The Noticing Walk

Daily Gratitude Year 14-Day 245: Today, I am grateful for the "noticing walk."

"Go outside and take a ten-minute walk with one mission: notice three things you've never really looked at before. A window shape. A crack in the sidewalk. A bird call. When you return, say aloud, 'The world is wider than I remembered.'"

It is a simple challenge. Anyone can do it. There is a unique gift in opening our eyes to see what around us that goes unnoticed every day. We get so busy with the big picture, that we often neglect the delight in the details. 

The perfect flower bloom, a squirrel on a mission, a determined toddler investigating the world, or a certain shade of blue that makes your soul sing.  

Our God is in the details. He is a noticing God. This scripture has long been a favorite of mine: 

"Lift up your eyes and look to the heavens:
    Who created all these?
He who brings out the starry host one by one
    and calls forth each of them by name.
Because of his great power and mighty strength,
    not one of them is missing." -Isaiah 40:26

Today, I am grateful for the "noticing walk."

Thought Checks

 

Daily Gratitude Year 14-Day 244: Today, I am grateful for thought checks. 

"Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer." -Psalm 19:14

This passage is not just about watching our words, but remembering that our words flow from what is in our hearts. Reframing what we see so that our hearts are in tune with the heartbeat of Jesus. Talk about goal setting! 

King David spoke (or sang) it as a prayer. He knew victories and he knew struggles. He kept trying. 

Whatever the day brings, we can be prayerful about our thought checks as well as our mouth checks. 

Today, I am grateful for thought checks. 

Pumpkin Season

 

Daily Gratitude Year 14-Day 243: Today, I am grateful Pumpkin Season is upon us. 

We live in the Pumpkin Capital of the world and the harvest is in full swing. I love pumpkins! As August turns the page into November, we are only a few weeks from the Morton Pumpkin Festival which provides many pumpkin specialties. 

The hot days are not gone, but they are limited. The crisp temperatures and unique scents of fall begin to fill the air. All with the soundtrack of marching band practice and Friday night football. 

“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens.” -Ecclesiastes 3:1

Today, I am grateful Pumpkin Season is upon us. 

Success

 

Daily Gratitude Year 14-Day 242: Today, I am grateful for a different perspective on success.

The world has a different measuring stick for success than God does. I loved this image that was posted on Pinterest. The wildflowers caught my eye before the quote. The quote is the perfect compliment to the wildflower bouquet. 

"Maybe success isn't having more. Maybe it's having peace, a porch to sit on, people to love, and God at the center of it all."

What more could we possibly want or need? 

There is a special contentment in this combination. Relationships can be complicated and messy, but they are precious, too. 

“Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.” – Ephesians 4:2-3

Today, I am grateful for a different perspective on success.

Gentle Reminders

Daily Gratitude Year 14-Day 241: Today, I am grateful for gentle reminders.

Tim Keller defines an idol as "anything that absorbs your heart and imagination more than God, anything you seek to give you only what God can give." 

We all have that hole in our souls that only a relationship with God can fill. Without His Spirit in us, we get caught up in the desire for more money, more pleasure, more success, and more power. When we kneel in surrender and open our hearts to receive His grace and mercy... everything changes. 

“You must not have any other god but me. “You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea. You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods." -Exodus 20:3-4

His commandment is clear. Everything changes when we seek Him first. My easily distracted condition needs reminders. 

Today, I am grateful for gentle reminders. 

 

Giggle In Your Wiggle

 

Daily Gratitude Year 14-Day 240: Today, I am grateful for the giggle in your wiggle. 

It is Friday! It comes every week, but it is always a reason to pause and give thanks. The weekend is here when the work day ends. 

"May your day begin with a giggle in your wiggle, and end with pep in your step." 

I love a good rhyme and this image hit all the right notes. 

"This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it." -Psalm 118:24

Now make a great choice to start the day. Put some giggle in your wiggle and take on the day. 

Today, I am grateful for the giggle in your wiggle. 

Quiet Healing

 

Daily Gratitude Year 14-Day 239: Today, I am grateful for the healing in quietness.

"There are seasons when we must learn that quiet is not emptiness. Sometimes... it is repair." -image from Pinterest

The beautiful art caught my eye before I read the quote. This is one of those simple thoughts that packs a big impact. We forget the healing power that comes in the quiet times.

“A time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak.” – Ecclesiastes 3:7 

Often when I read that scripture I think about quiet being the opposite of speaking up and speaking out, when it is the right thing to do. In this passage, I think it is so much more. 

Quietness has great value. It is not doing nothing. It is choosing to be still in the storm. It is choosing our response beyond our natural impulses. It is seeking His face in all things and embracing the powerful healing that comes in the quiet seasons. 

Today, I am grateful for the healing in quietness.