Gratitude Project

 

Around the same time, God had given me a special assignment to do.   I had read an article in the Sunday Mail about the ‘365 Grateful Project’ by Hailey Bartholomew.   The article told of Hailey’s severe depression and how as a last resort a friend had recommended she receive counseling from a Catholic Nun. The advice that changed her life went something like this ...

The secret to happiness is reflection and gratitude ...
Stop at the end of each day ...
And record something in that day that made you truly grateful.

Because Hailey was a photographer, she decided to not just record what she was grateful for, but to take a photo as well.

 My mission was to take a photo each day of something I could be grateful for about my husband, Andrew. He was not a willing participant at first, so the photos aren’t great, but I caught him mowing the lawn, washing the dishes, feeding the dog, fixing the shower, packing my car and so on. He became quite pleased with himself as he realized what I was doing and watched the album grow.

 

Each day God showed me something new that I could be grateful for.  It made me realize that even though Andrew may not be insightful or a spiritual giant, he is a wonderful servant and operates in his God-given gifts.  I leant to appreciate him for what he is and not concentrate so much on what he is not.  Thank you Lord.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sure, you can have a stall!

Out of obedience I sent off an email to make a general enquiry. To my surprise the answer came back ... “Sure, you can have a stall!” I hadn’t even asked for one!  

God, what are you doing?   Remember ...I don't even have any books! I'm not even going to the conference!

Then He started to show me that I did have a couple of albums I could take, a couple I could borrow and a few more I could make over the next month.  Before I knew it, I had a whole table full of Faithbooks.

I spent the Easter weekend working on my Fingerprints of God album.  Going through the process of answering ten questions about my faith journey reminded me of the good things God had done in my life and how far I had come. It helped to build up my faith at a time when I really needed it.  

 

When I first became a Christian, I felt that God was prompting me to go buy a notebook and write out the story of how I came to know Him.  I gave that journal, which would become the first of many, the title 'One Woman's Search' and I was able to refer back to it as I answered these questions.  
 

 

This album also showed my family a part of my history they weren’t so familiar with. As my husband, Andrew, read through the finished project, he kept saying ‘Oh, I didn’t know this about you and I didn’t know that!  I did have 30 years to fill in before he came along.






If you would like to read my answers to the questions "What was religion/faith like in your childhood home?" and "How did you come to know Jesus Christ as your Saviour?" go to my facebook page https://www.facebook.com/FaithbookingWithSuzanne.  You will find "10 Questions of My Faith" in the Photos Section under the Albums Tab.