Weekly Gratitude Journal

I don't think that I'm an anxious person, but I do have my triggers that can cause me to have anxious thoughts. Last night as I went to bed I felt anxious and asked God to show me the root cause. He so graciously showed me a few small things that I let worm their way into my mind and heart. Of course, those small things quickly morph into big "what if" fears if not identified and rooted out. One way God has given us to conquer worry, fear and anxiety is to shift our focus onto God's faithful care for us in the past. David conquered the giant Goliath, not because he was so talented with a slingshot, but because of His trust in the One Who had previously helped him to triumph in his battles against the lion and the bear. (I Samuel 17:34-37  But David said to Saul, “Your servant has been keeping his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it. Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God.  The Lord who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine.”) My years of gratitude journals are not just diaries, they are weapons. They are recorded memories of God's faithful care in my life-from big miracles to small, unexpected blessings. They are the proof that God who has always been faithful in my past will be faithful to the end. 

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Since 2009 I've been counting my blessings thanks to the prompting of Ann Voskamp.

 I continue to count my thanks, 

piling up gratitude day by day in my journal.

(and capturing some of my blessings via my camera or iPhone)

#13,279-#13,306

5-11-2020-

-our second grandson-today is his 6th birthday!

-our whole family together to celebrate his and his brother's birthdays

-"the cousins"

-sweet youngest granddaughter wanting me to play "pony girl" with her

5-12-2020-

-our oldest grandson on his 16th birthday!

-him facetiming me to show me the new shoes he bought with his birthday money

-seeing God's work in answer to prayer

5-13-2020-

-God confirming that it was His leading when I felt led to pray for someone 

and they texted that they were needing prayer right in that moment

-praying with my friend over the phone for her loved ones

-praying together for our nation

-ultrasound photos of our newest grandbaby due in mid June

-watching our middle grandson while our daughter was at her pregnancy check appointment and having lots of fun making play dough together 

5-14-2020-

-digging deep in the book of Daniel

-prayers that I was struggling to get out during my morning quiet time flowing out of me on my walk

-forgiving each other after a day of letting the stress of current events make us grumpy

5-15-2020-

-a slow relaxing morning off

-a phone call from my big sis

-a fun Friday Date Day drive to one of our favorite burger and milkshake stops

-a beautiful walk around the lake

-peonies bursting with buds

5-16-2020-

-listening to encouraging podcasts while cleaning house

-a pitcher full of charmelia

-a powerful time of prayer

-my chunky, cozy soft new blanket

5-17-2020-

-an encouraging comment from my sister

-an answer to prayer

-youngest grandson deciding to call my husband "Pops" instead of "Papa"

-youngest granddaughters big gap-toothed smile

still following,