The Challenge!

Pam’s Journey: Day 112

Miles walked: 302

Miles remaining: 698

Days remaining: 254

This may be one of those times when I should apologize for offending some of you because it’s probably going to happen… We didn’t promise that this blog would be all happy sunshine and cuddly hugs. It’s our life and what we’re thinking and feeling at any given moment. It’s our triumphs and failures and our joys and pain.

I bet some of you think I’m going to challenge you to walk 1000 miles with Jesus… nope!  I encourage you to do that because it’s amazing and I’d LOVE to share the awesomeness of this walk with anyone that will try it. What I’m about to challenge you to do is something that many of you will think is super silly, a waste of time, completely unnecessary, and maybe even a little offensive (like any of that is going to stop me!).

So here goes, I challenge you to make a list (and not just a mental list, but an actual list with a pen and paper or you can you use your phone or computer if you forget what a pen and paper is) of things that you’re thankful for. What I propose is that from the time you wake up for a minimum of say 3 hours, you write down the things that come to mind that you appreciate. Yes, you guessed it… I’m assuming that many of us go through life taking most of it for granted. I am pointing fingers and of course I’m including myself in this accusation, so it’s all fair.

Do you have days when you feel like you aren’t appreciated? I’m pretty sure everyone does.. I know I do from time to time. Life is just so busy and everyone has their own priorities that are more important than everyone elses, and we’re human to top it all off so we start taking advantage of things and people without even realizing it. Many times, it’s the most important people in our lives that we take for granted because they’ll always be there, won’t they? We put what we think is important first and let the rest go, because we can.

Isn’t it like that with a lot of things? Things that don’t matter…. until they do. We don’t give the effort that we could/should have and then it comes back to bite us on the butt. Work, family, kids, school, God, health, finances, friends. I know you’re thinking that those things aren’t in the order they should be in, and that’s my point! We get so wrapped up in everything and the “junk” gets put on the front burner because “junk” has to be dealt with. That leaves God, kids, family, health, and friends on the back burner because they’ll still be there once the “junk” is through cooking, right? Not always.

Better one handful with tranquility than two handfuls with toil and chasing after the wind. ~ Ecclesiastes 4:6

Do you spend so much time wanting what everyone else has that you don’t see how much you have right in front of you? Do you obsess over the latest and greatest gadgets, cars, clothes, toys, etc..? Do you feel like you deserve to have more? Do you want what you want, when you want it? Do you care that there are over 6 billion other people on this planet and they might feel that exact same way? What if we all just started appreciating what we do have, instead of what we don’t? How crazy would that be?

I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. ~ Phillipians 4:11-12

So… about this list I was talking about. There are no rules, but I think it’s better if it’s numbered, and I like doing it on a weekday so I can’t be thankful for something silly like getting to sleep past 5:30AM, but I have to search for those special things in my normal routine. Three hours is just a suggestion, you can do all day if you feel inspired! What are you thankful for? What do you appreciate? From the second your eyes pop open or your alarm clock blares it’s noisy little beep off, write down what you have to be thankful for. It can be something that you think is so trivial that no one else would care but if it’s important to you, write it down. You can even write a brief reason why you might be thankful for some or all of these things.

I challenge you… yep, I double dog dare you to do this!! I’m going to do it too.. actually, I started my list this morning. I’m just doing three hours. I did this once, years ago, and it was an eye opener. I need to do it again to help me put some thing into perspective. Those of you that think I’m being ridiculous, wasting your time, or even being offensive, just do it.  Or not… it’s not like I’ll even know, but you will.

I’ll share my list with you tomorrow.

To Be Continued… tomorrow!