Hi friends!
Welcome to the January Gratitude Journal Challenge! We are starting a gratitude journal to list the many gifts God has and to create a habit of choosing gratefulness.
Creating Your Journal
First off, in creating your journal it can be as simple or as creative as you’d like it to be! Here are a few ideas to get you started:
- You can simply grab a notebook you already have and decorate it (or don’t decorate it)!
- buy a new journal specifically geared towards gratitude
- print the gratitude worksheets I’ve created and add them to a 3 ring binder. Easy peasy!
Making It Stick
Secondly, the most important thing is to create a habit. Here are some ways to create the habit:
- Pick the same time of day to sit down and write
- Place your journal where you can see it and fill in as you make dinner or when you drink your coffee
- Ask God to help your eyes to be open to His gifts throughout the day and use your phone to make a list then transfer to your journal once a week (on Sundays for example)
Gratitude Prompts
If you’re having a difficult time finding something to be grateful for, here some prompts to get you started:
- Name something that made you smile today
- Recall a funny memory that happened today
- List a song that you always enjoy listening to or a movie/show that makes you laugh
- An author you admire
- Your favorite book of the Bible and why it’s your favorite
- What is your favorite hobby? Why?
- A sweet gift you received and why it meant so much to you
- An achievement you are proud of yourself for
- One characteristic about your children that makes you proud
- Something you are grateful for about your body (vision, ability to move, etc)
- Your favorite food
- What you enjoy about the season
That’s it for now! Hope this helps you begin your own gratitude journal! Join us on Friday, January 8th for some discussion questions on the first three chapters of our monthly book “One Thousand Gifts!”
And if you have any tips on creating your journaling and gratitude habit or any cute journal ideas, leave them in the comments for others to find!