One constant on my gratitude list every year is my good husband, who is always willing to meet me halfway—even if it means listening to an audiobook from the genre of literary fiction.1 He would much prefer a cowboy novel or even some historical fiction set during the American Revolution. But because he’s a keeper, we have been listening to Jayber Crow by Wendell Berry when we are in the car together.
Jayber and I go way back, but it’s amazing how a book lands on the ears differently than it lands on the eyes. In describing different types of people, Jayber mentions and approves of those who are “not trying to get someplace.” They already know “they are someplace.”
He had my attention.
Here and now, in this season of multi-tasking, this month of too many good things on the calendar, it’s hard to be present to any one thing. If my goal is to be someplace, fully present to the meal I’m preparing or the shopping I’m doing or the person sitting beside me at the table, I have to do the hard work of paying attention.
Here and now, in this season of multi-tasking, this month of too many good things on the calendar, it’s hard to be present to any one thing.
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When David the psalmist composed Psalm 103, he must have paused in his busy day of running a nation and conquering Canaanites just to meditate on all the reasons God had given him to be thankful:
Bless the Lord, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits,
who forgives all your iniquity,
who heals all your diseases,
who redeems your life from the pit,
who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,
who satisfies you with good
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.”
(Psalm 103:2-5)
If my eyes are already looking for the next “benefit” from God,
if I take for granted the forgiveness and healing I’ve received from his good hand,
if I am a never-satisfied bundle of discontent twenty-four hours a day,
I will never find my way to gratitude.
Not at Thanksgiving time, and certainly not on the average Thursday.
What are you doing to remind yourself that you are someplace?
I’ve decided to intentionally list 100 things I’m thankful for this November, and I was so excited to share the idea with my church family that I created a printable form and shared it with them on the first Sunday in November. The numbers and lines are all in place to make the process simple. You can access the document via the button below:
To get you started, I have already filled in the first five lines for you! I don’t want to forget to be thankful for God himself, for his provision, his character, and his responsive heart to my prayers.
It’s my prayer for you that this simple little tool will ground you solidly in the here and now of your life, the present moment, this day on the calendar and this hour on the clock, and that your soul will find there every reason to “bless the Lord” (Psalm 103:2).
In 2026, I want to be more present— wherever I am. When I am with the people I love, I want to be all there. I need to fully inhabit the time and space God has ordained for me to inhabit, to stay present to the emotions that come and the season I’m living through.
I’ll be writing one post every month on the theme. To find them all, CLICK HERE.
My gift to you: a simple little tool to ground you in the here and now of your life, the present moment, this day on the calendar, and this hour on the clock. May your soul find every reason to “bless the Lord.”
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Holding You in the Light,
What Are You Reading for Advent this Year?
I’ve created a new plan for your Advent reading!
Why is it that during one of the holiest seasons on the church calendar, we find it so hard to stop and worship the God we’re celebrating? We have too much to do in December, but if we remember why we do it and fold it into a lifestyle of worship, it can become a way to turn our eyes toward the true Light of Christmas. That’s the goal for this new devotional plan on YouVersion, the Bible app.
I love creating resources to help you grow in your connection with Christ. Click on the button below to begin this free devotional plan.
Have You Read the Latest Newsletter?
On the third Wednesday of every month, I send a newsletter with biblical encouragement straight to my subscribers’ email inboxes. Frequently, I share free resources, and the newsletter is where all the news lands first.
CLICK HERE to find me on Substack, where my goal is to help you on the path of becoming a confident follower of God and a student of His Word.
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- Full disclosure: I also meet him halfway by listening to books with protagonists who dangle from a cliff by one hand while using the other hand to signal for help with the mirror they always carry in their pocket. See 1 Corinthians 13:7: “Love bears all things…” ↩︎
Photo by Joseph Gonzalez on Unsplash
