I am Thankful that I'm done Christmas Shopping!!

I only have a couple gifts certificates to buy and I'm done! YA-HOO! I still haven't decorated the house, but I'm DONE shopping! Hopefully the house will get done by Monday. :-)

Today is the last day of November, it has been a good exercise this month to have all my post be Thankful posts. What have I learned...or been reminded of once again?

1) That thankfulness is a choice.
2) Even in the midst of painful circumstances there are reasons to be thankful.
3) God gives us blessings every single day. Yes, some days we may need to look harder but they are there.
4) God looks for ways to bless us in big and small ways, again we need to be mindful.
5) When my heart is focusing on thankfulness it's harder to be discontent.
6) When my heart is thankful I "see" life differently. I focus on the positive more.

I'm sure there are more....

I think the biggest thing I realized was how often I forget to thank God for the daily blessings. The little things, like just being with us, His grace, His peace and love. I know those aren't "little" things but we don't often think of them through our day...or at least I don't.
It's easy to be thankful (and mindful) for our family, health, homes, food etc...but how many times do we (do I) stop and thank God for the daily spiritual blessings He gives. His Spirit that gives strength, comfort, peace, etc...

Oh God thank you for taking me on this journey of being Thankful. I pray that my heart may be even more mindful of your blessings. I pray that I would choose to alway be thankful, even in the midst of life's storms. Oh God I pray that Your Spirit would convict my spirit during those times when I am focusing on me and my circumstances instead of focusing on You and Your many blessings. Amen.