It’s January 2 and I know that lots of people are thinking of their goals and resolutions for the new year. I normally think more about this topic at what has become our family’s “turning of a year” during the week we spend celebrating our birthdays and anniversary at the Cabin in the mountains. It has become our yearly set time to remember God’s blessings, reflect on His faithfulness, and prayerfully consider our commitments and goals.

But November and December were rough months in many ways for me and my family as we went through 2 ear infections, 3 bouts of the stomach flu, colds, and fevers. For over a month, it just seemed like sickness had decided to camp out in our home. But I am happy to report that it didn’t stay forever. We are all home, well, and healthy as a horse. Unfortunately, there were many hours and days during this “month of sickness” that my attitude reflected my children’s health – it was sick. Sick of being sick and dealing with sickness and other various troubles. There were times I hate to admit I was just plain ol’ pouty. But as most of my blogs report:

But God.

Our family just returned from a wonderful trip to visit his family in Chicago and during this visit, Chesed officially began walking as her preferred means of transportation 🙂 and developed a crush on the Thomas family dog, Max. Grace took her first ever horseback riding lessons, complete with a new helmet and riding boots! These among other things were precious for this Mommy to behold.

Today at nap time I decided to dig into one of my absolute favorite books, The 4:8 Principle. As I read the chapter on Gratitude, I felt my soul literally lifting up from a sigh to a squeal and my spirit resonate with the truth on the pages. I want to share with you one of the many wonderfully quotable passages that stuck out to me:

Gratitude is a conviction, a practice, a discipline…Gratitude involves channeling your energy and attention towards what is present and working rather than what’s absent and ineffective. Gratitude is like a mental gearshift that takes you from turbulence to peacefulness, from stagnation to creativity. Gratitude brings you back to the present moment, to all that is working well in your life right now. Gratitude is the cornerstone of an unstoppable attitude – the 4:8 Principle, p. 173.

Yesterday our family went to the neighborhood park to play in the morning. It was January 1st and 59 degrees and sunny. I pushed Grace on the swing, her laughing and me laughing and she asked me to swing beside her. I gladly did, and as I pumped my legs to go higher and higher the cool, crisp air filled my lungs and the sun danced on the branches of the tree in front of me. I was blissfully happy to be alive, to be free and able to do what I was doing, right then, in that very moment. I was grateful.

And so, my #1 goal of 2012 is to aggressively cultivate a lifestyle of habitual gratitude and praise to God for this one life that I have been given. I have a hunch that in so doing, all other areas of my life will bloom and thrive as well. Would you join me in this quest? If you choose to make gratitude your number one goal of the year, email or message me and let me know! Let’s learn together the treasure that comes from giving thanks in all things.