Dear Family of Love!
Happy Being Thoughtful and Thankful Thursday! I love you! Please tell your loved ones in you household and if you have pets you love them. Dear ones have you been full of thanks and thoughtfulness today? I hope so! It is always time to exercise our gratitude an love muscles. Today I walked almost 5 miles and am working up to returning to our infinity walks which I will be truly grateful and so will my body! We all must find something to be thankful for and do something thoughtful for our family members. The attitude of gratitude helps all of us to connect with all that is loving, holy, life giving, and peaceful. Tonight let us meditate on the word gratitude and what we have to be grateful for. We can use our gratitude and joy jars to put our list of things that bring us joy, are grateful for, and give thanks for or we can use our newest meditation tool:
The Ladder of Gratitude! Not Pollyanna's "Glad Game!", a tool to make us grateful, thankful, and be mindfully thoughtful! There is the Tree of Gratitude too if that works better for you.
Here is how we will use the ladder:
Start from the bottom and begin with your basic list of what you are grateful for.
As you ascend the ladder add more items to the list and when you reach the top I hope that God will be at the top of your list.
Here are two images that are ladders : Choose one or both!
Now using the same principles of the ladder here is an image of a tree for you to use:
Always ask yourselves if your attitudes of love, gratitude, and thanksgiving are bearing fruit.
Now let us be at prayer but first let us listen to this piece from Godspell- All Good Gifts
God we thank you for all that you have brought into our lives this day.
God we thank you for all our family members that help us to know and feel that we are never alone or invisible.
God we thank you for all those things that we may forget to be thankful for.
God we thank you for your Cathedral of Life that sustains us and breathes life into our bodies, minds, and spirits. Help us to be good stewards and practice conservation of all your natural resources. We pray for an end to poaching and animal destruction. We pray for clean water and solutions to climate change and global warming.
God we thank you for your healing of all who are ill in body, mind, and spirit. Help us to lovingly respond to their needs. We pray especially for______________________
God we thank you for Jesus and our family members who have gone before us into Eternal Joy, and their many gifts that they brought to this world and in our lives.
God we thank you for making us peacemakers help us to walk in the ways of peace and become your children. May those who do not know how to make peace may be shown that peace and love are better than violence, fear, and terror.
God we thank you for the least of these our family members who remind us everyday not to be complacent and look away. We pray this night for warm shelter, nourishing food, and warm clothing for our brothers and sisters who do not have access to these.
God we thank you for our voices to speak for the voiceless ones, speak truth to power, and feet to march in peaceful non-violent protests in support of full inclusion, equality, universal human rights, and justice.
God we thank you for your son Jesus who called us to love all and not some and we lift up our prayers and thanksgivings in Jesus' name. Amen.
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Good Night Dear Ones ! I love you! You Matter! I am grateful for you this night and always! May you have peace in your minds and hearts as you rest this night and always!
With love and thanksgiving for you this night and always!
Sara
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