practicing gratitude

I am so thankful November is here.  Halloween night ended up being a hot mess for a bunch of reasons and with all the candy and costumes and drama...I'm ready for a shift in the season.  I believe practicing gratitude and thanksgiving are sorely needed for my family right now.  

Every year we put a big sheet of butcher paper on the wall and spend the month writing down the things we're thankful for.  Everything from our home to stuffed animals to friends to craft beer goes on there and it's so fun to see what makes the list from year to year.  It's a small wonder to see it crammed full by the time December 1st comes along.  There are just so many big and little things to be thankful for and naming those things is a life giving practice.

One of the first words to always make the list is Trailhead - the name of our church.  I've been thinking about that a lot these past days and I want it to be one of the first words I write.  I believe there is healing to be found in gratitude.  Maybe even a kind of faith being practiced when I can look back and name things I'm thankful for even when those things didn't turn out the way I hoped or planned.  

I believe Christians should be pretty darn good at practicing gratitude and naming things we're thankful for in all circumstances (pretty sure there's a neat little Bible verse on this).  Hope is born from such a place and hope is what keeps this girl going.  

I'm thankful for so, so much today and looking forward to filling up that big sheet of butcher paper.