My Cup Overfloweth

   Dear friends, with each new year comes a new set of blessings, and remaining blessings you've had for years. "Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name." (Psalm 100:4) this is only one example of a verse instructing us to give thanks. However, when life gets crazy, school is hard, or the finances hit rock bottom, it's all too easy to just complain, "God, I thought You said You'd provide. God, why is this so hard? God, is there ANYTHING good happening in my life right now?" so here's where we stop. And give thanks. Now, there are about a hundred different ways to give thanks every day of you life, but here's my number one way. 

This is my blessings jar. Every day when you wake up, or every night before you go to bed, write down one blessing you are thankful for that day. Now, you don't have to keep it down to one a day! It's only February, and I have WAY more than 42 slips of paper in that jar. Some days I put 3, 4, even 8 slips of paper in the jar, and that's okay! The point is that EVERY day, you give thanks for at least one blessing God has given you. This can go for the smallest things! That candle you love the smell of, or a phone call from a friend. It can be your parents, or your siblings. It can be a roof over your head and a bed to sleep in! Don't be afraid to repeat blessings either. If one day, you feel really thankful for your car, and two days later you are thankful again, put it in the jar! Any and every blessing from God (yep, even those tough lessons you learn) can all go in that thankfulness jar. The best part? At the end of the year, you get to go back through all those slips of paper. I always try to take a few minutes after each to think how God used that specific person,or thing, or place to bless me, and to help me grow in Him. You'll feel SO blessed by the end of the year, and it's a great way to bring in a new year! All it takes is remembering God's grace in just one thing each day. Remember, all the praise goes to Him! 

                                 ~Katie