Grateful, Thankful

I can’t believe how fast we got to Thanksgiving week! Unbelievable! So many things to be grateful and thankful for. However, in a mind where rumination exists this could be a time of turmoil as the holidays approach.  What can we do to counterattack that mindset? We can begin by working diligent to flush out those thoughts and focus on the positive.  There is always something to be grateful and thankful for. Even in the lack.

As Apostle Paul wrote:

Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.  Philippians 4:11-12

No matter what season we go through we learn how to be content. This is a state of inner peaceful happiness.  Instead of thinking so much on the things that we do not have or have been negative, we have to think of what we have left and what is positive. There’s life that continues for us and we need to find purpose in that. We can live again, laugh again and love again.

What are we grateful for? What are the things that we can appreciate in our life? There are family, friends and fellowship.  There are people that still love us tremendously. There are friends that need your words, your hugs and your time.  There are people that we can fellowship with and share encouraging words through times like this. We just have to come out of a state of inactivity to where we are actively seeking the good.

We have to nourish our mind. Not the pain, not the past and not with the things we can do nothing about.  We are grateful to have had wonderful memories.  We appreciate them. Now we also have the capacity to make new ones.

There is also a big world for us to travel upon.  The many places our eyes have not seen to remind us of all the beautiful things that exist.  Places to visit, coffee shops to sit in and landmarks to view.  This is all for us.  We just need to invest the time in travel because there is such a value in viewing new things.

What are we thankful for?  What are we pleased and relieved about?  I am pleased and relieved that I got through MANY difficult obstacles in life. Which leads me to believe that no matter which ones come my way, there is going to always be a way out.  Look at how far I have come. Look at how far YOU have come. We are not the same people, we are stronger! We become a better version of us.

We learn how to move away from rumination, which is the process of deep thought.  It is where we encourage negative thinking. We feed it. We keep it alive. We care for it and continue to give it life rather then let it die out.

“If you start looking for good news, you will find it everywhere.”
Renew: Breaking Free from Negative Thinking, Anxiety & Depression
Julie Winter 

So let’s start seeking the good. We find that in His word and we find that by changing our thoughts to reflect heavily and purposefully on what we are grateful and thankful for this holiday season.  Some people don’t even have a warm plate of food, but we do and we can help someone get theirs.  They will be grateful and thankful for YOU!

Happy Thanksgiving to all. Remember not to eat too much. 🙂 #justfortoots

With Love,

Christina