Happy Monday, friends!
I hope you all had a wonderful weekend! I have A LOT going on today!
First up, don’t forget you can not only catch MEAL PLANNING MONDAY today, but it’s also the first edition of SHAY’S BOOK CLUB! If you read our January book, make sure you head there to discuss. If you didn’t read our January book, then I suggest you wait until my January Book Review next month so that you don’t accidentally read spoilers (my Book Review will not contain spoilers).
Not only do I have three posts today, but I have some extra fun happening on this Monday, so make sure you’re following along on Instagram as I’m sure I’ll be sharing that too.
Whew!
So much goodness to kick off the week!
Right here though, I’m leaning into our pursuit of a life well lived today by sharing something special my dad showed me in hopes to encourage you too.
Today’s post is about GRATITUDE.
I’ve talked at length about gratitude here on my blog (I kept gratitude journals for 13 years in a row!), and truly, truly, truly, keeping those journals and reflecting daily on the little things in life I was grateful for changed me to my core. You can read more about it HERE (including why I stopped after 13 years), but practicing gratitude daily changed everything for me.
So, fast forward to last May…
…and while we were on Nantucket moving us into our house, I went downstairs at The Nantucket Hotel one morning to get coffee and saw my dad sitting there (on a Saturday) reading his Bible and doing his quiet time. I grabbed my coffee and sat down with him, and my sweet dad showed me what he was doing. He had this single sheet of paper and it was COVERED in his handwriting of words and phrases. He said it was his list of things he was grateful for and as a practice, he keeps it in his Bible and every Saturday morning, he opens it, reads EVERY SINGLE THING ON THE LIST and then adds any new ones. You guys, he had BIG things written down and tiny little things written down. He had some dates on there, names, places, so many extraordinary little details that make up his life and what he’s been grateful for.
I’m not sure which part I loved more, the fact that he wrote them all down in the first place or the fact that he reads each one of them each week so that he never forgets all of the goodness life has to offer. I was really, really impacted by not only how often we should stop and really be grateful but how we should remind ourselves often of gratitudes gone by. How quickly our perspectives can change simply by reminding ourselves how good God has been to us over the years.
Needless to say, I went right home…
…and started my own Saturday Gratitude list. I’ve been keeping it now for about eight months, and I’ve already been SO BLESSED BY IT!! Each Saturday morning, I pull it out, read everything I’ve written down thus far and add anything new. It’s a practice I hope to keep the rest of my life.
So, this is my encouragement today from my dad to me to you, start a Saturday Gratitude list. I cannot imagine you not being blessed by it too.
Sending you so much love on this chilly Monday morning in January! I’m so thankful for this community! xx
Lauren says
Beautiful post Shay, thank you!!
Erika Slaughter says
What a great idea! Love this!
Elspeth says
Love this concept!! I keep a list of people I pray for but I love the list of gratitude to go along with it!
http://www.elspethsdaybyday.com
Sheaffer says
I can totally see how this could be life changing! Incredible!
Dana P says
Love this! What a blessing to have a dad who loves the Lord AND has a heart of gratitude. One of my favorite books is Choosing Gratitude by Nancy Leigh Demoss (Wolgemuth)! If you’ve never read it, it’s definitely worth a read. 💜
Laura Fredlund says
I love this! Thank you for sharing.
Mary says
What an amazing example your dad is! Thank you for sharing his wisdom with us 💕
Carissa says
Love this idea! Starting today! Thank you!
Laci L Murray says
You dad is just lovely! Wonderful way to start the new year, thank you!
Grace says
I am so grateful to this community and your blog. I start my day with your posts and always walk away with something positive. Today, it was the gratitude post, but I also looked into the journal that you used, as well as the banana nut bread recipe to bake as well. I have five bananas that right now could be used in that way! Perfect timing. Thank you Shay!
Mix and Match Mama says
Awwwww! Happy Monday, Grace!! I hope you have the best day!
Lisa K. says
Can I just say that your blog is knocking it out of the park in 2024? I have been so encouraged by recent posts. The first was your post about things you never regret, and I started thinking about my own and then also things I do regret and how that can help guide my choices. The next was the post about closet organization and specifically this line that I actually emailed to myself as a reminder: “I enjoy the neatness so much that it’s easy for me to part with things”. I’ll be keeping it in mind not just for closet organization but decluttering in general. And now this amazing post about gratitude! So grateful for your content!
Mix and Match Mama says
Oh gosh, Lisa, thank you so much. You have no idea how much this means to me. Sending you so much love! xx
Kit says
AGREEEEEE!!!!
Chelsea says
Agree x2… Thank you, Shay!
Kara says
Loving all the new tips.. thanks for sharing these types of details with us.. we are all learning and becoming better b/c of it! 🙂
K.K. says
Gosh, I love this!! I started a note on my phone with a list (sort of like this) last year, and it floors me every time I go back and read!
Also, I wish I could give your dad a hug. Ahh… Thanks for sharing his practice (and yours) with us!
bette yuzon says
i love this, shay. i did something similar back in my 20s. i had a piece of paper (8-1/2 x 11), and wrote the word LOVE in caps using an orange highlighter to completely fill the whole page. then everyday, starting at the northwest corner of the paper, i would write down in super small (lower-case) words everyone and everything i love about in my life until it completely filled to the southeast corner. i only wish i remember where i packed away this page since i’ve moved 3 times since then. i know it’s tucked away in one of my trunks of my life’s mementoes, but i would love to be able to read the “love” thoughts of 20-something year old me (i’m now 58). i think i will start another LOVE page today. thank you for this sweet reminder.
Shari says
Love this Shay! Thank you for sharing the idea and method with us.
Denise M says
Your dad has to be the sweetest, kindest most wonderful man on this planet. Reading today’s post about him gave me chills. Thank you for sharing him with us <3
Annette McIntyre says
I’m in the UK and I’ve followed you a long time, as saw your brother on the Bachelor. I love your posts. I started with your weekly meal planner, then your monthly book sharing. Organising things. I love this idea for a Saturday. Thank you so much for finding the time in your busy day, to give us all some fresh ideas and support us. Can I just say your son and daughter have just shot up in height. They are suddenly so grown up looking . How does that happen in a blink. I have a son and daughter, they are both the best of me and my husband. Love them. Much love to you and all your family. Xx
Jenny N says
I could not love this post more and am so grateful that I read it today! I am going to start my own gratitude list. I love the thought of looking back at things you have forgotten and being so grateful that they happened and thanking God for all of them. Thank you so much for sharing this with us!
Laura Holmes says
Ohhh! I just love this idea so very much. I’m going to start this Saturday. What an amazing blessing your dad is. 🥰
Alexis says
I’m terrible at ever commenting but I have read your blog every single day for 10+ years (ish!) – and although I do leave a comment from time to time, I don’t do it enough. I will be better at that!
Thanks to you, I am on year 7 of keeping a gratitude journal (the exact same one you linked!) and it is by far one of the best things I’ve ever incorporated into my daily routine. It’s the last thing I do every night before I turn my light off and just like you did with yours, it goes literally everywhere with me! It goes on every trip I’m on because I can’t imagine skipping a day of it. Every NYE I sit down and read through the entire thing to reflect on the year and everything I have to be grateful for. It’s almost like a journal of sorts! It is one of my very favorite parts of every day.
There are countless ways in which you’ve “influenced” me over the years but this one (and The Bible Recap – on year 2 with your IG group!) are at the very top of it. Thank you, thank you for all that you share and the intentionality in your own life that turns into such a blessing for your readers when they incorporate it into their own. I appreciate you greatly and hope you know how much you truly touch lives!!!
Mix and Match Mama says
Oh gosh, I am so glad you commented! Your words just mean so much to me. Thank you, thank you, thank you. I am so blessed by this today! xx
Chauncey says
You are so blessed to have a father who loves the Lord and gives such wise counsel. Thank you for sharing! This will help me in my time with the Lord. 🤍
Keisha Dawson says
This is just beautiful and something that I want to implement. Thank you!
Bev says
Your posts give great positive advice, which this world needs so much of right now. May God continue to bless you as you have blessed us.
Lisa D says
I love this! I’ve kept a gratitude journal for years, I’ll be adding in the Saturday “master list” now too.
Hug your Dad extra hard!
Carman Killion says
LOVE this so much! I’m late to reading this but I am definitely going to try this. I agree that gratitude is a sure way to feel the fullness of God’s love and what He’s provided. Thanks so much for sharing!