Each month, over the past year, I’ve taken on a project, like drinking more water, or getting outside every day, or limiting my online presence.
For November, the most logical project would be to spend days being thankful.  And if those who have been following this project would have to take a guess, I think most would assume that I’d go with some kind of thankfulness experiment… but they’d be wrong.

I have a confession: the daily thankful stuff during November drives me bananas.

I know. I’m a horrible person.

It’s not that I don’t have things to be thankful for – I actually have SO MUCH to be thankful for.  But I’ve started to wonder what the point is of all my blessings if I’m just saying I’m thankful and that’s it.
What does that really do?
Does it change anything? Does it change me? More importantly, does it change the world?
My gratitude month (in May) taught me that it’s not being thankful for the big things, (like family, friends, a job, health, etc) that bring gratitude and joy. No, surprisingly, it’s the little things – tiny, otherwise unnoticed moments in the day – that change our perspective and us.
So why spend a month being thankful for those big things when I’m not really sure it does anything?

After some thought – I’ve decided to make this month’s project “service.”
Simply put – I’m going to do daily acts of service for the month of November.
They don’t have to be big all-day events, but small moments where I intentionally give back.
Give back out of the blessings I have been given.
Give back out of gratitude for the people that I love and who love me.

Being thankful is a start, but we can go further.
This month, I challenge you to be more than thankful.
I challenge you take the things you are thankful for, and give out of those things.
Thankful for your kid? What can you do to serve out of that place?
Thankful for your amazing parents? What can you do for them, or people who don’t have amazing parents?

It’s not quick and easy like posting what you are thankful for today to facebook.
This practice means taking time and being thoughtful and intentional around your blessings.
But we can do it.
And I think we’ll be better off for trying.

Who’s with me?