Hiya!

Welcome back to the 30 Days of Gratitude challenge. Here’s hoping your week started out great. If it didn’t, just kick back and relax.

Day 26: Help a Neighbor Out

This could be your actual neighbor in terms of who lives next to you. Or as Jesus described in Luke 10:36, your neighbor is anyone around you who needs your help.

I was fortunate to help a neighbor dog-sit for a day. I’ll confess, this was also beneficial for me as I’ve been considering owning a dog myself. It got a little tough around noon when I wanted to take a nap but the dog was still energetic and jumping around.

Point is, helping out may not always be convenient or easy, but there’s something about helping lift another’s burdens that takes your mind off of yours. We lose sight of our problems when we help others.

So why not give it a try? Find out if you have any neighbors around in need of assistance… could be helping them re-park their vehicles, receiving a package on their behalf, picking their kids up from school when they’re running late. Whatever it is, do it gladly and do it well.

Day 27: No complaining day

This looked pretty easy on the surface! However, if you happen to go out, you’ll be forced to be around people either complaining about the cash scarcity in Nigeria, or the elections and what went on. It becomes difficult to stay without complaining. That said, it’s not impossible. I try to romanticize my life as much as possible, and that helps take my mind off the things that are not working to the things that are. Just focus on what’s good and what is worth giving thanks for.

Summing it all up, friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse.

Philippians 4:8 (MSG)

Day 28: Do a Job for a Loved One

This can be anything from helping them run little errands, to whatever it takes to make their lives easier. These do not have to be jobs that they pay for, you could just volunteer to do it for free.

I’m grateful for the moments I have had to take care of my niece and nephew. I think it’s one of those precious gifts I will cherish in my lifetime. Find ways you can help your loved ones, and do so with a grateful heart.

As you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands, one for helping yourself, and the other for helping others.

Audrey Hepburn

Day 29: List some things that you take for granted

Hmmm. This is tough. I guess one of those is free oxygen. We never realize the cost of breathing freely until we step into a hospital and see people who need oxygen tanks. Blood is another one I probably take for granted. That’s until I see someone in need of blood and I realize just how graced we are to be walking around with gallons of it in our system. It’s so easy to take for granted our internal organs until they develop faults. I hope this reminds you (as it’s reminding me) to always be grateful for the internal workings of our bodies. There’s so much to be thankful for!

Day 30: Start a Gratitude Journal

At the start of this journey, we were encouraged to have gratitude journals. If you haven’t gotten one, please do and build the habit of always finding reasons to give thanks. I often use the notepad on my phone to do this so I can easily update on the go. I’m very grateful for this challenge and the grace to finally complete it.

Thank you to everyone who read and participated in the challenge. May you always find reasons to be grateful.

Everything we do should be a result of our gratitude for what God has done for us.

Lauryn Hill

Until next time!

Love,

M.