a post-it note and hang it on your bathroom mirror.
Hang inspirational words or Bible verses on the walls of your home as daily reminders. I like to create these on my own using scrap wood, some stain, and a little acrylic paint, but if you aren’t crafty or don’t like to DIY Etsy has a ton of signs in just about any phrase or verse you could imagine.
One of my favorite ways to bring joy back into my life is to wear words and phrases on graphic tees. As a stay-at-home mom, I live in jeans and a t-shirt so it’s so easy for me to find encouragement this way. Plus, it’s always a conversational piece when I go places!
With Thanksgiving fast approaching, I’m in love with my Grateful Thankful Blessed tee from Cents of Style. It is the perfect way for me to be reminded throughout the day to live a life filled with gratitude.
Through Sunday November 6th, you can get this adorable and inspirational shirt for FREE with any order of $25 or more from Cents of Style. Just use code THANKFUL1 at checkout to get this shirt FREE plus FREE SHIPPING! 🙂
2. Exercise
Okay, I’m not the best at staying consistent with this. But I really do try and I find it’s a great thing to do to clear the mind.
Especially as moms, we don’t often have time by ourselves without a little one hanging onto us at all waking hours. Carving out even a small amount of time a few days a week will give you time to yourself, increase your happiness through all of those endorphins, and really allow you to meditate on all of the reasons you are grateful.
3. Keep a Gratitude Journal
I do my best to keep a gratitude journal to help me remember my blessings. While it’s not something I’m consistent with on a daily basis, it does bring me joy and lifts my spirits when I’m unhappy.
If you don’t keep a journal, try just writing down your blessings in a small notebook or in your planner. Pull that out each night before you go to bed or first thing in the morning. A gratitude journal doesn’t have to be extensive. You can simply make a list or write a few sentences about things you are grateful for from that day.
4. Count Your Blessings Each Day
As a Christian family, we pray every night before we eat dinner to thank God for the food He has provided for us. Just recently we have been convicted to teach our children (and instill more firmly in ourselves) a stronger sense of gratitude. We now go around each night at dinner and say one thing we are thankful for from that day. This has really been a great way for us to be reminded of all of the things we are truly blessed with in this world.
You might not want to count your blessings at the dinner table. Maybe you use your gratitude journal instead. Or you could just think of a handful of things you are grateful for as you fall asleep at night. It doesn’t matter how you go about doing it. Just try to remember them daily.
5. Pray
I’m a Christian women and very much know the power of prayer. Prayer can change things, your happiness included. God doesn’t always answer our prayers the way we hope for, but he always listens. He is always there. If you are struggling with happiness, I challenge you to add prayer to your daily routine .
I truly hope you have a very blessed Thanksgiving and get to spend it with those you love. Thank you for being a loyal reader. I’m so very blessed by each and every one of you. Each email, comment, or response in any way makes my day. I hope you know how much I’m grateful for you.
Becky says
Kaitlin I love this post!!! I am at the end of my first Bible study at church and I can honestly say that has helped me feel more blessed and thankful. We are working through the book of Colossians and working on living an intentional life. It has helped me really focus on the things I am thankful for and on my purpose. It has truly been so amazing! This is such a great post for November! Thanks for being so inspirational! Love your site!!
Becky recently posted…10 Reasons Why You Should Reduce Monthly Bills
Kaitlin says
Thanks for the kind words Becky. Colossians is one of my favorite books of the Bible. 🙂 I’m so glad that your Bible study is such an encouragement to you!