This past November, there were several month-long programs encouraging people to demonstrate gratitude. In fact, I continued my own annual “Thirty Days of Gratitude” right here on this blog. At that time, I saw various articles and heard various comments regarding some of the programs being emphasized that basically called them silly, “because gratitude should be in our hearts all year long.” (In fact, quite hysterically to me, several of those same people joined a month-long December focus of listing multiple gratitudes to prove that November’s programs were not teaching year-round gratitude. Umm…several of those [not all, I publicly state] ran from December 1-31. WHAT????)
So why am I doing yet another month of emphasizing actions and activities that will likely end for many after the prizes are given away and the blog posts have ended? Because for many, they will not end. Will they diminish in frequency? Probably. But if I, personally, end up walking one mile a day after March 1st—instead of the two or three I’m striving for during February—I am still one mile ahead of where I was in January! If some of my friends only read one book per month—instead of the multiple books they are trying to read in February—they are still going to be forming a habit of reading! If someone sends one more encouraging e-mail or one more card through the mail service than they did in January, they have improved, changed, and moved forward!
Scripture tells us to encourage one another, edify one another, pray for one another, love one another, etc. Speaking only for myself, I can say that knowing I need to be accountable to someone for accomplishing a goal I have set truly does spur me on to greater action! And we’ve all heard the proven fact that twenty-one days of action helps to develop a habit. Tomorrow, I’ll share a bit more from Scripture about why I think accountability is important. For today, though, I just know that I need to keep improving. I have found that a month-long focus on adding something to or deleting something from my life is a helpful, practical step in moving more toward the person God created me to be!
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Idea I learned a while back on Pinterest: If you read from a bound book (vs. Kindle or Nook), take a paper clip and about three to five inches of the ribbon of your choosing. Simply loop the ribbon through the top of the paper clip, tie a knot, cut off the ribbon to the length you like it, and enjoy your new, colorful “bookmark!”
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I simply must add that today is my dad’s 88th birthday!!! Happy Happy Happy Happy Happy Birthday, Daddy! I love you bunches and bunches!
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Thank you for taking time to read “Why? (Part 1).” Feel free to click “leave a comment” and share how accountability helps you— or share a birthday greeting that I’ll pass along to my dad!
Pingback: Why? (Part 2) « Petals from the Basket
Happy Birthday to your Dad! I am loving this challenge but I have to admit I need to be careful that I am not using it as license to read when I need to be doing other things. Struggling more in the writing aspect so I need to see what I can do to make those encouraging notes get written.
I love and NEED accountability! Yes, I enjoy being ‘encouraged’ to do better in my daily walk, but in many ways it helps me to encourage others to “keep on keeping on” in those forward- Godward motions. Jerry and I do this with our grandchildren. We will reward them for reading more during a time or helping with extra chores around the house. (of course our little Meggie is a cleaning machine for her dad and brother!) Grace and Faith can actually cook an entire meal for their family of 7! It’s so rewarding to see others willing to take steps toward accountability and responsibility.