Tag Archives: count your blessings

Positive Attitude Action Plan

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After 16 weeks of striving to develop a positive attitude, I’ve found that it still doesn’t come easily, but it is coming easier. I hope it’s easier for you to be positive as well. If you missed any of my blogs on the subject, please refer back to my website at www.TamiBrumbaugh.com.

Here is a review of the main points we practiced and my plan for keeping it going.

  1. Stop the stinking thinking. You have control over your thoughts. Catch them before they get off track and send you into a spiral. MY PLAN: When a negative thought pops into my head I realize it, grab it, and tell myself to be done with it.
  2. Replace the negative thoughts with positive ones. Count your blessings. What are you thankful for? MY PLAN: My family and I are still writing blessings on small pieces of paper and placing them into our Blessing Jar. We will read them on Thanksgiving.
  3. Accept that life isn’t fair and move on. God will help you through it. MY PLAN: I will remember that fair doesn’t mean equal, and that comparing myself to others will only make me unhappy.
  4. Get exercise. Release those endorphins. A workout or a walk outside can do wonders. MY PLAN: In addition to my regular walks and workouts, I am still doing yoga moves whenever I have a spare moment.
  5. Find a way to help others. It gets your mind off yourself. MY PLAN: I refer back to the list of 30 ways to focus on others whenever I am struggling for ideas.
  6. Stop whining and complaining. It brings others down. MY PLAN: I use the Complaint Vent Journal when I need to whine a bit.
  7. Pump in the good. Listen to positive music. Read a positive book. Talk to a positive person. Pray. MY PLAN: I’ve put the 25 songs with positive messages on my phone, and hope to add more as I stumble across them.

For those of you who have mastered all seven suggestions, God bless you. For the rest of us mere mortals, keep striving. With continual effort, we can become positive people.

Filling the Blessing Jar

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Several years ago, I was privileged to join Heart to Heart on a trip to Guatemala. We were installing water purification units and distributing deworming pills for the kids. The people PassThecup picwere so grateful for clean water—something we take for granted in the United States. The homes we visited were small enough to fit into my bedroom, with thin corrugated steel walls and leaky roofs. Most of the kids only had one extra pair of clothes. No iPhones. No computers. And yet, they were happy. They were grateful for what they had. (Check out the book I wrote for Heart to Heart about their water purification project.)

I hope that one day my kids can go with us to serve in a third world country. I want them to experience what it’s like to live without so much excess. This could be a life-changing adventure for your family as well. I don’t know about you, but my family will need to save money for a while to get us there. In the meantime, here is a thought you can discuss with your teenagers: What if you woke up today with only the things you thanked God for yesterday?

A project for all ages, is to write down your blessings. You can do this in a journal (like my family did after reading One Thousand Gifts), or you can write them on strips of paper and put them in a jar or box. This could be a year-long project. Your family could read all of the blessings on Thanksgiving or New Year’s Eve. I’m just starting this method with my own family.

A visual way to teach the concept to younger children could be through the book The Blessing Jar by Colleen Coble. The story is about a little girl who is having a bad morning. The Blessing Jar Book picHer grandma takes her on an adventure where they collect small objects related to happy memories. They place these objects in a blessing jar to remind them to be thankful, chasing away the grumpy attitude. After reading the book, you could begin your own blessing jar. This activity would be extra special if you had grandparents available to join in the fun.

 

 

Change the Channel

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I wish I could just hide the remote control, or in our case, the multiple remotes. I can’t seem to remember which remote is used to turn on the television, which one changes the channels, which one is used for DVDs, which one is for the blue-ray player. I’ve heard tales that a universal remote can combine everything, but we haven’t actually tried it yet. Regardless, I would rather my husband did not have access to any of them. He can channel surf like a pro. If I’m going to watch a show, I want to watch it right from the start, instead of trying to figure out what is happening mid-way through.

There is one time where changing channels would be a good thing. When my brain gets stuck on negative thoughts, I need to change mind channels. An effective way to change my thoughts is to count my blessings.

Several years ago, I read Ann Voskamp’s One Thousand Gifts.one thousand gifts pic Through her unique poetic writing style, she encourages readers to see God’s grace in everyday life, and to find joy through gratitude. My family took her challenge to write down one thousand of God’s gifts. It took several months, but it changed our perspective. I need to continue the practice.

We can thank God throughout the day. He always loves to hear our gratitude. Sometimes in the business of the day, I realize I haven’t counted my blessings at all. I make a point to at least count them right before I go to sleep. A favorite old song of mine is from the classic Christmas movie, White Christmas. It’s a good reminder to count our blessings. Here are the lyrics and video again, in case you have forgotten them.

Lyrics: I think about a nursery and I picture curly heads / And one by one I count them as they slumber in their beds / If you’re worried and you can’t sleep / Just count your blessings instead of sheep.

Counting blessings is a positive way to end the day, and a great way to change channels. Now I think I will accidentally misplace all of the remotes.