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Ah, the holidays! Days of laughter, friends, family, and merriment galore. So why is it that this time of the year is the hardest for those struggling with depression and chronic illness? I think part of the problem stems from how commercialized the holidays have become. We can’t help but get sucked into the hustle and bustle of the season. Parties, gifts, decorating, baking, canceled plans, symptom flares, and even family can completely drain us of our energy and time. We’re left with very little margin in our lives to focus on the Lord and all the things for which we’re grateful. By the time Christmas rolls around we’re spent – physically, emotionally, and mentally.
This year I decided to be proactive and keep my priorities in order. About a week ago, I began searching the internet for tools to use in the process.
I came across Gratitude Documented from Illustrated Faith so I’m going to give it a try! There are a number of ways to participate from TOTALLY FREE!!!! to purchased materials.
Here’s a brief rundown:
Illustrated Faith has had this system for the last few years to help us go through our November quiet time focusing on gratitude. It’s a process to journal and reflect each day, for 30 days, during the month of November. They supply a list of prompts and scripture passages to help jump-start your quiet time. I have never participated in Gratitude Documented before but I’m excited to go through it at the same time as others and encourage each other to keep our hearts properly focused throughout the holidays.
This year they have partnered with Dayspring, so if you’re familiar with Dayspring’s bible journaling kit-of-the-month, this kit coordinates with Gratitude Documented. Also, Dayspring has released a devotional journal called 100 Days of Grace & Gratitude and the first 30 days in the devotional contain the same prompts and scripture as the Gratitude Documented system.
I’m sorry I wasn’t able to get information out to you any sooner but I wanted to get a handle on how this all worked before I shared anything. But don’t worry! You can join me at any time and start at day one or whatever day you’re walking in at – and remember, you can participate totally free if you’d like! If you decide to purchase the devotional or kit you can just start when your’s arrives or use a journal you already have at home as a fill-in until your shipment comes!
HERE ARE THE WAYS YOU CAN PARTICIPATE –
TOTALLY FREE:
I’ll be sharing my pages each day on my Instagram and Facebook pages. You can peak over there to see the prompt and verses for the day and use them along with a journal you already have and spend a few quiet minutes with the Lord focusing on gratitude.
You can go to Illustrated Faith and print off the 30 daily prompts for free. You don’t even get asked to enter a credit card! You receive a full-color sheet and a black and white sheet that you can print off on your own printer. Each day has a subject, verse reference, and three-word prompts.
You can also join the Facebook pop-up group started by Shanna Noel, the author of 100 Days of Grace & Gratitude and founder of Illustrated Faith if you’d like to work through the program as a community.
DAYSPRING GRATITUDE DOCUMENTED KIT:
Dayspring’s bible journaling kit goes along with the color scheme, design, and prompts of this year’s Gratitude Documented. You can use it to embellish your journal as you go through the 30 days. Or, if you’d like to join me as I go through the 100-day devotional book you can grab the book from Dayspring. The kit and the book can be purchased separately or packaged together as a set. They also offer a number of other items you can purchase to embellish your journals or journaling bibles.
ILLUSTRATED FAITH GOODIES:
If you’re looking for more materials to embellish your journal or devotional book you can hop over to Illustrated Faith’s Print & Pray section. They offer a number of digital products you can purchase, download, and print right from home.
Don’t get frustrated or overwhelmed thinking about this. The whole point is to set aside time to focus on the Lord and cultivate a heart of gratitude – not to stress you out and add another thing to your to-do list. I’m being honest here, this is hard for me. If I want to do something for 100 days I want to complete one each day and be done by the end of the 100 days. But things hardly ever work out that way and then I feel so guilty if I miss or skip a day that I chuck the whole plan. I’m not going to let that happen this year! If life happens and I can’t work through a day I’ll just go back to it the next day. Skipping a day or two, here and there, is better than calling it quits and losing focus!
