9 Notable Gratitude Writing Prompts by Bob Jones

Over thirty years ago, motivational speaker, Zig Ziglar, challenged me to be a good finder. To become the kind of person who consistently looks for the good in situations and people. It’s easy to see the bad and act like a critic. You have to look a little longer and dig a little deeper to find the good.

 

Mr. Franklin Holmes was a volunteer chaplain working in prisons in Tennessee, Georgia, and Florida. He taught a program in those prisons about the importance of looking for the good in every situation. Those men and women took his prompt seriously. They came up with over thirty things they were grateful for about the place where they were incarcerated.

 

Sometimes find good just takes is a little prompting. Notice things you like to do, the people you get to do life with, and the opportunities life presents. Some of the observed good will not only be inspiring but useful as subjects for articles. If any of the following prompts create a path for you, I’ll be grateful.

 

NINE PROMPTS + A BONUS

 

ONE / Write about an act of kindness from another person.

This could be an act of kindness from a good neighbour, friend, co-worker, family member, or even a total stranger. This might be a small thing. Sometimes small things at the right time make the biggest difference.

 

TWO / Write about something that brightens your day when you’re feeling down.

Is there something that lights you up on a bad day? Describe it and write about why or how it makes you feel better.

 

THREE / Describe your favorite time of the day.

What is it and why is it your favorite time? When we focus on small moments, we recognize the importance of each day. Think about the day you are having now. What is special to you?

 

FOUR / List 4 things you are grateful for today.

It doesn’t matter if these are small things. List them. I had a simple, daily gratitude habit. Every morning I arrived on campus at the church I served for 29 years, I thanked God for the opportunity. This prompt started me on a positive note every day.

 

FIVE / Describe your favourite person and list all of that person’s good qualities.

Who is the person? Write about one or more of those qualities.This prompt pushes you to not take people for granted and to appreciate those around you.

 

SIX / Recall a success you had. Write a one paragraph thank you speech describing who helped you achieve the success. 

Identify one person who helped you reach that goal.  What did they do and how did their action contribute to your success? After writing your speech, share it with the person who helped you succeed.

 

SEVEN / Write about your favourite hobby.

What is your hobby? What about it makes it good? How does your hobby make you feel?

 

EIGHT / Write about something you did to make someone happy today.

See the good in what you did today. Describe how what you did made the other person feel. Be thankful that you could reach out and make someone else feel joy.

 

NINE / Write about something good you saw in your church or how your church is a blessing to your community.

Are there volunteers who stand out for their faithfulness and second mile kind of attitude? Is there a program that helps people? Write about the impact it has on you. 

 

BONUS / Write about a pet and what makes or perhaps made the pet special.

The pet could be yours or another person’s. Maybe it’s a pet you see a few times a year on special family occasions. What makes that pet special? How does the pet make you feel?

Are you grateful for writing prompts? Do you have a favourite source for prompts?

 

Thank you for reading.

 

Follow Bob’s writing at REVwords. 

Give Writing Time by Sandi Somers

 

“There is a time and a season for everything.”

 (Ecclesiastes 3:1.)

In my early years of writing. I was facing a deadline and didn’t have time to bring my piece to full maturity. I was in a hurry but submitted it anyway, feeling as though I was birthing a baby too premature to survive. Of course, my article was not accepted for publication. I promised myself I’d never do that again but work diligently with time to complete my writing properly.    

Today, many writing gurus emphasize that we “write fast” and “publish fast”. This concept is so promoted in our age of speed and instant results that it’s easy to be swayed and feel as though we need to hurry through our work. 

But God’s way is different. If we want our writing to be of the highest quality, we must give writing time. It is said that Ray Bradbury advocated that writers “put a novel-length manuscript away for a year. Then when you take it out and read it the words will appear to have been written by someone else. This process allows you to get a new look at your own work.” 

Giving our writing a rest is a principle from God Himself. Just as He instructed us to keep one day a week for Sabbath, He may ask us to give ourselves a break from our w-i-p. He knows the rhythms of our writing: when it is going well and when ideas and concepts spring to mind easily. He also reveals to us that when we begin to stagnate, we need to give our writing a rest, and with it, our mind, emotions, and body. Doing so will give us time to meditate on our ideas, gain a new perspective, and allow God to infuse us with new transformational truths. 

And yet, setting our project aside might seem counter-intuitive. We might be afraid that we’ll abandon our work altogether. But if God has prompted and inspired us to write, He’ll keep the idea in mind and will bring our attention back to it when we’re ready. 

During this rest period, we don’t stop writing, however. A new project might just be the incentive that spurs our creativity. Bradbury also knew that putting a manuscript away temporarily “works best with writers who have multiple projects open at once and who can work on two or three books or stories at a time, in rotation. When one is completed, you can switch to working on another, and when that is completed you can go back to the one on your desk.”[i] 

As we write, let us pay attention to the ebbs and flows of our writing, not hurry our project into premature birth, and follow God’s revealed plans. In so doing, we will write in rhythm with God.

---

[i] William Cane, Write Like the Masters, (Cincinnati, OH: Writer’s Digest Books, 195-196).

Grace in Action ~ by Brenda J Wood

 

All in the last few weeks, I’ve had a serious breast cancer scare, a lingering bout of diverticulitis, a precancerous biopsy in the base of my mouth, and worn a heart monitor for five days. 

I did what I always do when life is too much: I journal my angst and I cling to Christ. 

But also, during that time, I did a YouTube devotional (See YouTube, Barrie Free Methodist Church, Wednesday, December 14, 2022)  We spoke of the hymn, Silent Night, and the peace it brings to so many. Our prayer was that peace would wash over us all.

Friends, I tell you true. I had no fear about any of this. I have learned that anxiety and fear are a waste of time. Whatever happens, no matter how awful, The Lord gives peace.

What crazy thoughts attack you right now? You don’t have to live there. That is not the way of God. I pray the peace of God over you, each one, right this minute.

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”  (John 16:33)

While they were still talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” (Luke 24:36)

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. (John 14:27)

Peace be with you, friends, peace. And remember to journal your thoughts while you follow your Saviour.

Brenda J. Wood is a speaker, author, and blogger. Her book My Affair with Cancer is available online. 

 

 

G is for Grace ~ by Wendy L. Macdonald

Grace is the grease that keeps my writing wheels from rusting out when I’m stuck in a rut.  

Who enjoys rejection?

Grace is the reason we don’t toss our pens and run the other way. 

Who will tell the grace story in our voice and reach the people God has placed us among? 

What is grace?

My old dictionary used words like kindness, mercy, and pardon in its definition. Christ is the King of kindness. Without Him, we wouldn’t have an eternal reason to write.

By grace, we were found and rescued. By grace, we will arrive in Heaven. And by this same grace, we hope to leave published pages that point to Jesus. Through our writing—and by God’s grace—we can write His Name across the publishing sky for many to see.

While I was at a recent writer’s retreat, I felt as close to home as I’ve ever felt. I wasn’t the only one who relied on grace. Writers need lots of it. Writers belong to a tribe that loves to write and must write.

It’s how we make sense of our place in a world that often doesn’t feel like home.

Grace helps inspirational writers accept when they’re not accepted. It empowers them to get busy putting words together that their segment of the reading world is waiting for.

Grace gives us work to do and helps us get it done.

It’s an honor to live a grace-filled life. Whatever gifts we’ve been given are meant for sharing to a needy world. Let’s not worry for a second if we don’t fit in as well as award-winning worldly writers.

Our rewards are in Heaven and in the satisfied sighs of other hungry-for-grace people who feel less alone because they read our words.

I’m nosy to know how grace helps you keep your pen on paper.

Grace is the Word

G is for grace

And for goodness and God

And is much needed by writers 

Who tend to be odd

G is for grace

And for grit and guts

Because without all three

We’d stay stuck in our ruts.

~ wlm

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.

2 Corinthians 1:2-4 NIV 

Wendy L. Macdonald is an inspirational blogger and podcaster who loves to photograph nature on Vancouver Island. Her byline is: “My faith is not shallow because I’ve been rescued from the deep.” Her main website is wendylmacdonald.com where she enjoys interacting with readers.