The Gratitude Challenge

By Stephanie L. Jones

Stephanie L. Jones, author of The Giving Challenge, is back with another life-changing book. With all the negativity in the news and on social media, The Gratitude Challenge will sprinkle a little positivity into your day. 

Inside this book, you'll find:

• short, heartwarming stories from Stephan

• Language: English
• Publisher: Giving Gal, LLC
• Release date: Dec 1, 2019
• ISBN: 9781948693035

Stephanie L. Jones

Stephanie L. Jones is on a mission to inspire others to give and practice gratitude daily. She loves sharing her message in schools, churches, and with companies. Besides her children's book, "Giving Gal"™, she's an award-winning author of "The Giving Challenge," "The Gratitude Challenge," and "Thank-You Notes to God." She lives out her dreams with her hubby, Mike.

Book preview

Author’s Note

All the stories I wrote are my own recollections and are accurate as I remember them. I have put trust in the contributing writers that their stories are true.

Contents

Preface

Day 1: I’m Grateful for a Gift Received

Day 2: I’m Grateful for Small Things

Day 3: I’m Grateful for Cold, Snowy Weather

Day 4: I’m Grateful for Seeing Past the Diagnosis

by Rebecca Shellito

Day 5: I’m Grateful for Shift Work

Day 6: I’m Grateful for Contentment

Day 7: I’m Grateful for Freedom

by Amanda Nelson

Day 8: I’m Grateful for an Unanswered Prayer

Day 9: I’m Grateful for My Career

Day 10: I’m Grateful for Meeting Strangers

Day 11: I’m Grateful for the Ronald McDonald House

by Elizabeth Beachy

Day 12: I’m Grateful for The Simple Life

by Scott Colby

Day 13: I’m Grateful for Marathon Miles

Day 14: I’m Grateful for Trials That Come and Go

Day 15: I’m Grateful for Living in a Great Country

Day 16: I’m Grateful for Career Progression

Day 17: I’m Grateful for Answered Prayers

Day 18: I’m Grateful for Swapping Complaints

Day 19: I’m Grateful for Discovering Dyslexia

Day 20: I’m Grateful for Chiropractors

Day 21: I’m Grateful for the Kindness of Strangers

Day 22: I’m Grateful for the Wilderness

by Kerrie Hora

Day 23: I’m Grateful for the Staircase

Day 24: I’m Grateful for Friends Who Help Me Live My Dreams

Day 25: I’m Grateful for Police Officers

Day 26: I’m Grateful for Picking Up Sticks

Day 27: I’m Grateful for Good Neighbors

Day 28: I’m Grateful for Good Advice

Day 29: I’m Grateful for All Things Working Together for Good

by Harold A. Welter

Day 30: I’m Grateful for the Good in Others

Day 31: I’m Grateful for Small Miracles

Day 32: I’m Grateful for Squirreling Around

Day 33: I’m Grateful for a Phone Call

by Zach Lloyd

Day 34: I’m Grateful for Never Giving Up

Day 35: I’m Grateful for Life’s Funny Moments

Day 36: I’m Grateful for Cancelled Plans

Day 37: I’m Grateful for Cancer

by Jessica Wiedeman

Day 38: I’m Grateful for a Book, a T-shirt, and a New Friend

Day 39: I’m Grateful for Showing Up

by Shelby Gamble

Day 40: I’m Grateful for Veterans

by Lauren J. Mullet

Day 41: I’m Grateful for Bad Starts to the Day

I’m Grateful for You!

Connect with Me

Book Club Questions

Nonprofit Organizations

Dyslexia Resource

Acknowledgments

Preface

In 2017, I launched my first book, The Giving Challenge, out into the world. The book challenged readers to commit to find ways, every day, to give to others for forty-one days. I never intended to write a second book or to create a series, but all that changed in May 2017 when I stood on a stage in front of several hundred women and shared how my giving journey stretched me.

Giving stretched me in gratitude. On my giving journey, I practiced gratitude, looking for and documenting life’s simple joys to be grateful for each day. I found contentment with what I own and where I am in life. I’m happier. Days of depression are few and far between. When I observed my surroundings, I noticed beauty in the small things I’d ignored in the past. Practicing gratitude, which took little time and no money, changed my life.

From the stage, I challenged my audience to purchase a journal and start writing what they were thankful for each day. As those words flowed from my mouth, God seemed to shine a light from heaven telling me to give them the tools they needed.

Teach them about gratitude, I heard Him say. "Make it easy to walk back to your table and not only snag a copy of The Giving Challenge but also to get a resource on gratitude."

I jotted a note on my printed speech and finished my talk. I couldn’t get off that stage fast enough to transfer the ideas from my mind to paper. Here I am, two years later, and challenging you to go on a gratitude journey with me.

While on stage, I realized the audience might long for more than only a notebook with lines, but maybe they also wanted to understand gratitude and learn to see the goodness in the everyday—not only the hunky-dory days of life. When given the opportunity, people want to be stretched. Let’s not focus only on the things we often see on social media, such as people being thankful for their health, friends, family, home, etc. What if we went deeper, taking time each day to seek and recognize that, even on the bad days, we can be grateful.

The Gratitude Challenge isn’t any ole journey. It’s not only about writing what you are grateful for today; it’s about creating a habit and changing your mindset, which in turn will make a positive difference in your life, day in and day out. The challenge is about slowing down, for five minutes each day, to ponder and find something to be grateful for no matter what’s going on in your life. The goal of this book is to teach you to be content where you are in life and with what you have, instead of making your happiness dependent on your material possessions or what might happen in the future.

We often think, I’ll be happy when [fill in the blank].

In high school, I couldn’t wait to get to college. A couple of years into college, I couldn’t wait to graduate and get out into the real world. When I had my first real-world job, I couldn’t wait for the next opportunity. And so on and so on.

How many of us couldn’t wait to get married and then found ourselves wishing we were single again? Or what about wanting and finally having children, then feeling envious of our friends without children?

This is normal.

I think we all have thoughts of what if or fleeting thoughts of a different life. But these thoughts become a problem when we spend more time focusing on what we don’t have instead of what is right in front of us.

What would happen if we got what we put in the blank when we said, I’ll be happy when (blank)? Life might be grand for a while, but soon we’d find something else to want. Take material items for instance. There is a reason U.S. citizens carry $830 billion in credit card debt.¹ As a society, we buy homes, cars, furniture, and clothes we can’t afford to either escape life, make ourselves feel better, or to keep up with the Joneses. In coaching clients who struggle with debt, I’ve found the things they have aren’t making them happy; and the debt and payments cause extreme stress.

How would our lives change if we were grateful? Grateful for wherever we are in life and the blessings that have been poured on us. If life isn’t what we want it to be, then we can work to change it. We can blame others and make excuses; but at the end of the day, we are currently in control.

I’m fully aware we don’t control every situation we’re in, but I do know we control how we react and respond to what life throws at us. We control our self-talk (our internal thoughts).

I want to be clear, we can be sad, get angry, and feel all the emotions that come with bad news, a death in the family, or another tragedy that may occur. What I am saying is that I’ve seen both sides of these journeys.

On one side, I’ve met people who found a way to be grateful in the midst or aftermath of tragedy, providing inspiration and hope for those going through similar situations.

I share the stories of some of those incredible people I’ve met because I haven’t lived some of the tragedies or heartbreak many of you may have experienced and endured. I couldn’t pretend to understand what people were going through. I needed, as the author, to provide you with stories from real people who practiced gratitude during the worst times in their lives. I want to give you hope that if they can get through a diagnosis, addiction, or loss of a child, so can you.

On the other side, I’ve encountered people who have ceased to live, gave up on life and threw in the towel. Or worse, I’ve crossed paths with those who make everyone else’s lives miserable. They live out the mantra, If I can’t be happy, no one around me deserves to be happy either.

Research indicates that gratitude makes us happier, healthier, and more content. If you’re interested in this research, head over to my website at https://givinggal.com/resources/thegratitudechallenge and dig into the information I have there as much as your little heart desires.

You may wonder why I’m not including the research in this book as it validates and gives credibility to my theme. I don’t because research is just research until you go out and live it. Think about it. It doesn’t matter if research has proven gratitude lowers your blood pressure until you practice gratitude and you see your blood pressure decrease. It doesn’t matter if gratitude makes you happier if you don’t find ways to be grateful and see how happiness seeps into your life. I think research is great, but I want you to go out and experiment, then let me know your findings. Prove the research right or wrong.

Everyone has different experiences and reactions. I can’t say for 100 percent that anything will happen if you practice gratitude because I can’t climb into your life and ensure you are following the book and exercises laid out for you. Go on this gratitude journey, and let me know how it impacts your life. Let’s put together our own little research to share with friends, family, and strangers.

The Gratitude Challenge is a tool for handling bad times and a reminder of all the good in your life.

Each day there is a gratitude challenge with prompts