This is the start of a new year, and there is another chance to get it right. For me, this Daniel fast is to look back and remember lessons you learned from last year. It’s to give God this first week of the year year to say thank you for what you have done and what you will continue to do for me.

For me, it’s a time to reflect on how far I’ve come from the year before, from 5 years before, even 20 years before, to where I stand today. When I realize how far I’ve come, it is amazing to me that I’ve even survived. 

A few years back, while I was writing and editing my soon to be New York Times best-selling book “The Blessings in Disguise,”

I cried……because I wrote about all I’ve been through, all of the hardships, and the trails and pain that I have endured in my life and yet still, I am grateful for all I have now. I am grateful for the pain as it made me who I am today.

I, like all of you, have been through dark times, and I am grateful for the strength to come out on the other side whole. 

These are the things I am most grateful for.

1. I am grateful that I found God in my life) again.

2. I am grateful for my girls, my family, and my friends that I chose for my family. These people keep me going, have my back, and give me unconditional love and support. 

3.That I overcame my drug and alcohol abuse, and that I no longer smoke. I no longer need these things to cover my pain.

4. That I learned to forgive. I forgave the man who raped me. I forgave my ex for all of his abuse, and I forgave all my enemies for what they did against me.

5. I am grateful for the lessons I’ve learned, even the painful lessons, because they all taught me something.

6. I am grateful for the peace and the joy I feel in my heart because I know what it’s like not to have it. 

7. I am grateful for faith, for believing in something I can not see or feel or touch but knowing without a doubt it’s there.

8. I am grateful for my health and my mind. That after all I’ve been through, I still have both.

9. I am grateful for my purpose. This gift God has given me to write and to be able to touch and inspire others with my words.

10. I am grateful for all of the miracles I have seen God do in my life and in others. I know that I need to pay it forward to be a blessing to others. 

So today, my friends just look around to see what you are truly grateful for. Think about the things that make you cry because you are so full of gratitude. It is then that you will know you are truly blessed. “Be the change you want to see,” 

@TreadmillTreats