Start Your Day with Gratitude – Disturbing the World

“Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.” – Psalm 100:4, NIV

Some mornings, it’s hard to enter God’s throne room with a grateful heart. Maybe you overslept because your alarm clock didn’t wake you or perhaps you had repeated nightmares or maybe one of your kids was up sick all night.

On the mornings it’s hardest to practice gratitude, that’s when it’s the most important that you do it! If you’re struggling to be grateful, try one of these activities:

Journal.

Dial into your five senses and use them to help you journal. Make a list like “I’m grateful that I can hear…” then list 4-5 things you can hear right now. For example, you might put the birds chirping outside your bedroom window, your child’s laughter, or the hiss of your coffee pot as it brews.

Create a gratitude jar.

Each morning, take a second to write down something you’re grateful for. Focus on just one thing and write it down on a slip of paper. Put your slip into your gratitude jar. Then at the end of the year, you’ll be able to read through 365 things you gave thanks for.

Practice the ABCs of gratitude.

You can do this exercise anywhere and it doesn’t require much time. Simply start listing what you’re grateful for by letter. For example, you might say, “I’m grateful for the cool morning Air, the warmth of my Bed, the feel of my soft Clothes, etc”.