365 Days of Grace and Gratitude

It was an overly warm Fall day, and I was sitting on the patio with my best friend–completely unsure of what the future was going to look like. Being unfortunately all too familiar with trauma and chaos, the aftermath of those things, and the necessity of healing from those things, she looked at me and asked me one simple question: What’s the worst thing that could happen here?

I remember dancing around that question for a bit, unsure of how to answer it.

As I thought out some answers, she consistently responded with the same question again–so, that’s the worst thing that could happen here?

I would think about it for a few minutes and throw out another answer. Faithfully, she would ask again–so, that’s the worst thing that could happen here? Until finally, we arrived at the “worst-case scenario.”

And, then, she looked at me and said, “And, if that happens, then what?” 

I remember looking at her as if she had momentarily lost her mind. 

Still, we continued to talk through this worst-case scenario and what would happen as a result of it until all of a sudden, life seemed much calmer and much more manageable.

See, I don’t think most of us trend toward that line of thinking.

I think most of us trend toward mulling over chaos and trauma over and over and over again without ever really accomplishing anything in that mulling. But, that Fall evening, I learned to think differently, and it’s something I’ve tried to institute into my world every time it feels like the sky is falling.

I don’t just use it in my own life, though, I tend to throw it out there when other people are in their own times of trauma and crisis. I think Kate and Russ probably hate hearing those words come out of my mouth! There’s something about being able to slow down the runaway train that’s our thoughts, though. There’s something about being able to put the brakes on that train enough to slow it down before it completely veers off the tracks that is a saving grace.

I’m gonna go out on a limb here and suggest that too many of us are living our lives on that runaway train–completely unable to pump the brakes, bring that train to a manageable speed, and keep the train steadily on the tracks.

There are so many reasons why:

• We’re so busy being the All-American parents we’ve completely lost sight of our priorities.

• We’re so overwhelmed with the ingrained need to be perfect, to meet everyone’s expectations, and to perform a certain way to meet our church’s standards that we don’t even know who we are anymore.

• Our relationships are in dire straights, but we’re so busy putting on the masks of marital perfection and bliss that we don’t ever take the time to truly assess the dysfunction.

• Our jobs consume us so much we don’t even have time to spend with our spouses or families and, honestly, don’t even know them anymore.

• We have so many questions about the church, religion, and spirituality that we don’t even feel comfortable in the church that once felt so familiar to us.

• We’re living from paycheck to paycheck so much so that one flat tire, one broken furnace, or one lost shingle could put us on the verge of bankruptcy.

There are so many more…

It’s pretty hard to live a life of gratitude when our lives are one step away from disaster, when chaos is our norm, when our minds can’t slow down enough to even sleep, and when we’re facing those worst-case scenarios, isn’t it?

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#Blessed

If you’ve been around here for any length of time, then I’m sure it won’t surprise you that I’m not a fan of the whole #blessed phenomenon. If you searched #blessed on Instagram right now, you would find a really interesting collection of cars, shirtless men, date night images, outfits, close-ups of anatomy, and a few posts about God sprinkled in here and there. 

Here’s the thing–it’s like our world has taught us that we have to either be a complete train wreck or #blessed, and the image we’re “supposed” to put out there for the world to see is the #blessed image–even if we’re trying desperately to keep the train on the tracks.

If we’re all being honest, though, I’d say most of us are some interesting combination of trainwreck and #blessed, so maybe we should start referring to ourselves as blessed trainwrecks! Can we get that trending? #blessedtrainwreck

While there is a definite danger in painting your life as #blessed at all times, there is just as much danger in only seeing the trainwreck. As is the case for most things in life, there’s beauty in balance.

And, that’s where gratitude comes in.

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A Life of Gratitude

Last week when God kept nudging me to write about gratitude, I couldn’t shake the fact that gratitude needs to be more than something we practice on Thanksgiving–if we even pause our eating long enough to be thankful!

I couldn’t help but think that our lives would look so much different if we started each day with five minutes of gratitude–that maybe instead of sitting down to watch the news or scroll through social media, we should sit with God for a few minutes and acknowledge what we’re grateful for, even if it’s just one thing. 

But, then I kept coming back to the parts of our lives that are trainwrecks–the parts that force us to think about the “worst-case scenarios” and what might happen in those, the chaotic parts, the parts that keep us teetering on the edge hoping we can find a way to hang on. 

Immediately, my mind back to David.

I’ve said this before, and I’m sure I’ll say it again–I love David. 

I love David because he was such a flawed human, an amazing warrior, an authentic poet, a transparent pray-er, and a man after God’s own heart. 

David is my spirit animal.

As I was pondering these moments of chaos and my bible boyfriend, David, it occurred to me how the Psalms helped me walk through some of the most difficult days of my life. Then, it hit me that beginning the day with just a quick glimpse of who David says God is as well as purposefully acknowledging what we’re grateful for is a great way to balance out the trainwreck and the blessings!

I spent some time going through the first 50ish Psalms and pulling out a verse or two for each day. Then, I combined those with a place for reflection on the verse as well as a place to list your gratitude. The result: 365 days of God’s grace and our gratitude.

And it’s yours. 

For free. 

So, what do you say, folks?

Let’s make 2024 a year where we calm the chaos and we focus on God’s goodness, grace, and our gratitude.

Who’s with me?

You can download your copy here! It’s FREE and it’s a FILLABLE PDF. 

1. Download the pdf.

2. Open the pdf.

3. Tap the share button.

4. Swipe left over the icons until you find Books–you might have to tap the more icon.

5. Save the pdf in Books.

6. You can complete the day and bookmark where you left off!

Friends, I can’t tell you how much I believe starting your day reflecting on God’s goodness and grace and your own gratitude is going to change your life!

I can’t wait to hear all about it!

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