This is that time of year when we usually take a second to pause and reflect, to add a bit of thankfulness to our day.
All of the Bible Journaling groups have you writing Scripture about thankfulness and we read the books and do the things and celebrate the day…
So, let’s look for a way that we can add some creativity that will last through the year to that thankful list. Something that we will come across in March and again in July that will open our hearts just a little more to that thankfulness that we really need to keep with us all year.
The biggest thing is that we really want to create a system that we will use throughout the entire year. You will learn this month as you go through all of the Scripture Writing, journaling and studies that having a thankful heart is what God has called us to, and what is going to help us get through the hard times. It also creates a sense of contentment, which means we stay away from that other word that tears things apart (discontentment).
So, let’s go through 5 creative ways that you can keep up with what you have learned and also keep it going throughout the year.
Create a Blessing Book
Creating a Blessing Book is a great way to keep up with multiple things all in one place. This can be as elaborate or as simple as you would like. I keep mine pretty simple and that works for me, but I can also see how it would be fun to add in some cute stickers or washi.
I first heard about this while I was reading the book, The Seven Levels of Communication by Michael Maher. Such a great book!
In the book the person being trained is to keep a book where he writes down his affirmations for his business and 5 things that he is thankful for every morning.
I think doing this in the morning really gets you thinking because nothing has happened yet really and you have to think about your life as a whole.
I think it is even more power packed if you do it in the morning and the evening, and maybe even add in a little prayer.
The fun part with this is that you can use so many different things as your journal. You can grab a cute notebook (like these), get a Travelers Journal, or even make your own out of a card and some pretty paper like we did in this video!
Making a daily habit is key here. It is also a good idea to leave it out on the counter and write in it throughout the day.
I did this quite a bit a few years ago, after reading the book One Thousand Gifts. Her book will really make you look at the smallest things as something to be thankful for! I love this book so much that I read it every November!
Create a Thankful Bible Journaling Page
I love Bible Journaling! It brings the Scripture to life in such a beautiful way. It really helps me to soak in the Scripture, but it also lets me spend time with God in a way that is meaningful to me.
I love all types of creativity within my Bible. So, adding in a Thankful page is a great way to merge two beautiful things!
Here is one that I created recently, there is also a video for it here.
But I am thinking that it would be fun to create one that will have me turning back to it each month.
What if you created a page in your Bible today that you could write in all year. At the end of each month, you could write down a few of the things that you are most thankful for that month. It would turn out so beautiful by this time next year!
Create a Praise Page
Worship is a great way to show thankfulness. As we worship God we are thanking Him and admiring His attributes. Worship songs are great and a lot of them have some beautiful words of praise for our amazing God.
But getting praise from God’s own words, WOW! That is just so very different!
To create something like this I would find a printable that you are loving right now and head to the front of your Bible on a blank page. Add some color and some of those stickers and then head to the Book of the Psalms and start reading! Highlight any verses that speak to your heart and then when you are done reading for the day add some of them to the page at the front of the book.
This is again something that you could commit to either each week, or each month. Each time you open your Bible to study or journal you will see this beautiful page that is full of thankful praise to the Father!
These are some of my favorite Christian stickers. I use them a lot if I am not using one of the Growing Your Faith printables from the shop.
I would love to see what you come up with for your Praise Page! You can head over to the Facebook Group and share your page with the other ladies so that we can all be inspired!
Create a Thankful Bible
Another thing that I have been thinking about is creating a Thankful Bible.
Here are my thoughts on how I would do that, you can adapt it to a way that works for you of course.
I would grab a “cheaper” Bible, kinda like the one that I am using in the Bible Journaling on a Budget 2.0 series. You can find a few here, if you want to check it out. I got mine on sale!
These Bibles do not have any journaling space, but you can easily create space within them by using paper or journaling cards.
For me, I think I will journal all of the verses on “thankfulness” first and then use it as a way to read a page of the Bible, find a verse that makes me feel thankful, and then create a journaling page there. You could easily fill up the entire Bible this way and it would make a great project for the entire year!
I like the idea of this for a few reasons, first you will be looking at what you are reading and really looking for something to be thankful for. You won’t just be cherry picking verses out once you do those initial thankful verses. Second, you will be IN God’s word really reading in, digging, like you are digging for little nuggets of treasure! Third, I think this would be a very rewarding way to spend time with God.
Books and Journaling
Another great way to add some creative thankfulness to your journaling is to find some really great books that have to do with thankfulness. I will get you started…
You can do this 2 ways, well probably even more than that really, but here are two ways that I would like to do it.
First, you can turn the book into your journal. Add pages into the book, write in the margins, highlight parts of the book that resonated with you. You can even grab some of these fun book stickers or these coffee stickers and add them to the book.
Before you bite my head off….
If you plan to read the book over and over again, you might one to be strategic with this. But also remember that when you read a non-fiction book there is a lot of information within the book that you really do not need to read over and over. It is just filler information. It adds to the overall book, but if you are reading it again for the information that is in the book, you may not need those parts. So, feel free to cover them up!
OR….
Have a separate journal. You can write down quotes, your thoughts and feelings, as well at your thankful list as you go!
You can make your own or buy one. You can get a big one that will last for the whole year or use a different one for each book.
Make sure to write down actions steps from what you learned so that you actually apply what was in the book and not just read and forget! I forget a lot! I always think I will go back and read the book again and so I will just skip this step. Unfortunately, I do not have the time that I think that I do to go and re-read a thousand books and I would be much better off doing it to begin with!
Give Thanks!
Ok so I hope that this gives you some ways to add in thankfulness to your creative journaling and Bible journaling.
If you will use these and create a good habit of adding thankfulness into your daily life you will see a huge change in how you walk through your day, but especially in how you handle the hard days and times, in how you lean into God more because you will actually SEE where all of your blessings come from. Plus when you look back at your thankfulness you will see how much there was to be thankful for during the hard times, and you will be able to see how God worked through that difficult time.
Walking with God in the beginning is so much about faith, but as you go, you quickly learn that there is just so much evidence of His work in your life and relying on Him becomes something that you do because you KNOW Him, and His ways, and how He works.
It brings you joy and peace to allow Him to work and you to follow His lead.
I pray that you walk in His ways!
Hi! I am Amy
At Growing Your Faith, we equip and inspire Christian women to deepen their relationship with God through in-depth Bible study, reflective journaling, and creative expression.
Through our resources and printables, we provide practical tools to engage with Scripture in meaningful ways, fostering spiritual growth, faith-filled confidence, and a closer walk with God.
