Gratitude -- not just for the fourth Thursday in November anymore

For the past few months, I've been challenging you to keep a gratitude journal, a list of everything -- big, small and in between -- that makes you stop and give thanks. In case you missed the challenge, you can read about it at the bottom of this post from August.

We are three weeks away from Thanksgiving (gulp) here in the United States. That little fact may stress you out more than spur thankful thoughts right at the moment, but I hope it will encourage you to spend some time thinking about all you have to be grateful for. Perhaps pondering those blessings in your life will lead to writing them down as a way of keeping a running tab of how rich your life is.

My gratitude journal and favorite pen

I don't write in my gratitude journal every day, though I could if I had more discipline about it. So don't worry if this isn't yet a daily habit for you either. Just get started, and see where your journal takes you.

If you don't want to buy a journal or physically write out a list, try a daily post on Facebook or Twitter about something you're grateful for. Or record your thoughts on your smart phone. I have a friend who has committed to posting a daily gratitude on Facebook for every day of November, and I'm eager to hear from her at the end of the month about her experience keeping this list. The same goes for the rest of you. I'm eager to hear whether keeping a list of what you're grateful for
changes you in any way. Will you complain less and smile more? Will it challenge your pattern of emotions from day to day? Will it comfort you in moments of difficulty?

This month -- every day -- give thanks for the blessings of that day. And keep a record of it. Don't just save it up for the last Thursday in November when you find yourself suddenly tasked with announcing to extended family what you're thankful for.

Keep me posted. I promise a delightful prize for one of my faithful blog readers at the end of this month.

In the meantime, here are a few things I've been grateful for this week:

My friend Jerel's book, which Amazon delivered to my door last Thursday.
I finished reading it last night and loved every bit of it!

A surprise bouquet on a cold, dreary Monday 

Odd to be grateful for so mundane a thing as a phone, but it has let
me hear my sweet husband's voice every day while he has traveled for work.