26 NOV 2014 :: The day before Thanksgiving

The turkeys are probably in the frig defrosting or brining or waiting to be purchased at the store. :-) Maybe it's ham you are going to eat, or duck, or a big chicken... or more than one. I hope your weekend is filled with joy and lots of good food.

I have been thinking about starting a Journal of Thankfulness... my name for something I heard the other day on a Focus on the Family radio program. The woman that was a guest on the program had a journal that she kept her "Thank you for..." messages to GOD, to help her remember the things that were good in her life.  In a hard time she and her family were passing through, on a terrible day during that hard time, she went to her journal instead of going to that horrid place we can go in our misery and wrote three or more pages of thank you messages.  By that time her heart and mind were changed and life had a better taste than when she started.

I was impressed. I have heard of these kinds of journals before. Some keep a prayer journal, to record their prayers and when (if) GOD answers them. I didn't hear the whole program, just parts about the prayer journal.

I have discovered myself that praying changes our heart toward people we can't seem to get along with, those who hurt us, etc...those we wish GOD didn't have in our lives.  :-)  It is something that changes in our mind, the way we see the problem, and then a way to see the issues through the eyes of GOD.  Writing down our small and large thank you messages lets us look back on those days and see what was important to us.

I wasn't raised in the Protestant church, which is very different than the Catholic worship. Since attending these new churches, and listening to programs with women from them, I have discovered a lot of different ways of celebrating the day.  The tradition in some homes is to go around the table and share something that you are thankful for.  It is a great way to keep your focus on the blessings of GOD, not just the food, and not just the holiday.  I suppose the journal would be even more helpful to keep our faith in the right place.

I hope you think of at least one thing that is a blessing of GOD in your life. 

Maybe one of your New Year's resolutions could be to start next year with a Thankfulness Journal.  :-)