We all feel drug down at the end of each year hoping for change in the upcoming New Year. When we reflect back on the things that have occurred this past year we tend to forget so much. We tend to remember the bad and not the good.
I had many things happen to me this year that were negative and not high points of this year. I ended up in the emergency room receiving a blood transfusion, lost my biggest account (along with 90% of my income) as well as had a family member diagnosed with cancer. All terrible thingS and unexpected things.
I also had tremendously beautiful things happen too. In January my beautiful grandson, Levi was born. 
In March I began Grateful Gratitude. I also opened my heart to God and received Him more deeply than I ever had.
As I move towards 2019 I am thinking about how to incorporate God more fully in my life. I want to spend more time learning about God’s will and my purpose here on earth. 2018 definitely brought to me a clear statement from God that this was the year to find out why He put me on this earth many years ago.
God has definitely aligned big things for me with Grateful Gratitude staring with this blog. This is a place I can share the things I am celebrating through gratitude as well and the difficulties I work through with God’s help and practicing gratitude. I first wrote this blog to help me release built up anxiety and worry and resolve those things through focusing on the good in each situation instead of the bad. In the New Year I plan to get deeper and more personal with my relationship with God in day to day situations when I write my blog. I plan on opening up even more.
Our podcast also was started this year as a way of talking in ten minutes about life’s hassles and how to change our response and outcomes through gratitude. Lexie and I have both bared our souls through our personal journeys. Mine with a drug and alcohol riddled marriage and her with extreme anxiety and OCD during her pregnancy. This led us to our mother-daughter ministry together to serve others by sharing our despair and recovery. In 2019 we will be doing brief videos on God’s love and gratitude to share on our social media platforms. Quick reminders of how much God loves us and provides for us by doing His will.
Our Facebook page also draws me closer to God because each day I post a bible scripture that may be pertaining to my life. I choose a scripture and then read more about each scripture in the Bible and in other religious articles. In 2019 I will begin commenting on every post as self reassurance and to help other understand the Facebook post.
I also plan to begin a gratitude jar that each day I can write on a piece of paper something I have witnessed during my day that shows me God’s love for me. It may be simply noticing a beautiful butterfly fluttering around my patio or a blessing in the form of a healing for a family member. I am committing to showing God I recognize His presence daily in my life and I am thankful for His blessings whether spiritual or undeserved. I bought this one online for my daily gratitude jar.
In 2019 we are also committing to give away more gratitude hearts. Our gratitude hearts are hand carved in Kenya out of soapstone. We buy them through fair trade companies so we can support different villages and have different designed hearts. These companies pay the artists fair wages for the hearts so they can increase their family income. We use the hearts to anchor people to God’s love through holding the heart and giving thanks to Him. We give a good percentage of these hearts away to those who are suffering. We have shared over 750 hearts this years through our own personal money, donated money and others buying the hearts to share. We want to triple that number in 2019.
God has also led me to apply for nonprofit status for a new foundation called Grateful Gratitude Hearts Foundation. This foundation will solicit sponsorships from local companies to sponsor our hearts to share with people in our community. We would love to give hearts to women being released from jail or prison, teens in crisis, hospice patients, single moms and other groups suffering or beginning new lives. This year we were fortunate to be able to give hearts to families with a children with solid tumor cancers and to families with intellectually and developmental disabilities. This was a great achievement for us since this was $500 worth of hearts that we were able to share through the support of others. We want these families to remember even through they may be going through difficult challenges that God loves them and to look for His love and support to comfort them while holding their heart.
As I work to draw closer to our Heavenly Father in 2019, I am dedicated to sit quietly and listen for His guidance. I am opening my heart to feel His love more deeply and completely. I will watch for opportunities to serve Him and the purpose He has designed for me with our ministry. I will ask Him to put His words in my mouth, bless me with a kinder heart, more patience and a better ability to listen. I also pray and devote myself to recognize those He is putting in my way in order to see their needs that I might be able to meet. As I grow in 2019 my dear friends know I am praying for your safety and happiness. You mean so much to me and God has blessed me by having you read this blog. LoLo
And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. Romans 8:28
For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope. Jeremiah 29:11
gratefulgratitude.net 