Project 365
Each year I try to work on one heart attitude. This I have been doing for a couple of years now. I am a work in progress like all of us are, but this helps me to keep striving to the 365 mark even if I miss a day or more in between.
One year I worked on complete honesty, the next year it was listening well and being 100% present where I am and in what I am doing. 365 days is a long time and by the end of it, the new attitude becomes a part of us.
Gratitude turns what we have into enough.
At the end of last year I was wondering what I could work at, and decided on Project Praise.
How it works is, each day you write out a point of praise - just one. You may ask, “why just one, when some days I am ready to write more than one?”
You will understand once you start. At the end of the year you will have your very own Praise Journal for the year!
I have learned how to get along happily whether I have much or little. I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of contentment in every situation, whether it be a full stomach or hunger, plenty or want.
Philippians 4:11b and 12 New Living Translation
In everything you do, stay away from complaining.
Philippians 2:14a NLT
Yesterday evening I realized I had forgotten to buy bread for sandwiches the next morning. We had just finished dinner, I had finished the dishes and cleaned the kitchen and was looking forward to some TV time and it was raining.
But I told Ranjit (I wish I could say without complaining) that I would go to the store. Just as I started the car I remembered a beggar I had seen by the sidewalk on my walk earlier in the day. I drove past the same place and there huddled in the rain on the dark lonely sidewalk was a tiny figure.
I parked and quickly jumped out and handed him some biscuits, chips, and breakfast bars from my car goodie bag. He thanked me profusely and immediately opened a packet and tucked in.
So this morning this was my journal entry:
Thank you Jesus, I was able to give to that man on the sidewalk, who was hungry and wet.
The benefits of Project Praise
It keeps us looking for praise points through the day (and night!)
Keeps us in a praise and worship mindset
We complain less
Life becomes more about others and less about us.
We smile more, laugh more and take life lightly on the whole.
Before you begin, there are two points to keep in mind. First, try not to repeat entries; challenge yourself to look for something different every day. Second, be detailed as you go, so that when you look back on the year, you remember the moment and you will be able to give God all the more praise.
Here are a few examples:
When I was upset and worried, thank you Lord for the beautiful rainbow which flashed across the sky- thank you for the promise of hope!
Yesterday Ranjan suddenly suggested a takeaway, we ordered at the SriLankan place. I loved their spicy fish curry and puffy white appams. Thank you Lord.
Thank you for the lunch bag I could buy for Anna. She said it was just what she needed as she started work. Lord.
‘It is well with my soul’ Thank you Lord for the blessing that this song is to me. Amen.
Thank you for birthdays, Lord, which remind us of your faithfulness and goodness.
I hope you will join with me in this worthy task. God is so good to us every day, so what are you waiting for? Grab a journal and watch as God fills the pages of your life with praise!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
‘Blessed beyond measure’ and ‘Saved to serve’ are phrases which describe Shoba best. She loves sharing her experiences of growing up in a stable Christian home in India, working with God in mothering her now adult sons, moving countries in her 40s, yielding to God’s will even when it is hard and writing and leading Women’s Bible studies. She truly believes 2 Corinthians 9:8 that God’s grace abounds and because of that we can, as His children, abound in good works. Shoba enjoys coffee, long walks, time with friends and family and 2nd hand book shops (and handmade cards). Shoba lives with husband Ranjit in Auckland, New Zealand.