An Attitude of Gratitude

By Peggy Rice

I’ve had a Gratitude Journal for over 10 years – just a little 5”x8” spiral notebook where I started writing down daily blessings.

2013

I started in January. For that month, I recorded 6 times. So clearly not a daily habit!

In February, I read a daily devotional called Choosing Gratitude – Abounding in Thanksgiving, and I took notes in this same journal, writing down Scripture verses about thanking God for what I was learning.  I wrote for 7 days.

I recorded 3 times in March.

I picked the devotional back up in April and wrote once, before I was distracted by a different book about gratitude. In April, I read Ann Voskamp’s 1000 Gifts. I was challenged by her practice of recording daily blessings – writing down the things that bring us joy – gifts from God that point us to His grace and generosity. So on April 11, I began strong – 5 days in a row. Then jump to May, and I picked the journal up again, and wrote twice. Then once in August. 11 times in October, because my therapist encouraged me to try again. 8 writings in November. 3 times in December.

2014

Nothing written in January 2014. Once in February, March, and April, each. Strong again in June and July. Then nothing for 6 months…

2015

Nothing written again until February 2015, when I dug the journal out of the back of my nightstand drawer and started again. On and off through November.

August 2017- August 2022

No gratitude recorded for all of 2016 – didn’t start again until August of 2017. 1 ½ years without recording my thankfulness! But then I did pretty well in 2018 – 2022, at least several times per month, sometimes weeks in a row!

There were a few “tricks” I discovered:

• having the journal handy, not letting it get buried by books on my nightstand, or pushed off to the side; for a while, I kept it next to my bathroom sink, where I’d write in it when I was done brushing my teeth at night.
• not requiring myself to write several things – just one was ok.
• it doesn’t have to be daily (though that might be best) – but consistency is important.

But life gets messy, my nightstand gets messy, and the journal was relegated to the far-right corner, away from my pillow. And there it sat for all of 2023. Nothing recorded. Again.

2024

I’m writing in my Gratitude Journal these days. I dug it out and put it next to my chair at the kitchen counter – where I sit to do my Quiet Time, eat my lunch, make my phone calls. It’s often in my way – which is a good thing! Then I write in it!

*****

So why is this important?

• Because expressing gratitude is known to be an excellent deterrent to depression and anxiety (Nicola Petrocchi & Alessandro Couyoumdijian, 2015; Iodice, Malouff, Schutte 2021, among many others).  A person can’t express gratitude and have an attitude of depression/anxiety in a simultaneous moment! The heart can’t hold both at the exact same time. One gives over to the other, even if just for the few seconds it takes to write down thanksgiving in a notebook.
• God tells us to be thankful: “…give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” (I Thess 5:18)  It’s God’s will for us! You want to know what God wants from you? For one thing, He wants you to be thankful!
• Gratitude to God for what He’s given us reminds us of who He is: He’s our Provider (Phil 4:19), our Sustainer (Psalm 54:4), the Giver of All Good Gifts (James 1:17).

Obviously, I’m not the expert at recording daily gratitude. But I’m trying. And I know that when I focus on God’s blessings to me, even the littlest thing (something as small as noticing the bee on the bloom), it lifts my eyes to Him, puts my focus back on Him, reminds me of His love and care for me.

So I’ll keep trying. Keep writing. Keep thanking.

(Side note: at some point, I went back to the very beginning of my journal and started numbering each gratitude I’d recorded. My goal is 1000, like in Ann Voskamp’s book. I’m currently at 859.)

Peggy has been involved with Fresh Hope as a Group Facilitator for 5 years and as the Hope Coach trainer for 3. You can reach her at peggy@freshhope.us