Monday is never, ever my favorite day.
The weekend is over, and a long week stretches ahead, full of what I like to call “busy nothings.”
If you’re anything like me, you start dreading it on Sunday night as the Great Reset begins. Prepping lunches. Setting up the coffee pot. (I don’t do Keurig, and my Nespresso is reserved for afternoon lattes, should I desire one.) Choosing clothes for the week. Maybe putting away whatever laundry was done over the weekend.
I just don’t like Mondays.
And I don’t like feeling that way.
It makes Sunday go by far too quickly. And since it’s the Lord’s Day, I feel a certain twinge of yuck spending the latter half of it all grousy because Monday is coming.
I was thinking about this last night as I sat with a cup of tea, Percy at my side, wishing I could do anything – ANYTHING – other than work a 9-to-5.
But God has been dealing with me lately about ingratitude over things I once asked Him for. And as I sat there, He reminded me of that.
Suddenly, my mind was flooded with little snapshots from the past weekend, and I realized just how much I have to be grateful for.
Then I wondered: What if I started Monday differently?
What if, instead of beginning the week thinking about everything I don’t want to do, I began by thanking God for everything He has given me?
What if I started Monday with gratitude?
Thankful for the blessings of the weekend. Thankful for the good things that happened during the week. Thankful for the specific, ordinary things that can so easily get overlooked.
So I decided to make it a habit.
And just like that, Monday Blessings was born.
Each Monday, I’ll share at least five specific blessings I’m thanking God for. These won’t necessarily be the big, obvious blessings we enjoy every day – the blood of Jesus, our freedom, our families, our jobs, our homes.
Those are blessings worth thanking God for every single day.
But these will be the specific blessings. The little things. The things that happened this week that made me stop and say, “Thank You, Lord.”
So let’s begin.
1. Two new ladies on my team
The two ladies joining our team at work are wicked smart and absolutely amazing. I can’t wait to work with them, learn from what they know, and finally have some input into how I can grow what has, up until now, been a pretty solitary role.
I’m really looking forward to what this could become.
2. My sister and her selflessness
Once again, my sister cared for Percy while I traveled for the weekend.
He does so well with her, and I’m incredibly grateful that I don’t have to board him when I’m away. Knowing he’s home, comfortable, and being loved makes traveling so much easier.
3. A new perspective
God has given me some new inspiration concerning my overall attitude toward my blessings.
Honestly, just having an attitude change about anything at my age is pretty cool.
But this one feels especially important.
4. Time with my Sophia
I cannot overstate this one.
Every time I see Sophia, there is something new. New growth. New abilities. New movements. New little things she can do that she couldn’t do the last time I saw her.
And I cannot get enough of her hugs.
They are life.
5. Coming home to a home-cooked meal
Again, courtesy of my sister.
But there was just something magical about coming home, sitting down to a lovely home-cooked meal, having a cup of tea, and then settling into my chair.
Nothing spectacular.
Nothing Instagram-worthy.
Just home.
And sometimes, that’s more than enough.
So here I am on Monday morning, trying something new.
Instead of looking at Monday as the end of everything good and the beginning of another long week, I’m choosing to stop and notice what God has already given me.
Because maybe Mondays aren’t the problem.
Maybe I’ve just been looking at them from the wrong direction.
What blessings are you grateful for this Monday?
