Thanksgiving (No, Not That Thanksgiving)
Please extend a warm welcome to author Alyssa Schwarz! I’m on trip to New York with my daughters at the moment. 
Alyssa is graciously filling in for me AND giving away a copy of her new book to one of you. Leave a comment on this post for a chance to win! Happy weekend, Becky
Thanksgiving.
No, I’m not talking about the holiday coming up in a month and a half. I’m talking about the act of giving thanks and how it relates to our daily lives. Don’t get me wrong, I love that we have a holiday focused on remembering what we are thankful for, but why should that only apply to one day out of the year?
A few years ago, I read a book called One Thousand Gifts, and to be honest, it didn’t make much of an impact at the time. Sure, the idea of finding joy in the midst of your everyday life appealed to me, but not enough to actually sit down and write out 1,000 things I was thankful for like the title suggested.
But then I met Grace. Or rather, she found me in the pages of my latest book, Fields of Glass. She was tough, determined, and a real go-getter, but life had beaten her down, and even though she was looking for peace, she’d convinced herself it could only be obtained by signing the next client to impress her bosses.
I immediately knew her name would be Grace. And another thing I knew early on… she’d have a journal of things she was thankful for. Not because she wanted to, but because she needed to.
Like us, Grace needed to remind herself of all the blessings God had already given her (be it small or big). And guess what, the more she looked for those blessings, the more she found!
Since finishing the rough draft of this story, I went back to that book about the thousand gifts and decided to start a list of my own. I’m only a few pages into my brand-new notebook with the prettiest of covers, and I actually think I’m starting to understand this word thanksgiving a little better. Every evening, I start that’s day’s entry with, “Today, I’m thankful for…,” and I’m always surprised that no matter how bad I thought the day was, I’m able to find plenty of things to be thankful for.
Fields of Glass is available now, and I’d love to give away a copy to one of you. Simply leave a comment letting me know about something you are thankful for, and I’ll choose a winner in a week!
How do you practice intentional thankfulness?
Alyssa is a Colorado native who attended the Colorado School of Mines, got her masters in Geological Engineering, and promptly became a watercolor artist and author (as one does). She loves writing heartfelt romances with happy endings, a bit of mystery, faith, humor, and second chances. Receive a free short story when you sign up for her newsletter HERE!
