Day 15

I had a very interesting conversation with my three-year old son in the car today.  He loves the number three and is always on the lookout for it when we're out and about.  Today, he saw a three and said there's my letter (because his name starts with the letter E).  I explained that no, the three was not the first letter in his name... E was.  And guess what his response was?  I want a number to be my name.  You got it... my three year old son is already on track to become a famous rock star like The Artist Formally Known as Prince... except instead of changing his name to a symbol, he wants to change his name to a number.  Priceless! 

I want to make a change too... but this change is not about coming up with a new name for myself.  This change goes much deeper... it's more like a transformation... the thankfulness transformation.  That's what this experiment is all about, right?  Becoming thankful by choosing to be thankful.  It's not rocket science, but it's not always easy either.  What I've discovered during these first 15 days is that I'm not taking things for granted... as much.  Are you experiencing this too?   This week, I've been thankful for my contacts (although it hasn't made it to my published list yet.)  Last year at this time, I had terrible issues with my contacts and could only wear them on special occasions.  And now, I can wear them comfortably again. I'm so thankful to have comfortable contacts that allow me to see clearly.  But before my contact mishap, I completely took them for granted.  I never imagined I wouldn't be able to wear contacts... until last year.  Amazing how we can come to appreciate things even more after we've struggled with them for a while...

I find myself sending up mini thankful prayers throughout the day... for things like boys that make me laugh, my hubby making it home safely from his business trip, an impromptu chat with a friend face to face (not even over the phone), my friend and neighbor giving me ribbon and letting me borrow a pen for a project I'm working on... each of these is a blessing from God.  I'm so glad that God is revealing his limitless blessings to me through this simple experiment. 

My friend sent me a song yesterday that could very well be the theme song for The Thankfulness Experiment, simply because it says "I want to thank you, thank you, thank you" so many times throughout the song.  (36 times to be exact... yes, it's true, I counted.  But I guess you're not too surprised since I'm tracking 10,000 reasons, huh?)  The chorus is catchy and sticks with you.  As a matter of fact, I heard it on the radio this morning while dropping my son off at school and it's stuck with me all day.  Take a moment to listen to Peter Furler's song "I'm Alive" and let it encourage you to say "Thank you, thank you, thank you" all day long. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=mOuexCdmlys

Today, I'm thankful for...

1.  A good night's sleep last night
2.  A surprise Caramel Apple Cider from Starbucks waiting for me at Bible Study this morning
3.  Frito Pie for dinner - not only yum-o, but also made from leftover chili so I didn't have to cook - is this worth two?
4.  Magic Eraser that makes cleaning the bathtub a little bit easier
5.  My hubby making it home safely from a business trip
6.  Jumping on the bed together as a family - yes, all four of us jumped on the bed together, giggling the whole time

Here's to 10,000 reasons... only 8,133 more to go...