By Anna Weaver
Hawaii Catholic Herald
As I write this, it’s less than a week past Halloween, and already the online publications are releasing their holiday gift lists, and stores are pushing their seasonal sales. Santa is perched on Ala Moana Shopping Center’s roof, and I haven’t even had the chance to decide what I’m making for Thanksgiving!
Adding to the retailers’ sense of urgency is the fact that there are fewer post-Thanksgiving days this year to rack up sales. Turkey Day 2019 is as late as it can ever be, falling on Nov. 28. The pervasive pull to “buy, buy, buy!” and the closeness of Thanksgiving to Christmas adds to my seasonal worry that I’m focusing too much on material giving and getting.
I need regular reminders at this time of year to embrace my many blessings. So I’ve set myself a goal to write down at least one thing I’m blessed with each day between Nov. 28 and Dec. 25. That tallies up to 28 days of gratitude, and I will be aiming to not repeat any of my blessings in my journaling.
Gratitude challenges/journals are not a revolutionary or new practice (see Oprah) but this practice is one I’m feeling I need to embrace this year. It also seems like an appropriate Advent devotion since that liturgical season covers most of the time period between Thanksgiving and Christmas.
How about you? Want to join in this daily blessings challenge?
I’ll be sharing some of my blessings and asking you about yours on our blog, Instagram and Facebook (#28daysblessing). You can also email me at aweaver@rcchawaii.org if you’d like to share your own moments of gratitude that way.
