Start the Year with a New Discipline: A Blessing Journal

Grandparenting can be a lot of fun and a great reward. It can also be filled with more than our share of pain, sorrow and grief. I’ve known both and am in the midst of dealing with great sorrow right now.

Driving to a men’s Bible study the other day, my thoughts were filled with negativity and all that’s wrong in the world. I was soon overwhelmed with feelings of anger and blame. Suddenly, as I pulled up to a stoplight, I looked up to see the magnificent splendor and beauty of Pikes Peak covered with a fresh snowfall. I had been so possessed by my unpleasant thoughts that I completely missed seeing the beauty right in front of me until that point. It was as though the Lord was saying to me, “Lift your eyes to the hills and remember where your help comes from. Get your eyes off yourself and your feelings, and focus on Jesus. Look up and see the wondrous blessing I want to pour out on you and through you.”

It’s easy to get sucked into the sorrow pit and no longer see the blessings around us, let alone the hand of God at work in the midst of the storm. I don’t know about you, but I find myself all too prone to wander toward negative thoughts and miss the amazing blessing God wants to pour out—even when it’s right in front of me.

So I decided it was time for me to do something to turn my thoughts towards things worth thinking about. I decided to keep a Blessing Journal. It isn’t anything complicated. I have a notebook and each day I look for God’s blessings and record them on paper. Sometimes I only write once a day. Some days I’m opening my notebook and writing several blessing sightings. It is helping me focus more on gratitude and how much of God’s goodness and blessing that I often miss.

How about you? Will you join me in this discipline of focusing on what is good and noble and praiseworthy? Who knows, maybe our grandchildren will pick up on the idea too along the way.