Month: November 2021

Thanksgiving Challenge

Posted on by FZadmin

Thanksgiving Challenge

We’ve spent the month of November talking about our experiences this last year in our journey of Thanksgiving.  For a little over a year now, Peni and I have been sharing three things daily that we are grateful for with each other.  We talked about the change it’s made in our lives in continuing to grow and build an attitude of gratitude, the ease with which we can be grateful for big things, and the hard days, we when have to dig deep to be grateful.  We’ve shared the challenges of the journey, the days that don’t quite go as planned, the busy times when day or even a whole week get lost.  And then we shared the unexpected benefits we discovered along the way.  Continuous connection to each other, when life, distance and COVID make regular visits difficult, if not impossible.  The little insights that maybe wouldn’t make a “prayer request” message, and yet, cause us to stop and pray.  The connection and understanding that a simple statement of thanks brings, and also the understanding of a day of silence.  As we move out of the month of Thanksgiving and into the Christmas season we’d like to invite you into the next season with us.  Make it your own, do it alone or find a friend to share it with (I personally am a big fan of the shared journey).  Make it a journal exercise, or a short list. Put it in a shared note, a text message, a phone call or an email.  There are so many ways technology can be our friend in this, but no matter what method you choose, just start.

Below, our final words of wisdom, experience and advice as you start your journey.

Peni

Investigate your history….what have successful habit changes looked like in the past. Post-it notes on the mirror, alarms on your phone, a journal and pen sitting somewhere prominent.

Extend grace to yourself if there are many start/stops.

Start with someone else where grace and encouragement flow freely between you.

As much as we’d all like to be as eloquent as David most of us aren’t. Don’t limit your praises/thankfuls. I am grateful for seasoning and hot sauce when a meal is bland?

From simple to complex is good. Some days are paragraphs of gratefulness. Some days are a struggle to think of anything and thankfulness for a working water heater so I can take a hot shower is my praise.

Why does it matter? 

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.  – Philippians 4:8

Andschana

 

Just Start – There is no perfect time, place or circumstance.

Partner with someone who will show you grace when you forget but will also hold you accountable and call you back.

There is no “right” answer and therefore no “wrong” one.  Be grateful for the big things, but also the little things, this weekend I was grateful for the opportunity to watch a Christmas movie.

Much like our suggestions here, no two people think and write alike.  I tend to be wordy, Peni is direct.  Your list can be phrases, sentences or whole paragraphs, whatever you need.

Make sure you read the others’ posts and your own.  I’ve learned so much about her life and gained perspective on mine, rereading.

Talk to God about it.  I hate to admit it, but there are days I made the gratitude list and never actually thanked God, maybe more days than I’d like to admit.

Don’t quit.  If you miss a day, a week, or even a month, just pick up and keep going.  You can back fill if you can but if it’s simply been too long, or it feels overwhelming, just pick up and move forward.  Don’t Quit.

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. — 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

 

More Thanksgiving Reflections

Posted on by FZadmin

A Year of Thanksgiving

A Shared Journey

For about a year now, Peni & I (Andschana) have been posting in a shared note on our phones.  Every day we list 3 things we are grateful for. 

I first wrote about this last year during our November month of Thanksgiving, I was amazed at the changes I was seeing in my attitude, perspective, and general heart condition.  You can go back and read those posts in our Blog history if you like.

This year, we’ve decided to spend the next couple weeks reflecting on our experiences, what God has done with this, and invite you do try it out too.

Last week Peni reflected on her experience, this week it’s my turn.  Our experiences are similar yet different.  This was new for me, I didn’t always remember, but I am incredibly blessed to have a friend who challenges me to continue to grow and keep going even when I miss the mark.

 

Reflections from Andschana

About a year ago I was reflecting with my friend about the changes happening in our world, particularly the political and social/cultural upheaval caused by Covid, the resulting closures & isolation, challenges faced by ministries and just a general sense of negativity.  I was writing our blog posts in the month of Thanksgiving, and feeling the pressure to find positives and rays of hope to point to.

She then invited me to share her journey of Gratefulness. She had been regularly recording three things every day to be thankful for. She suggested I try it too, but then added the kicker, we would create a shared note and each post to it daily. This required a level of commitment that I am often reluctant to engage in, hesitant to do things out of habit or ritual, somehow feeling it takes away from the sincerity of the action, but I allowed her to push me out of my comfort zone.

The first month was great.  I found myself regularly noticing the little things to be grateful for.  Noticing them faster during the day, becoming more aware of the little things in life.  Living in the space of expectation and appreciation, instead of worrying or complaining.

As the first month flowed into the next, as the “big” things to be grateful for faded into to smaller things, as it became a challenge to think of “new things” each day, I sometimes felt discouraged.  Much of life is a routine, and daily being grateful for family night, or a good day of work, a good meal or a great sports event, started to feel repetitive and uninspired.  I kept looking for “important” things to be grateful for, but that was really the point.  Gratefulness in the small things leads to a posture of gratitude.  It’s easy to be grateful for the big things, but being grateful for routine, a simple meal, a brief encounter is what really changes your perspective.

I often stopped posting for a day or three, allowing busyness and distraction to get in the way, but Peni was great at inviting me back.  Sometimes I backfilled the missing days, sometimes, I just picked up and moved forward; turns out ritual wasn’t the point, checking all the boxes wasn’t the point, training myself to see the positives was the point – remembering to celebrate Jesus’ gifts in the middle of ugly circumstances was the point.

The added bonus, the one I didn’t really expect, was how connected this also kept me to my friend.  Through distance and closures, travel bans and isolation, we were able to connect regularly.  And those hundreds of small things end up containing much more detail and insight into each others’ lives, than the monthly phone conversations (no matter how long).

Thanksgiving Reflections

Posted on by FZadmin

A Year of Thanksgiving

A Shared Journey

For about a year now, Peni & I (Andschana) have been posting in a shared note on our phones.  Every day we list 3 things we are grateful for. 

I first wrote about this last year during our November month of Thanksgiving, I was amazed at the changes I was seeing in my attitude, perspective, and general heart condition.  You can go back and read those posts in our Blog history if you like.

This year, we’ve decided to spend the next couple weeks reflecting on our experiences, what God has done with this, and invite you do try it out too.

Today, we offer the reflections from Peni.  She’s been doing this longer and was the one who invited me to do it with her.  I am incredibly grateful for this experience, and especially for friends, like her, who challenge me to grow in new ways, and have grace when I don’t remember to do it every day.

 

Reflections from Peni

About a year ago I had a conversation with my friend who was saddened by what seemed to be on every screen of every size. I invited her to join me on a shared note where we would list three things a day that we were grateful to God for.  I had been doing this on my own for about a year prior. It changed how I view the world and I thought it might uplift her. She agreed.

Two years have passed and I can say this habit changed my perspective throughout every day. I wake up to the sounds of birds twittering and think “there’s the first one God”. Then I’m working in the yard and a chameleon decides my leg is its new tree. As soon as I dance, jiggle, and squawk it off of me, I praise God that chameleon’s don’t have teeth that can bite me.  As I have a lazy evening and reflect on my day; there are so many grateful moments that I make myself pick only a few.  

The best thing about sharing our gratefuls is I feel connected to my friend’s life and she mine. I live in Hawaii and she in Colorado. Distance and time zone disparity make it difficult to stay connected like when we lived a few miles from each other. We are honest in our posts so when she is grateful for cold medicine, or a kids x-ray result it guides my prayers of petition. When a kids hard won sports victory or a personal goal is met it guides my prayers of praise. It is a unique bond. I am grateful that she accepted my invitation.

There is so much to be grateful for in a day and once the habit is formed it goes from the superficial to the serious and back again. It is one of the ways I worship my Heavenly Father. The more I do it the more I see His assertion that “it is good”.