If you have followed my blog for any amount of time, you will have noticed once a week, I strive to post something about being grateful. In honor of tomorrow’s feast in the United States – that of Thanksgiving – I am revisiting my initial Gratitude Project post. It is a nice reminder as to why I write weekly about gratitude.

Our lives are full of the mundane. Our lives are full of messy moments – which I explored at Everyday Ediths yesterday. Our lives, and the world around us, are full of troubled moments.

And yet, it is precisely in those moments where it is the most important that we spend time looking for the beauty. It is precisely at that time where we should strive to give thanks the most – by recognizing the little moments and the beauty around us.

The beauty of a smiling baby.

The beauty of a sunset.

The beauty of a smile in a stranger.

The beauty of the transportation we have to get around.

The beauty of the shoes on our feet.

The beauty of life-giving breath.

The beauty in children who don’t always do what they are told.

The beauty in the mess – both literal and figurative – that our children create.

The beauty of faith.

The beauty of hope.

The beauty of love.

Therefore, while I am not writing a gratitude post for this week, I am renewing my challenge to those reading these words – beginning next week, as we prepare for the new Liturgical Year, join me every. week in finding gratitude for the little moments in your life.

Be intentional about recognizing those little moments.

And, thank God for those moments.

I’m linking up with Allison at Reconciled to You and Elizabeth at theologyisaverb for their weekly #WorthRevisit post –  it’s been a few months since I last linked up, and I truly enjoy getting to read other bloggers’ posts in this link up, and going back through and revisiting my own posts. Hop on over to read more great #WorthRevisit posts by other bloggers, and may everyone have a beautiful and blessed Thanksgiving holiday!

The Gratitude Project in My Saturday/Sunday Best

I recently wrote about how I struggle to give gratitude, and it is a skill I am working on honing. I also shared the wisdom of our family’s chaplain – a Catholic priest serving in the United States Armed Forces.

The point of our chaplain’s encouragement is to say thank you to God for all things… it doesn’t matter how mundane… we are just encouraged to give thanks.

Since that discussion, I have attempted to stop and intentionally say thank you to God during my day. Not for the routine things – like my family or our health. Instead, I have focused on finding the smaller gifts, and trying to recognize them a little more… as the chaplain said, the shoes on my feet, the bed I sleep in every night, the car we drive, etc.

A couple days ago, I realized that this intentionality could be a perfect stepping stone to a blogging project. Therefore, I am spearheading a project I have decided to call

Every week, most likely the end of the week, I will write a post on finding gratitude in the little moments of the day – perhaps gratitude for the gift of coffee, or caffeine, or chocolate. Perhaps it will be the gift of running water, potable water, or the ability to wash clothes in a washing machine.

I struggle to identify the little blessings in my life.

I struggle to give thanks for those little blessings.

And, I’m calling upon you, dear readers and fellow bloggers, to join me in giving thanks for the small blessings in our lives – the ones so easy to overlook.

I am calling on all of us to be intentional in recognizing, identifying, and giving thanks for the little moments and conveniences in our lives.

Because we are all blessed in this world.

Even in the midst of struggle and grief, there is a silver lining. It may take some creativity to discover what there is for which to be thankful, but there is always something! My fervent desire is that by being able to identify small blessings in our own lives, we can help others who may be struggling, to identify small blessings in their lives.

So, today, in My Sunday Best post, with Rosie at A Blog for My Mom, I am encouraging all of us to take a moment – to give thanks, and to consider joining me in this topic challenge!

The picture on the left, with the nursing tank-top and jean capris are what I wore to Mass on Saturday evening. Our final Catholic Women of the Chapel meeting was today, and we had to set up the venue after the Saturday evening Mass. So, I went to Mass in “lifting tables and placing chairs” attire. The dress on the right is what I wore today – my Calvin Klein frock most recently worn this past Easter, and rocking silver heels, since I was sans kids while attending my meeting!

Let me know if you take me up on The Gratitude Project – to post articles about giving thanks for the small blessings in our lives. You can link back here, or leave your own article link in the comments, or simply leave your gratitude moments in the comments of my gratitude posts. You can use the image stamp for “The Gratitude Project.” You can do as I plan and post something weekly – or, just post once. You don’t have to write a blog post, but instead can link up on social media, using the hashtag #bctgp.

Let’s just start a conversation on the various, little ways, we should be prompted to express our gratitude!