Recently a friend of my challenged me to keep a gratitude list. This is not a new concept to a lot of people, but it was to me. And for me it has been a huge gear shift.

According to the Clifton Strengths Finder, my top strength is "Restorative."

"If you are particularly talented in Restorative, you are adept at dealing with problems. You are good at figuring out what is wrong and resolving it."

Cool strength... but what does it have to do with gratitude?

I'm getting there.

At times, my restorative lens allows me to see the problems around me much more easily than the things that are "right with the world." When this goes into overdrive (which is often) I can get really overwhelmed. My gratitude list changes that. It shifts my focus onto the amazing things God has made right in my world.

So at the end of the day I take out my journal and my red pen and I write as many things as I want to that I am grateful for that day. I write in red because I feel like somehow, this balances out the universe for all the critiquing, corrective things I've written in red earlier in the day. It ends the day with red being the color of things good not bad.

I want to challenge all of us to make gratitude a part of our lives on a regular basis. So, each Tuesday I'm going to host "Gratituesdays" on my blogs. And I will post some thing(s) that I am grateful for.

BUT, this will only work to help you if you participate too. So, post a comment and let me know what you are grateful for that day as well.

For me, today, I am grateful for a sense of order and not anxiety in September (a month that is usually the start of all sorts of insanity). I am grateful for an amazing husband and children. I am grateful for friends God has put in my life who challenge me in my walk with Him. OH.... and I'm extremely grateful for my new webcam and skype. :)

How about you? What are you grateful for?

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