Or do they?

One of my favorite verses from Psalms is Psalm 136:1, “Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, for His steadfast love endures forever.” Growing up I learned that we must be grateful in all things and in all circumstances. It is a concept that I knew in my mind but it never really made it to my heart.

I will be the first to admit that this often has been difficult for me. Sometimes life would get me down and it would be very hard to show gratitude in the situation. I had heard over the years the importance of keeping a gratitude journal. I never really gave keeping a gratitude journal much thought until I began my Life Coaching certification through the QSCA. Here comes one of our assignments, keep a gratitude journal. Well, that sounds easy enough right, well for me it wasn’t. Keeping a gratitude journal was quite difficult for me. I’m not sure what the resistance was, maybe I let myself get so caught up in the mundane of the day or the darkness that seems to be plaguing my Facebook newsfeed. Perhaps it was because I see others moving on to bigger and better things and I seemed to be stuck where I was, desiring to move but stuck none the less? So here I am needing to keep a gratitude journal so that I can talk to my clients about keeping a gratitude journal and flat out not wanting to do it. I decided to grab one of the journals I had laying around the house and begin. The first couple of days went okay and then after that, I wouldn’t do it again. This cycle seemed to continue. Sometimes I would put the journal in a drawer of my night stand, out of sight, out of mind. Other times I would let my night stand get so cluttered it would get lost, again, out of sight, out of mind. I would watch different videos on the gratitude journal and think oh that is a good idea, do it for a couple of days and then stop.

When I made the decision, I AM going to keep a gratitude journal, I knew that I had to do things differently in order to get the results I desired. I did things differently this time. I made sure I had a special journal with the sole purpose of expressing gratitude in my life.  I have noticed that in my life, keeping a gratitude journal has helped keep my vibration very high and has helped me to be able to give thanks to God in all circumstances. It helps me to see the blessings in my life no matter what the outside circumstances look like. When one understands that we create our lives from what is inside of ourselves, it makes it that much more important that internally we are full of gratitude. I began to see the value and importance of keeping a gratitude journal.

I will admit to you that I have had nights where we have been so crazy, I came home and crashed, not writing in my gratitude journal. I do notice the next morning my vibration is a lot lower than the times I’ve gone to bed after writing down what I am grateful for that day. A gratitude journal is such a great way to keep your energy high and the blessings that God has bestowed upon you. I would like to share some tips with you in order to help you start a gratitude journal.

Purchase a nice journal for the sole purpose of gratitude. It can be as expensive or inexpensive as you would like. I would not recommend buying one of the $2 spiral bound notebooks, as those are easy to use for other purposes like grocery lists. Next you will want to purchase a pen. Pens are quite the hot commodity at my house and sometimes hard to come by. If you purchase a pen for the sole purpose of writing in your gratitude journal, you will never have to go searching for one. You will want to put the journal on your nightstand. I recommend not putting it in a drawer as it will be more difficult to remember at the end of a long day. Also, keep your night stand clear of clutter. This will help you to keep track of your journal and also help you sleep better. I don’t know if you have tried sleeping in a cluttered room before, it is not easy.

I like to create a full sensory experience by adding a couple drops of essential oils to my gratitude journal. Essential oils like Fir, Frankincense, or Geranium are great oils to add to the pages of your journal. I use Young Living Essential Oil’s Gratitude blend. I like this blend as it has those three oils plus others that help to bring about a feeling of relaxation. When my mind is relaxed, I find that I am able to get into a feeling of gratitude much easier.

Be specific in your gratitude. Rather than saying I am grateful for my house, mention what it is about your house that you are grateful for. Talk about specific traits in your partner or children that you are grateful for. List out the blessings from God during your day as well. Don’t just say you are thankful for God rather, what God did you are thankful for. Getting specific about what you are grateful for helps to anchor it into your subconscious mind and into your heart as well.

Yes, gratitude journals do work when it is implemented into one’s daily routine. Do you gratitude? What have been some of the amazing things you have seen since starting one? If you haven’t started a gratitude journal, do you plan to start one? Keep the conversation going in the comments and let me know. Please share this blog with others if you found it helpful and as always, follow me for more Tidbits from Andrea. Also don’t forget to find me on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Google+. I AM looking forward to continuing the gratitude conversation online.

Remember the commercial where the woman falls and she can’t get up? Do you ever feel this way in areas of your life? Things are going well in all but one area of your life. It is the one area that you’ve fallen and just can’t get up.

Do you have something you want to change or achieve in your life? Maybe you’d like to…

Are you living in abundance or lack? Many of us go through life wanting abundance yet living in lack. We get caught up in the lack that we have and miss the abundance all around us. If you are wanting to live a more abundant life, it is very important to shift in order to move from lack into abundance. Today is the 8th of the month and many believe the number 8 is the number of abundance. This a great day to start shifting your mindset and energy from lack and into abundance.

Take some time to go outside and soak in the abundance found in nature. The trees have an abundance of leaves, your lawn has an abundance of grass, the night sky has an abundance of stars. God created an infinite amount of abundance. Looking around and taking in nature is a wonderful way to bring the feeling of abundance into your life. Another way to bring in a feeling of abundance is a process or something I refer to as a helpful tool. If you are familiar with the Prosperity Game or Wallet Process found in the book Ask and It is Given by Esther and Jerry Hicks, today is a great day to start one of those processes. These two processes, or helpful tools as I also like to refer to them as, are great ways to bring about a feeling of abundance. The Wallet Process is my favorite of the two. I find that walking around with an actual $100 bill in my wallet, helps to keep me in an abundance mindset throughout the day.

Another thing that I like to do is take essential oils and put them on areas that I would like to attract more abundance. This can be your bank account, investment portfolio, and even your business. Oils such as Patchouli, Ginger, and Spruce have been linked to prosperity since ancient times. You can put the oil on cash or coins in your wallet, on your checkbooks, your ledger, your phone, your computer, even your calendar. Any area of your life that you would like to bring in a sense of abundance is where you would want to drop oil.  I also like using essential oils to enhance the Wallet Process and the Prosperity Game. Take a few drops of oil and put it on the $100 bill for the Wallet Process and the checkbook for the Prosperity Game. If you use Young Living Essential Oils, the Abundance blend has Patchouli, Ginger, and Spruce already in the oil blend. This is the oil that I like to put on my checkbook, cash, investment portfolio, and computer. The Abundance blend is one of my favorites that Young Living has to offer. The smell of these oils can bring you into a feeling of abundance. Imagine how amazing your wallet smells each time you open it. Imagine handing the clerk cash and coins that smell unlike any money they normally receive. You can’t help but feel a sense of abundance as the scent of the oil hits your nose. You want to make sure that you do not put oil on your credit cards or use a credit card for the Wallet Process. Credit cards are often associated with debt and an abundance of debt is not something that would be a good thing to attract.

You still have plenty of time to take advantage of today and begin shifting into abundance. Each month on the 8th, you can begin again if you would like. The main thing is getting to a point where you can stay in a mindset of abundance all of the time, no matter your outside circumstances.

What are some ways you have practiced bringing the feeling of abundance into your life? Do you use essential oils in this way? What shifts have you noticed when you begin to focus on your abundance rather than your lack? Let’s continue the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

If you would like more information on Life Coaching and details on how to make the Wallet Process and Prosperity Game part of your daily life, please visit my website at http://www.beyourbestu.com.

Hi, I’m Andrea G. Rockwood, Certified Life Coach, Hospitality Maven, and Essential Oil Enthusiast. I am a Texas transplant who has lived in the Metroplex since 2003. I have been married since 2004 to an amazing guy and we have two daughters who are 9 and 6. Our girls are involved in gymnastics and dance as well as being part time home schooled. 

I have a passion for helping women become the best versions of themselves they can be through coaching. I also have a passion for entertaining and hospitality passed down to me from my grandma Beulah. I also love using essential oils in every area of my life. 

I began this blog to give coaching and hospitality tips with drops of essential oils sprinkled in. My desire for this blog is to give you weekly tips regarding coaching and hospitality as both can help in life. 

I’m glad you are here. 

Follow me on Twitter and Facebook at Andrea G. Rockwood for daily tips and please visit my website at http://www.beyourbestu.com for information about Life Coaching.