Apparently, we all just survived “Blue Monday”. Who knew that was a thing? The third Monday in January is supposedly the most depressing day of the year; Christmas is well and truly gone leaving only the bills in its wake, the sugar cookies are still on the hips, the gym has lost its sparkle, and the weather’s bleak and jolly-well cold. Boo. Whatever are we to do, poor us?

Well I suppose we could wallow until we thaw out in spring, but on the other hand perhaps we should turn it around now and add a little of our own sunshine—in the form of GRATITUDE! And maybe it starts with this cringe-worthy little gem:

“TURN THAT FROWN UPSIDE DOWN”

Yeah, I know, here she comes with the gratitude platitude, but truly it helps to count our blessings when we find ourselves slinking down that self-pity slide of doom. I was shooting down headfirst yesterday, and that was even before I knew it was the infamous “blue” day:

There I was, in the physiotherapist’s office flinching and jumping on the table as she prodded my pulsating, pulled calf muscle. The “blue” me was wondering what on earth I did differently to induce that dreaded muscle to ping half way through my usual Zumba class. This was beyond inconvenient. I totted up the number of errands I was supposed to run this week, not to mention the missed dance and gym classes. Worst of all, we leave for our vacation on Friday, and I pictured myself hobbling like the Hunchback of Notre Dame over pristine white sandy beaches, and it wasn’t pretty.

Good grief. Was I really frowning that much? 🙁 Thankfully, I had a moment, or more likely it was the Holy Spirit pricking my self-centered conscience reminded me of the reality of the situation: I’m fit and healthy and very rarely get injuries—this pulled muscle could have been a torn one keeping me out of action for months… man-up, Laura; I have a fantastic husband who already dropped everything in work to drive me to physio and had offered to get groceries and anything else I needed… my very own Superman (swoon); and good grief, I’m not going on a mountaineering trip up Everest—it’s a relaxing beach vacay, princess! Turn that frown…

“…give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” I Thessalonians 5:18

I need that little kick in the rear sometimes, okay quite often, and it’s usually from Scripture. Or maybe Ann Voskamp. Or even this lovely little “Psalms of Gratitude” journal by She Reads Truth, which I began last week. Timely. And very pink and not blue. But however it happens, when I start focusing on the multitude of blessings in my life, it changes my whole perspective and, well, check out this quote:

“The unthankful heart… discovers no mercies; but let the thankful heart sweep through the day and, as the magnet finds the iron, so it will find, in every hour, some heavenly blessings.” —Henry Ward Beecher (One Thousand Gifts Devotional, Ann Voskamp.)

Right? Also…. you know that a frown can sometimes lead to tears… which leads me in the most subtle of Segways to my latest giveaway: THE TEARS TRILOGY.

My three Christian teen fiction novels are the prize for some unassuming subscriber to my quarterly newsletter (which basically involves chocolate, books, and a giveaway!). Not a subscriber yet? Oh no… let’s turn that frown upside down and fix that by filling in the box on the right HERE! Oh, and the cut off date for this one is Friday, so do hurry…

Give thanks, friends… it beats the blues 🙂

Blessings and joy,

Linking up with some fabulous encouragers! Check them out: