What if You Woke Up Today With Only the Things You Thanked God for Yesterday?Humbling thought. It appeared in my newsfeed on Facebook a couple of months ago and sparked a reflection that launched me into gratitude on a whole new level. Were it true, that morning I would not have even had my dog.

We are asked to have a child-like faith. While my faith is often child-like, in this instance it’s not what God had in mind.

As I work on my Faith-Filled Annual Planning, I take an inventory. This year, it revolves around this important question, “What if I Woke Up Today With Only the Things I Thanked God for Yesterday?”

God asks us to trust Him, lean on Him for understanding, be bold, brave, fearless, courageous, and live in wonder, awe, compassion, forgiveness, and gratitude for all we have.

Generally speaking, I can be found in a state of want, selfishly seeking my own desires, failing to be grateful for the abundant blessings that surround me every day. If left to my own devices I can flail with distraction, limp by taking the easy road, and leave things undone, unexamined, and forgotten.

My child-ish faith is often not a child-like faith. Sobering clarity on where my own walk needs work.

That is why the annual inventory and letter to my year have become so powerful in my planning process, and why, this year, they have a deeper focus on gratitude. So, each morning when I awake, I go through my simple list of things I am most grateful for with this in mind. What if I Woke Up Today With Only the Things I Thanked God for Yesterday? [tweetthis]What if I Woke Up Today With Only the Things I Thanked God for Yesterday?[/tweetthis]

Each day the list gets a little longer. Each day I grow more mindful of the simple blessings that surround me and enrich my life. The smell of a rose, the warmth of a blanket, the safety of my town, the opportunity to be a woman born here, in the US, at this point in time, able to own a business of my own and do work I love…

It’s endless, really. When I focus on all there is to do it seems impossible, but when I focus on the blessings around me, and what has already been done for me, the peace that surpasses all understanding overcomes.

What are you grateful for today?