Moments of Gratitude

Sometimes you just need an impromptu gratitude journal entry. That was me today, so sharing here as encouragement to remember to reflect on the day and see it with a grateful heart. What are you grateful for today?

Happy NYE! Wishing you a wonderful New Year in 2025.

Merry Christmas! Today’s Reading: Luke 2:1-20

Today’s reading is from Matthew 1:18-25. Joseph Accepts Jesus as His Son.

Today’s reading comes from Luke 1:26-38. The Birth of Jesus Foretold.

Today’s episode is dedicated to express gratitude for a moment from the past week. I am grateful for the opportunity to hang out with my nieces and curl my 5yr old niece’s hair.

Happy Thanksgiving! I hope you have a wonderful holiday season and during this time can be encouraged by these verses read in Philippians.Today’s Reading: Philippians 4:4-7 NIV

Psalm‬ ‭100‬:‭1‬-‭5‬ ‭KJV‬

Continuing with the theme of thanksgiving, I wanted to read from one of Paul’s letters because he tends to begin and end many of his letter’s with thanksgiving. Hope this can encourage you to live each day with thankful.Today’s Reading: Colossians 1:3-4; 4:2-6The Jesus Bible, NIV Edition. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 2016.

Happy November! With Thanksgiving approaching I wanted to take this time to give thanks.

What have been some joyful moments in your life? Reflect on this today.

Hope this can encourage you to rethink about your reaction to something and remember to rejoice, pray, and give thanks.“Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”‭‭1 Thessalonians‬ ‭5‬:‭16‬-‭18‬ ‭NIV

A song I’ve been listening to lately is “Still Waters (Psalm 23)” by Leanna Crawford, so I’ve decided to read Psalm 23 today. Hope you can find encouragement in these verses.Today’s Reading: Psalm 23:1-6 ESV

Thankful for the beautiful outdoors. Thankful for the changing colors of the leaves as the seasons change and the weather gets cooler. Thankful for nature and the one who created the stars in the sky.

I’ve been seeing a reoccurring theme in my life right now of being called to love others. This shows up in various messages or verses I’ve encountered, so today I’m reading from 1 John 3.“For this is the message that you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another.”‭‭1 John‬ ‭3‬:‭11‬ ‭ESV‬‬https://bible.com/bible/59/1jn.3.11.ESV

Thankful for a weekend getaway. Is there a weekend that you might be able to plan a getaway with others and take the time to be present and unplugged from your daily life demands?

Today I read a short excerpt about forgiveness and how that’s a step towards happiness. It’s definitely something I needed to hear this week so I hope it can help and encourage you too.Citation: Lucado, Max. “10 You’ve Been Bustered.” How of Happiness, Thomas Nelson, Nashville, Tennessee, 2019, pp. 136–137.

Hope you can find time during your week to unplug from the busy day and be present. Maybe it’s a short and simple check in of how you feel and changing the posture you are in.

Read: Proverbs 3Pray:Thank God for all that he gives and does for you. Ask God to give you wisdom throughout your days. Pray that you will not lean on your own understandings but pray that you will trust in the Lord and seek to not let wisdom out of sight. Even if it doesn’t feel like your paths are straight in this moment, thank him for his hand in your life and that he is by your side.

Read: Psalm 139:13-15 NIV.Thought: This world can feed us a lot of lies about ourselves and our identity. And if we believe these lies, we can be kept from fully being free in God’s truth. In Psalm 139 we are told that the perfect Creator formed us with purpose being fearfully and wonderfully made. What does it mean to be “fearfully and wonderfully made”? What if you broke free of the lies this world tells us and instead were able to fully believe in who God created you to be? How would your life be lived differently? How can you stand firm in the truth not letting the lies and worldly identifiers have impact over you?Pray: Ask God to help you see yourself as He created you to be, fearfully and wonderfully made. Ask that He will help you to break free from any lies that weigh you down and instead fully believe in the identity you have in Christ.

Celebrating the people you love can be so easy and so much fun. It’s a time to recognize the past and look to the future. There’s also usually cake involved which is always a bonus.

Happy Tuesday! I had a weekend full of fun, but choosing to focus on getting to see my friend perform in a musical. I had never seen him perform before so it was a lot of fun getting to watch him for the first time.

Today I chose to make time to pick back up this hobby of podcasting. I’m happy about it. Hope you can make time today to do something you enjoy.

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.” ‭‭Galatians‬ ‭5‬:‭22‬-‭23‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Sometimes I need to practice sitting in silence. Hope you can join me for a short moment to just be present.

Trying new things, going new places and meeting new people can be hard. I’ve found living with a grateful heart can help get me through those unfamiliar situations because I’ll come out of them thinking of things I can be grateful for about the situation.

It’s the week of Valentine’s! Whatever you might feel or think about this day my hope if that you can still reflect on what love actually is and means to you. Today’s reading: 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 (NIV)

Today I read from Paul’s letter to the Philippians. If you find your mind wandering, Paul writes on things to think about. Hope you can listen to see what those are. Philippians 4:8 ESV

How are you doing? I wanted to give time to reflect on this past month. Hope you can look back on the month with gratitude and continue with what worked.

Yes I had just finished a nice glass of hot tea before writing this. It was the first time I had used cream in my tea and enjoyed it. Today I’m grateful for just a cup of tea. Something simple in my everyday life that I really do appreciate. What is something you’re grateful for?

I will be trying something new as I approach these. I will try to focus on a more simple practice of gratitude. I can’t let perfectionism stand in the way of a grateful heart.

I hope you’ve had a happy first week of the new year! I needed some extra encouragement this past week and fortunately came across these verses from 2 Corinthians 4:16-18. My hope is that you can be encouraged and grateful as you continue in this new year. Today’s reading comes from 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 in The Message: The Bible in Contemporary Language.

Happy New Year! Hope you had a wonderful Christmas. I’m grateful for this moment and looking forward to seeing what this new year holds.

Today’s reading is from Luke 2:1-20 (ESV) the Birth of Jesus Christ. Hope you have a very Merry Christmas!

Today’s reading comes from Matthew 1:18-25 (ESV). As we approach Christmas, I continue to read the events leading up to the birth of Jesus. Hope you can make time to give thanks!

These next couple of weeks leading up to Christmas will feel different, so these episodes will sound different. No intro and no outro; only scripture. Hope you can find time to reflect and give thanks. Today’s Reading: Luke 1:26-38 (ESV)

How was your thanksgiving holiday? During today’s episode we spend time reflecting on a moment that you are grateful for from this past week.

Today’s Reading is Psalm 100:1-5 (KJV). Hope you have a wonderful thanksgiving!

Happy Tuesday! What are you thankful for? Grab a journal if you want and let’s jot down some things to be thankful for.

Hope to encourage you to take time in prayer. Today’s reading comes from Matthew 6:5-15 (ESV) in the Bible. The Lord’s Prayer.

I know it’s still October, but tomorrow starts a new month. During the month of November and as we approach Thanksgiving, I want to create more space in my life for daily gratitude. Hope you will too.

In this episode, I wanted to dedicate a couple of minutes to reflect on the day. Feel free to grab a journal and pause after questions if you have extra time.

Sometimes you just need to remember to breathe! Take deep breaths and slow down. Song: Breathe by Jonny Diaz Songwriters: Jonathan Smith / Jonny Diaz / Tony Wood

Resting is important yet it’s so easy not to dedicate time for it when life gets busy. What does rest need to look like in the season of life you’re in now?

Quick quote today! Are you able to both be thankful for the life you have while in the midst of pursuing a life you desire? How can you learn to be thankful in the present while also looking towards the future? Today’s reading is a quote by Jim Rohn.

Happy Fall! It’s a new season, so how will you choose to be grateful in this new season of life? What will this new season bring? Bible reading: Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 (CSB)

What do you think of when you hear the word “gratitude”? Why do you choose to be grateful? I hope today’s episode will prompt you to think about what gratitude means to you. Definition of Gratitude is from Google’s English dictionary which is provided by Oxford Languages. Bible Verse: 1 Thessalonians‬ ‭5‬:‭18

I love walking in botanical gardens! They’re such a sweet and beautiful space. I’m always able to be very present in the moment when I walk though the gardens. Is there something in your own life that allows your to be present and grateful for your surroundings?

Can you list 5 things you are grateful for? Is it an easy task or does it take some time to think about? In today’s, episode I encourage you to pause and think about five things your are grateful for.

Welcome to Moments of Gratitude! Join me as I seek to encourage myself and others in a practice of gratitude.