Gratitude is valued in our culture as a practice that brings positivity into our lives. There is research supporting its many benefits. At Thanksgiving, it is something Americans can all agree is meaningful! But in an increasingly secular culture, being thankful is often stripped down to be an attitude or practice of noticing the good.
Recently I did a marathon of errands. I usually have a list of errands to do in a trip, so I can be more efficient. As I drove down the road and stopped into Target, a variety of thankfulnesses came to mind: “Thank You for the errands I can get done. Thank You I can walk. Thank You for money to buy groceries. Thank You for clean water.” These are all little, everyday things in my life. But they would not be so little if I didn’t have them! With this burst of thankfulness came a burst of energy. My day is full of good gifts! 
Happy Thanksgiving week, friends! Trusting God opens my eyes to see all the gifts He gives us. I pray the words in this post move you one step closer to trust and gratitude. These thoughts come right out of my journals, from my heart to yours!
Writing these posts has been a gift from God these past months. Ideas and words come to me, and I write them down before I lose them. An analogy comes to me, maybe as I weed or notice the grass growing out-of-control. This has been a joy for me! And then it’s my responsibility to respond, with the attention and work to put it into words. This joy has been somewhat of a surprise to me! 
It’s one of the moments I remember so clearly. I was driving in the car with a dear friend a few months after my father passed away. I had helped my mom sort through his office, deleted his cell number, wept when a military convoy drove by (he was career military), and had been processing “goodbyes” in countless other ways.
“Better is a handful with quietness…” caught my heart as I read Ecclesiastes. It speaks of contentedness, of saying “enough.” One hand is full, while there is still the reality of another hand that is empty. But the focus is on the “handful.” And by saying “enough” comes the gift of quietness and contentedness.
“Better is a handful of quietness, than two hands full of toil and striving after the wind.” ~Ecclesiastes 4:6 (ESV)
Live a Life of Love 