Becoming Grateful Day 4: The Gratitude Jar

Acknowledging the good that you already have in your life is the foundation for all abundance. 

-Eckhart Tolle

Most of you have heard of a gratitude jar. Just look on Pinterest and you'll find a plethora of decorated jars, cans, bottles, and buckets. The basic concept is to write down things you are grateful for whenever the idea comes to you and fill up your jar with thankful thoughts. It helps keep you watching for the things in your day to be grateful for, and hey, when you have a bad day you can go to your jar and pull out an array of things to cheer you up.

For day 4, I'd like to change up the gratitude jar idea just a little. I have a pair of antique milk jars I found several years ago at a boutique. I had a craft in mind for them but never got around to actually doing it. Right now I have one filled up with Proverbs and famous words of advice while the other one just sits there empty. It's pretty sad looking. I've decided this jar is going to Become my Gratitude Jar. Here's the twist: instead of just writing down things I'm grateful for, since I'm doing that in my gratitude journal, I'm going to write things specifically about a person that I am grateful for. In my case, my beautiful baby daughter. My goal is to do this over the next few years and give her the jar on a special birthday, when she can read of course. And appreciate it. It will not only help me look and find all the thing I'm so thankful for just about her, but it will also be a way to keep track of the memories I'm making while being a new mom and watching her grow. Some days I'll be grateful for her ever growing ability to laugh, here bright smile, and the way she fits perfectly snuggled in the crook of my neck. Other days I'm bound to appreciate that her diaper held everything in. And one day I hope to be grateful she slept through the night.

I had an experience today where I heard stories from women who had difficult pregnancies and nearly lost their children due to early labor. As I sat there, I was overwhelmed with how grateful I am that Liberty was born healthy and strong, and that the journey to get her here was relatively easy. So today I'm going start by writing  a short message about how blessed I am that my daughter was born healthy and for a smooth pregnancy. I'm eternally grateful for that and know my Father in Heaven has granted that blessing to our new little family. I hope Liberty will one day appreciate all that I appreciate about her.

We should certainly count our blessings, but we should also make our blessings count. 

-Neal A. Maxwell

No. 10 can gratitude jar from Genealogy Tips and News. 

The easiest way to keep at it would be to leave a few pens and paper ready right next to your container. You're more likely to jot down something if you don't have to go searching for a pen. It would be a great way to show your mom how much you appreciate her if you filled it up with thankful thoughts and gave it to her next Mothers' Day. It would even be fun for newly wed couples to try during their first year of marriage so they could share on their first anniversary and read what each other wrote.  And I'm sure any grandma would love a bottle or basket filled with little grandchildren's simple words of gratitude. So start your gratitude jar today and do it with someone special in mind.

-Rachael