Abide by beautiful truths and see your life transform.
An interesting point about this statement… promise… concept…
… is that each of us needs to decide what is truth – and what is a beautiful truth,
and then have a strategy to abide (act in accordance with) in that beautiful truth.
What are beautiful truths?
Rob and I are watching (re-watching) episodes of the television series “House“. In this series of episodes, the main character is an acerbic doctor who specializes in diagnostic medicine. Basically, anytime the hospital has a mysterious illness, Dr. House and his colleagues are called in to consult. One truth Dr. House espouses is that “Everybody lies.” By believing this truth, the writers of the television episodes illustrate how it’s impacting his life. (Spoiler – It’s not helping him improve the overall state of his life.) Regardless. Whether his belief is the truth or not, I’d never call it a beautiful truth!
So… what would you call a beautiful truth?
Stumped?
Of course, only you can ultimately decide what a beautiful truth is… but here are some to consider:
Gratitude is the seed of many valuable attributes.
Gentleness is strength under control.
What beautiful truths would you add?
Sometimes we’re in a rut – just plodding through life – or just trying to survive, and we forget that we have control over what we believe and how we act. It’s “just” a case of becoming deliberate.
In this time period of a year (and more) of a global pandemic that has changed all of our lives, we may feel constricted, flattened, maligned, misunderstood, pathless and floundering… However. But. Never forget that there are specific, beautiful truths that we can still live by – regardless (despite the prevailing circumstances).
First: be clear on what you believe is a beautiful truth.
Next: act on that beautiful truth.
Choose ONE beautiful truth, and act on it today.
Which one will you choose? Want a journaling card to print for yourself? See download below…
Have you downloaded the 30 Days of Thankfulness PDF with all the prompts? It’s available HERE!
And now for the Giveaway winner for the 30 Days of Thankfulness! I had created this pocket with tags and journaling cards and wanted to give it to someone who commented on one of the posts in October! Here’s what that person will receive:
After going through all the comments and writing down the names, I printed a document and cut out each name, folded them and put them in a bowl… then I drew out one piece of paper!
I’ll be contacting the winner via email and sending her the package. I wish you all a wonderful November filled with many, many reasons to be thankful.
Remember: everyone and anyone can download the free Ebook with 30 prompts to document what’s good in life!
What, in your future, are you thankful to be able to anticipate?
I must say, that the older I get, the shorter my list becomes. We (my husband and I) have done and owned many things on our list of goals. Some we are happy about, and others leave room for improvement.
Regardless, I’m still thankful.
But what about the future?
As I write this, I think about you – the person who will read this. I’m grateful you will read my words and hope they have a positive impact.
Sometimes the future we’re anticipating is simply the joy of sharing a meal with those we love. Sometimes it’s a grand future that’ll take many, many years to accomplish. Regardless, we can be thankful to anticipate any future at all. For all of us, it will come to an end.* Grab hold of what you can anticipate, and be grateful!
Make a list of all the small things you’re anticipating for your future. And if it’s a huge anticipation, then make sure you note every small part of it!
Be thankful for the future!
Wow! We’re almost done 30 days of Thankfulness! One more to go… Leave a comment and… click here to learn more!
Thankful for your body – from head to toes and everywhere between. If you’re at all like me, there are parts of your body that you don’t like and don’t feel much gratefulness for…
and yet…
Yet.
I have two hands and two feet. My head sits comfortably on my neck and shoulders. I’m typing these words so my fingers work, my brain is active, and my thoughts are (somewhat) organized. I’ve eaten lunch and it’s sitting comfortably in my stomach. I have faith that it will nourish me. And then, what I don’t need will pass through.
Even though my body is not perfect and parts are feeling their age, I do value it.
I am thankful to be able to use my body to the degree I can.
What about you?
Spend a few moments thinking about all the parts of your body – those you can see and those that are hidden under the skin. We take for granted when they work and moan and groan and worry when they don’t.
Start at the top of your head and work your way down to your toes… make a list of all the parts of your physical body you’re thankful for and why.
(Just for now, ignore what is a problem. Instead, focus on what IS working!)
Let’s be thankful for our body!
We are coming to the end of this series of articles on Thankfulness. This is the 28th out of 30…
At the end of October 2020, everyone can download a free document with all the prompts on Thankfulness along with some digital extras.
But there’s more! One person with a USA mailing address will win a handmade package of journaling cards and tags – to enter just leave a comment on one of the posts in this series. November 2nd, 2020 I’ll draw a random winner from those who comment.
Reminder? I have a number of photos from my history that, when I look at them, a huge sense of thankfulness wells up. They’re a reminder of all the good in my past…
One is a photo of my grandparents. They’d been living in a tent for a year as they cleared land and built a house in Northern Ontario, Canada. They were city people, transplanted with their 10-year-old son (my father) to the wilderness. They read books to learn how to farm. That photo humbles me and fills me with gratitude. Would I have had the courage it took to do that? And when I reflect on how I’ve benefited because of their sacrifices… it humbles me. And fills me with great thankfulness.
Another photo I have is of our children when we were homeschooling. It represents the freedom to learn and to come-and-go as we needed. I’m thankful for that time with them.
What photos are you thankful you have as a reminder of something good?
And maybe what you’re thankful for are not photos.
Maybe the reminder is a letter, or a drawing or a knick-knack… My mom moved from her apartment and so many of the items would not have been precious to you or me, however what was important to her were the memories attached to each item that reminded her of the people who gave them to her.
Consider.
What would you grab if you needed to leave your home quickly because of a natural disaster? What reminder is too precious to be without – not because it has a monetary value, but because it makes you feel thankful?
Make a list if there’s more than one reminder…
Many times our feeling of thankfulness can be increased if we consider why we have the items we own… they may be reminders!
This post is part of the 30 Days of Thankfulness. Have you read any of the other posts?
Have you subscribed to PositiveThanksLiving.com? At the end of October 2020 you’ll have the opportunity to download the entire 30 days of Thankfulness ebook. And one person will…
Being served – in other words, not doing it yourself – is a privilege.
When someone does something for us, without prompting or expectation, we are usually thankful. When people serve above and beyond expectation it’s highly lauded – in the press, in stories and song.
However, that’s not what I’m asking you to look at today…
I’m not referring to those who do more than we expect.
Rather, what about all those people in our life who do their job and it benefits us in small, seemingly inconsequential ways… perhaps we almost don’t notice their service?
(Or, worse than not noticing, we are critical…)
Are you thankful when people meet your needs as part of their “job”?
The most obvious way we demonstrate we value service is when someone gives us our food in a restaurant. We leave them a “tip” according to how we feel they performed. However, when you leave your monetary extra with the cost of the bill, are you thankful for their service? Or do you expect good service because you’re paying for it…?
The other day I picked up an online order of groceries. I drove to the store and a young fellow brought them to my truck through torrential rain. He was obviously soaked. And yet he was cheerful, as he did the exact job he’d been hired to do. However, I can honestly say that I felt a huge sense of gratitude. He was doing his job – but his work made my life easier.
Take a mental walk through your week.
How many people served your needs as part of their job, and you merely expected it, giving it little value in your mind/heart?
(Or, perhaps you criticized their performance, even if it was only in thought… I wonder if we devalue other’s work when we dismiss it because we believe we could have done it better ourselves… — Maybe you’ve never done that… Food for thought?)
Maybe the person providing service was your spouse — they put gas in your vehicle or carried out the trash, or made the bed… and you might have noticed, but did you really feel thankful?
Perhaps it was the maintenance worker who was filling the holes in the street or picking up trash or the group of workers who were improving where you live.
Or the minister who prayed with you, or for you. (You might not even have known – but I suspect there are more praying for you than you believe.)
What about the mail carrier or Amazon Prime Package Person?
Or the health-care scheduler who phoned to make your next doctor’s appointment.
You get the idea, right?
Make a list of all the people who have served your needs this week – and really dwell on their value. And experience how appreciative you are of their work because it means you don’t have to do it all yourself.
(I haven’t filled any holes in the road, re-connected my own electricity, cleaned out my own sewage line, hauled water from a well, or chopped wood to heat my home this week.)
If you’re honest with yourself, you’ll realize how many, many, many people contribute to your well-being…
And yes, it may be their job.
However.
Feel grateful that you live in a world where your needs are met…
Be thankful you have the privilege of being served…
...in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
On October 31st the entire “30 Days of Thankfulness” series will be available for download in PDF form, along with some digital extras to print out.
You can, if you’d like, to go back through (at any time) and make your own “Gratitude Journal”. It could be a simple as a notebook, or you could make your own journal. The “what” doesn’t matter as much as your words do! In addition, one person will win this...
If I were to use Gary Chapman’s theory of “The Five Love Languages”*, I’d say that:
a gift,
or a specific time spent with us,
or a hug,
or when someone did something for us,
or when someone said certain words to us
one- or more – of these actions – made us feel loved.
To feel loved in life is precious.
We can be profoundly grateful for the experience of feeling loved.
What times in your life – what happened – to make you feel loved?
Play the experience out in your mind… imagine it happening again.
If you can think of more than one experience of feeling loved, were there correlations?
Let’s list all the times you felt loved.
Too often we play back the negatives over and over… let’s use our time to consider the positives. Feeling loved is one…
“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable–if anything is excellent or praiseworthy–think about such things.”
Have you subscribed to PositiveThanksLiving.com? At the end of October 2020 you’ll have the opportunity to download the entire 30 days of Thankfulness ebook. And one person will…
* Gary Chapman is a marriage and family therapist who is the founder/originator of the concept of the five love languages. It’s the idea that we all speak one of five different “Love Languages” and if you’re not feeling loved by those closest to you – or they aren’t feeling loved, there’s a good chance you aren’t speaking to them in the way they translate into love. Sound simplistic? It is. However, it’s often the most simple ideas that have the most bang. (Rob and I recommend this theory to every couple, parent, and person – it’s made a huge difference in many people’s lives… ) Go HERE to learn more!
They’re the intangibles we see in others, that we want for ourselves. Everyone is different – yet many of us strive for similar values.
Do you see the ones you admire in others?
Do you see them in yourself?
Are there ones you don’t want, and would never feel thankful for…?
For which qualities, values and virtues are you thankful?
Rob and I decided a long time ago that the three values we’d work toward in our life together would be loyalty, optimism, and discovery. We are thankful whenever we can share aspects of these qualities with each other and experience them in others.
Other virtues we are thankful for – in ourselves and others – are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. And more. (If you’re wondering, they’re from HERE.)
You can’t touch or own any of these virtues.
They can’t be bought.
And sometimes they’re fleeting.
Yet, at every time, we’ve been thankful when we experience them.
What qualities, values, and virtues are important to you?
Can you make a list of the virtues, qualities, and values you would be thankful to experience in others? Or nurture in yourself?
This article is the 24th of 30 ways to document how you’re thankful. Here are are few more:
On October 31st the entire “30 Days of Thankfulness” series will be available for download in PDF form, along with some digital extras to print out.
You can, if you’d like, to go back through (at any time) and make your own “Gratitude Journal”. It could be a simple as a notebook, or you could make your own journal. The “what” doesn’t matter as much as your words do! In addition, one person will win this...
Social media is filled with memes to inspire. We have phrases and quotes printed, painted, and created as art – and then we display them in our environment.
Words have power.
What words and phrases have an impact on your heart? Do you have favorite poetry that speaks to your soul? Which words or quotes have played a part in your life that make you thankful you had them – at that time?
Make a list of these powerful words.
And if you find this prompt for thankfulness difficult, reach out to gather ideas from your friends and family… think of song lyrics, or a homey “saying” a relative had. As a Christian, I treasure different Scripture verses and hymn phrases. They bring me great thankfulness.
As an example of this idea, I remember watching a movie where the heroine had a book from her mother filled with inspiring thoughts. Her mother had passed into eternity, yet the heroine had that book filled with words to draw close to what her mother felt important.
Inspiration
Could you create a book filled with words and phrases that inspire you? Start with this prompt to be thankful… begin with one inspiring phrase.
Talking about inspiration – in August and September I spent time creating journaling cards with hymn lyrics, and then little booklets as a home for those cards.
Destination: Where do you look forward to going — and arriving?
It could be a vacation destination. Or the destination could be your home. It could be a place in the world. Or the destination could represent something you had in the past, but no longer have… but going there (even imagining going there) brings a sense of joy.
Grateful to get there.
For five years we lived near Dallas, Texas. I remember returning from trips late in the evening and seeing the iconic Dallas skyline. The view became an indication of the life we had in that city. And I felt an overwhelming sense of awe and thankfulness every single time. We haven’t lived in Dallas for more than a decade, but I still remember with thankfulness that destination experience.
On my 50th birthday, we stayed at a place called “Lion’s Head” on the Bruce Peninsula in Ontario Canada. Rob arranged the trip because the destination holds a dear spot in my heart. Growing up, every June we’d camp there. The travel and arrival at Lion’s Head meant the beginning of summer. And 50 years later I still have a joyful sense of gratitude when I think of that destination.
What about you?
Are there places in this world where, when you get there, you’re thankful? What and where are they?
This is part of the 30 Days of Thankfulness – at the end of October 2020, everyone will have the opportunity to download the entire document – almost a book at 8000+ words – with all the prompts. In addition, one person will… Click Here to find out!
Are you thankful for work? Just as we’re thankful for play, we also can be thankful for the work we do.
Thankful for work you do…
As an example, I’m thankful to do laundry. Sound nuts? Are you shaking your head at me? Well, I had a lovely experience of traveling and living full-time in an RV for a number of years. One thing I missed was my own laundry machines. Now, I have some again, and I am immensely thankful to do the work of laundry in my own space with my own machines. That “work” is fun for me.
How about you?
For what “work” in life have you felt a deep gratitude?
Perhaps it’s a career you’ve worked hard to enter, and the path to that career wasn’t all fun. But now… well, you’re very thankful to do that work.
Maybe it’s a role in life which you’ve longed for… being married, being a parent, etc. Yet through the work of being and doing what’s necessary for that role, and even though some of it is hard, you feel an immense thankfulness.
Or it could be a simple case of being remunerated financially for the labor you do. For those who have experienced long (or short) periods of unemployment, finding a job which can pay the bills feels greatly satisfying. And there’s a huge thankfulness from having income to meet basic needs because you’re doing that work.
Make a list of all the work you’re thankful you can/could do!
Make a list of all the work you’ve been thankful for over the course of your life… I’m guessing you might feel quite optimistic once you see it all written down.
This post is part of the 30 days of thankfulness – have you read some of the other posts? Here are a few:
At the end of October 2020, the entire document with all 30 prompts will be available to download. There’s also the opportunity to win something… click here to read more.
Do you have one game that you’d choose over any other?
Thankful to Play!
Our little grandson is learning checkers. It’s the precursor to teaching him chess… Our son enjoys video-games. My husband loves solitaire as a way to decompress. As a family, we’ve played many games including UNO, Scrabble, and Monopoly.
Maybe these kinds of games aren’t your choice – maybe your preference is an active game like soccer, tennis, or baseball.
It’s important to play.
Play is something that’s not serious. It has no impact on our life except as an enjoyment. Play is something many of us leave behind when we’re adults… but we don’t have to!
Think about all the games you enjoyed as a child.
Could you make a list?
Now, what’s your favorite?
What are ten favorite games? Which ones could you pull out and play today? Thankful to play!
This post is part of the 30 days of thankfulness – have you read some of the other posts? Here are a few:
At the end of October 2020 I’ll be giving away a document with all 30 prompts – and one person with a USA mailing address will win a physical journaling pocket filled with all kinds of tags (see the video HERE). All you need to do is leave a comment below to be entered to win.
However, everyone can have a free copy of the digital document!
Be prompted to be positive via email- to remind you that you're loved, to be thankful, of encouraging and to be encouraged and of setting and achieving goals. That's Positive ThanksLiving!
Excellent! I'm looking forward to prompting you to be positive. Let's do this! (Check your email.)
