awake & free: Monday Minute // Meg

Last week I challenged y’all to a photo rally. About thankfulness.

It seemed cheesy but let’s be real… I wouldn’t have thought about being thankful – I mean really thought about being thankful – except that I challenged everyone to do that.

So yeah, I did it too. And let me tell you – God was at work. In my heart at least.

I know for me, it seems like taking a few minutes [[extra]] each day to pray and think about what God was unearthing from my heart regarding my attitude towards thankfulness was exactly what I needed.

I found myself on a scavenger hunt of sorts with God. What little things could he show me that I was thankful for? What things do I often take for granted that I needed to slow down for a minute to just appreciate?

Half way through the week, I found myself immensely grateful for lots of little things. Things I normally don’t blink an eye at. Things that usually cause me frustration or irritation.

And you know what I realized? I realized how stinkin’ great my God is. I realized how His character is so refreshingly generous and gracious. I realized that even in my lowest of the low, I can see things where His hand is in my life.

It began a transformation within me that I’m just starting to uncover. God is starting to teach me – He’s teaching me to find joy in the unexpected. Honestly, he’s teaching me to find joy in Him. Oh, praise Him.

So here I am, the Monday before Thanksgiving, finding myself cultivating a heart of thankfulness that goes beyond just that one fun holiday we look forward to. Instead of just being thankful for the surface level stuff with a whole lot of mashed potatoes and turkey on the side, I find myself actually thankful for things – even for those surface level things – because of the God who gave them to me, and not because it’s just what we do for that one day.

Thanksgiving. It really changes things.

With that said, I wanted to share with you the WINNER of our blog giveaway! Thank you to everyone who took part! Continue using #thankfulawakeandfree if you continue to find things that God is showing you or teaching you or prompting you to be thankful for!

…drumroll please…

Congratulations to KATHLEEN [@wonderwhasian] for winning this awesome giveaway!! We will be in touch with you, Kathleen!

[All pictures above are from Kathleen’s posts this week! Stay tuned to see if YOUR picture gets posted this week too!]