June 5, 2025 • 36 mins
When was the last time you thanked God for clean laundry? Or for the fact that your car started this morning? In this soul-refreshing solo episode, we’re doing a blessing inventory—not of the big, flashy miracles, but of the quiet, daily gifts we often overlook.
Just like inventory at a big-box retailer, your spiritual life needs regular check-ins. What blessings are collecting dust on your soul’s shelves? From warm coffee to unexpected texts, we’re naming the small things that reveal God’s constant care.
Through Scripture, real talk, and faith-filled reflection, we’ll learn how gratitude for the little things unlocks peace, presence, and perspective.
📖 Featuring Bible verses from Lamentations 3, Psalm 103, James 1, and Philippians 4.
🎧 Tune in to shift your focus, reset your heart, and start counting what truly matters.
#BlessingInventory #Gratitude #FaithPodcast #ChristianWomen #UnrelatedSisters #SmallBlessings #TruthAndGrace #ChristianEncouragement #SoloEpisode
We want this to be truly interactive podcast. Please go in the fan mail at
https://unrelatedsisterspodcast.buzzsprout.com and tell us your stories and let us know if it’s okay to share (no names). Let us know if you need prayer or how we can support you in your journey. Thank you so much for taking the time to listen. Follow us on Facebook @Unrelated Sister's: Truth & Grace Conversation Podcast or Email us at unrelatedsisterspodcast@gmail.com
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
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SPEAKER_00 (00:01):
Dear Lord Jesus, I come to you.
to thank you for thisopportunity to pour into other
women, to pour into thelisteners, Lord Jesus.
I thank you for the blessingsand the grace that you show me
every day.
I pray, Lord Jesus, that thelisteners feel that grace and
(00:22):
they find that grace in you,Lord Jesus.
I pray that they listen and theyfind your presence, Lord Jesus.
I pray that it helps them toheal, Lord, Wherever they stand,
Lord Jesus, I want to thank youfor this opportunity.
I want to thank you, Lord Jesus,for everything that you have
(00:42):
ever done for me, for the gracethat you show me daily.
Lord Jesus, please give me thewords that you want me to say.
Give me the strength to tellthem transparently where we are
in life, Lord Jesus.
And we just thank you today.
We thank you with an open heartand an open mind.
(01:04):
In Jesus' name we pray.
Amen.
Hey family, welcome back toUnrelated Sisters Truth and
Grace Conversation.
I'm Shannon, and today I'm bymyself, and we are talking about
real life, real faith, and realfreedom.
I am so grateful that you arehere with me today.
This episode is a personal one,a quiet, kind of powerful one.
(01:31):
We're not talking aboutbreakthrough blessings or the
miracles you post about onFacebook.
Not today.
Today we're going to talk aboutthe small blessings, the ones we
overlook, the daily deposits ofgrace we forget to count.
Sometimes in life, it feels likelife gets in the way, and
(01:54):
sometimes Instead of beingthankful that our car started
today or instead of beingthankful that we woke up this
morning with just a few achesand pains and not any true
medical issues, instead of beingthankful that there's food in
our cupboards and being thankfulthat we have money to put gas in
(02:15):
our cars, instead of being thatway, we want to complain or
whine about our knees hurting orour back hurting or our head
hurting when we should bethankful for the blessings that
we receive.
The things that God gives usdaily.
(02:37):
Have you ever worked in retail?
I do.
An inventory day is a seriousdeal.
Every product big or small Why?
Because value can't be managedif it's not recognized.
(03:11):
And getting ready and prepared,getting organized, getting
cleaned up, getting to the placeto where people, other people,
strangers can come in and countyour blessings or count your
inventory.
So today we're doing a blessinginventory.
Not just the big stuff, but theoverlooked ones.
Clean laundry, unexpectedlaughter, no traffic, someone
(03:35):
just texting you saying thankyou or that they're thinking of
you or that they love you.
Let's count the things westopped noticing but couldn't
live without.
Why small blessings matter.
Let's talk about smallblessings.
You know what they are.
Breath in your lungs.
(03:57):
A roof over your head.
Warm food.
A good hair day.
The strength to get out of thebed.
The smile from a stranger thatshifts your whole mood for the
day.
We often wait for big blessings,the house, the healing, the
husband, the promotion, butsometimes it's the little things
(04:20):
that are sustaining us to be inbetween those big breakthroughs.
Limitations 3.22-23 Because ofthe Lord's great love, we are
not consumed, but His compassionnever fails.
They are new every morning,great in your faithfulness.
(04:45):
So the small blessings that wereceive every day for me is the
small things at work, right?
When someone tells me I'm doinga good job or one of my
associates tell me they loveworking for me, coming home and
snuggling with my husband,That's a small blessing.
(05:12):
Coming home and having able tocook dinner, even though some
days I want to complain or Iwant to whine because I've
worked 12 hours today and Idon't want to come home and cook
dinner.
I want to stop and picksomething up.
But my husband loves ahome-cooked meal.
He'd much rather have ahome-cooked meal than fast food,
and you can't blame him, right?
It's definitely better to cookit at home.
(05:35):
But those small blessings, theones where I can't afford to
stop and pick up food if I don'twant to cook, or I can come home
and cook, or when he's cleanedoff the counter, when he's done
a load of towels because Ididn't get to them yesterday on
my day off.
Those are the small blessingsthat make me thankful, that make
(05:57):
me grateful where I am today.
I remember praying.
a father for Dylan and a husbandfor myself, for someone to love
me the way that I love them.
And I remember it not alwaysmaking the right choices, not
(06:21):
always making the right choices.
And then I wanted to fix them.
I wanted the worst of the worst.
I wanted the one that was soscarred that the only person
that could bring them back wouldbe Jesus.
(06:41):
But I thought I could do it, youknow.
I just, you know, and I prayedone day and I was dating a guy
and he had kids of his own andhe was really, really good to
his kids.
And, you know, he proposed and Isaid yes.
(07:02):
But the closer it got...
to actually going through withthe process of getting married,
the more I started having panicattacks, the more I started
feeling overwhelmed and out ofcontrol, and the more that I
couldn't do it.
I couldn't do it.
I went to the post office.
(07:23):
We had spent quite a bit ofmoney on some really fancy, nice
invitations, and I'd sat down,and I'd wrote everybody letters,
you know, an invitation and Iwent and bought stamps and, you
know, stamps aren't cheap.
And I went to the post officeand I just sat there.
It's like my legs didn't work.
(07:46):
I couldn't get out of my car.
And I just sat there and I criedand I cried and I cried.
And at that moment, God spoke tome.
He told me that I didn't need ahusband anymore.
for myself to find my worth.
I didn't need a husband to feelsafe.
(08:07):
I didn't need a husband to bewith me, that he was there and
he had always been there.
I didn't need a father for myson because Jesus was there.
Jesus walked with him every day.
Jesus had his hand on hisshoulder every day.
And I had to come, I had tosurrender that.
(08:28):
I had to speak it out intoexistence, and I had to
surrender that to Jesus.
And the minute I did, it seemedlike my thought process changed.
It seemed like my heart felt alittle healthier.
Maybe a block fell off the wallwhen that happened.
(08:52):
But every single morning, thatmeans today's blessings are
fresh, not recycled.
God doesn't run out.
He continues to give youblessings every day, whether
it's the same blessing from dayto day, because you didn't
recognize that it was ablessing, you know, or it's a
new, fresh, but every day it's afresh.
(09:14):
Every day waking up is ablessing.
Every day being able to go towork is a blessing.
Every day being able to pray toGod is a blessing.
Inventory isn't just for stores.
Okay, retail people, you'll knowhow this feels.
Inventory in a big box store isa whole process.
(09:39):
You scan it, you get ready, youget prepared, right?
Everything has to have itsplace, and in its place it has
to be.
The store has to be clean.
It has to be organized,organized.
In the grocery areas, it has tohave the same item front to
back.
In the apparel, everything hasto have a tag on it.
(10:00):
In toys, you have to count thosesmall LOL balls that are in
baskets, anything under$5.
In a big store, you don't wantto miss anything.
You have to count the backrooms.
You have to dig and make sureeverything is being accounted
for.
(10:20):
You have to get underneath thecounters.
You have to get underneath thebins in the back room.
You have to...
Be focused, and it has to beright.
You need every dollar accountedfor.
Your home office tells you thisis how much freight you should
(10:42):
have in your building, and theywant it accounted for.
Now, there's some shrink.
There's some loss.
There's some things that walkaway, and in retail, that's bad,
but When we're counting ourblessings, is that bad?
(11:02):
You know, is the shrink bad inour everyday life?
You know, I truly believe thatGod brings into your life
whatever you need at that time,whether it's a person, whether
it's a song, whether it's aBible verse that you can't get
out of your head, that I trulybelieve that God gives you that
(11:24):
moment.
In that moment, what you trulyneed.
I've been in my job for 23years.
I've worked for the samecompany.
And every promotion that I'vetried for on my own, I haven't
received.
I have been passed over,overlooked.
(11:45):
But every promotion that hepushes me to take, every
promotion that he has wanted meto take, he has put me in a
store.
Where I could be His light.
He has put me in the company.
He has moved me around.
And every one of them that I'vehad is because I needed to be a
(12:07):
light in that store.
That store needed Jesus.
It needed to feel His love andHis presence.
One time I...
I thought I was pregnant.
We had been trying.
And I...
(12:28):
I miscarried before it had hadtime to get latched on real
well.
I started bleeding, and thatdevastated me.
I have one son.
He is not my husband's, eventhough my husband loves him.
(12:52):
Biologically, he's not his.
And I wanted so badly to give myhusband and my mother-in-law,
you know, a child and agrandchild at one time.
You know, and again, you know,God comes to me and he says,
another child is not going tofix the mistakes from the past.
(13:15):
Another child is not going tobring you and your husband or
your husband's family closertogether, which don't get me
wrong.
We are very close.
I love my mother-in-law.
I love my father-in-law.
I believe if I couldn't get ahold of my mama and I called my
mother-in-law that she wouldjump into her car and come to my
(13:37):
rescue if I was to ever needher.
But that's a blessing.
A lot of families don't havethat.
A lot of people I know, theydon't get along with their
mother-in-law.
They don't get along with theother side of the family.
And you can't do that.
(13:58):
I'm getting off topic here,aren't I?
So inventory has to be tedious.
You have to be tedious.
Why?
Because you can't manage whatyou don't count.
You can't manage what you don'tcount.
You can't manage what you don'tsee.
You can't account for it if youdon't organize it.
(14:25):
Right?
So it's the same with yourblessings.
Some of us are spirituallydiscouraged because, not because
we aren't blessed, but becausewe're not taking inventory.
You know, sometimes we forgetthings.
The small things that we gethappy in our world or we get
(14:50):
joyful in our world and weforget the blessings that God
gives us.
And sometimes we forget where wecame from or where we're headed.
And that's okay.
It is.
But today we want to try.
I want you to try something.
I want you to take one full dayand write down every blessing
(15:11):
that you notice intentionally.
look for the blessings, right?
Not just the obvious ones, butthe fact that your car started,
that your child give you a hug,that you had food in your
fridge, that your anxiety didn'twin today, right?
Those are pretty big deals in aneveryday life, right?
(15:37):
In Psalms 103.2, Bless the Lord,O my soul, and forget not all
his benefits.
It's not that we're ungrateful.
We're just unintentional.
Sometimes we forget.
Let's start remembering, youknow, being unintentional or,
(15:59):
you know, being intentional ishard for me.
Um, I'm a caregiver.
I want to take care ofeverybody.
And I forget sometimes to takecare of myself.
Um, And I heard a thing onTikTok the other day.
A guy was talking about howpeople talk about their cup
(16:21):
being full and overrun and thenit's empty.
And he said, well, why do youwant to be a cup?
And I thought, well, becausethat's the way I've always heard
it, right?
what else would I want to be?
You know, I want to, I wantJesus to pour into me and fill
my cup and I want my, you know,I want to be able to share my
cup with everybody.
But then there's times that mycup gets empty and it's hard to
(16:45):
find somebody to pour into youother than Jesus.
And, um, he said, well, whydon't you want to be a water
hose?
Water hose, you're connected.
And then you turn the knob andit just floats and You don't
have to worry about it runningout.
So are you connected?
(17:06):
Do you spend time with Jesus?
Do you take that moment everyday to thank him for what he's
given you?
Are you a cup or are you a hose?
This is a, um, this nextsegment, um, I find it, um, Kind
(17:30):
of found it funny.
It says, what's on your shelves?
What's on your shelves?
Right?
If we were to walk the aisles ofyour life right now, what's on
the shelf that you've neveracknowledged?
What small but sacred things aresitting dusty in the corner of
(17:51):
your hearts, never counted?
You know, That person who stillchecks in on you even though
they don't have to.
That friend, that mentor, thatperson that just blessed you
every now and again drops you atext.
(18:11):
Are you thankful for that?
The devotional that you readlast week that hit exactly where
it hurt.
The message that you heard onSunday at church or on the radio
station.
You know, wasn't that ablessing?
Wasn't it something you neededmore?
right when you needed it.
That day you didn't feel likecrying.
(18:33):
If you're going throughsomething, if you're going
through a loss, whether it be aphysical loss, a mental loss,
any of that, did you make ittoday without crying?
That's a blessing.
The moment you laughed andforgot the happiness.
You know, my grandma always usedto say that laughter was the
(18:56):
best medicine, that laughter Youknow, it could take away the
heaviness, the dark cloud overyour head.
All you had to do was find areason to laugh.
And I believe that.
I believe that.
And I believe that theseblessings count.
I believe they matter.
And I believe they shouldmatter.
And I believe that whateverblessings you come up with for
(19:21):
the day, that they shouldmatter.
You know, I think about what'son my shelves today.
And I've talked a lot about myhusband in this episode and his
family.
And, you know, I thank myhusband.
I do.
I thank him.
But I don't thank him for thestuff that he does every day,
(19:41):
for the stuff that he does.
And we were talking, you know,we had long, long days this week
at work because of getting readyfor inventory and getting
prepared for inventory andeverything.
And one day we were just we werestanding in in the main aisle
and we were talking about I wastalking about how spoiled my
husband was and talking abouthow he has.
(20:05):
We have Bermuda grass.
And if you've.
ever seen Bermuda grass it'sgorgeous but it's time consuming
like you have to take care of ityou know you have to feed it and
fertilize it and water it andyou have to mow it so many times
so that it grows and continuesto get healthy and there's a lot
to it and if y'all want one daywe'll do an episode on grass
(20:28):
because I have learned moreabout grass than I've ever
wanted to know but I don't thankhim for that right because he's
the husband and that's just hisjob and then I I don't thank him
for, you know, people who pullup in our driveway are always
like, God, you are so lucky.
Your house is so beautiful.
(20:50):
Your yard is so beautiful.
You know, the neighbor tells himall the time to stop that, you
know, he's having to get outthere and work because of the
way our yard looks.
But I don't thank him for that,right?
And he does a good job, but Idon't thank him for that.
And this past Christmas, Idecided I was going to learn to
(21:10):
play golf and golf is hard.
And we've already discussedthis, that when things are hard,
I'm not the greatest at stickingwith it.
You know, and he every day hetries.
Hey, do you want to go down andhit some balls?
He just wants me to learn enoughto go play with him.
Right.
And I want to.
I really do.
(21:31):
But.
It's just so hard and it's sotime consuming.
And I don't know that I want toput in that effort, but he wants
me to.
Right.
But I don't thank him for that.
And then I get frustrated withhim.
Right.
I get frustrated with himbecause he takes care of the
(21:51):
yard.
He takes care of the outside ofthe house.
And.
guess it's a double standard andhe calls me out on it sometimes
at least it makes him feel likeit's a double standard right I
get frustrated you know one timehe didn't pick his clothes up
(22:13):
and put them in the hamper sowhen I went to do clothes I
didn't wash anything that was inthe floor that was mean that was
so mean of me like it didn'ttake me it wouldn't take me five
seconds to bend over you knowbut it's the same thing I don't
know.
(22:58):
And he asked me if I was goingto do it anymore.
And, you know, I kind of snappedoff at him and, you know,
because he doesn't understandthe hard work that goes into
that and the, you know, the timethat goes into it.
But he goes, but I really likedit.
It made everything look so niceand so organized and so put
(23:19):
together.
And it was so beautiful.
And I was and the thought wentacross my head.
Well, you never told me thatbefore.
It's one of His blessings thatHe didn't count.
So, James 1.17 Every good andperfect gift is from above,
(23:41):
coming down from the Father ofthe heavenly lights.
Everything that walks in yourpath, everything that is there
for this moment, every person,every song, every preacher,
every moment, You should bethankful.
(24:01):
Everything good.
Every good thing.
Not just the big things.
You don't need to compare yourinventory to anyone else's.
What's small to them might besurvival for you.
Gratitude unlocks peace.
(24:22):
Gratitude isn't just cute.
It's powerful.
When you thank God for thesmall, you position yourself to
receive the big with humility.
And I believe that to be true.
I believe that instead of comingto God with your complaints or
(24:43):
coming to God with your ask orcoming to God with, you know,
whatever has upset you for theday, I truly believe that if you
speak to What you want to God ina grateful manner, or if you
thank Him for the small things,not just the big things, that
(25:08):
you're going to find a peacethat you've never understood
before, that you've never seen.
You're going to find a peacethat transcends all the
problems, all the stuff, andeverybody has stuff.
Everybody has stuff.
I have stuff.
Deborah, who's with me, hasstuff.
(25:30):
The preacher that stood on thepulpit on Sunday has stuff.
The person sitting next to youon the bus has stuff.
The person in the car at the redlot next to you has stuff.
But we can't let stuff...
with our gratitude.
We can't let stuff interferewith our peace.
(25:54):
We can't let the small thingsthat someone does to us or the
small things that happen to us.
And what's small to me might behuge to you.
And that's okay.
But you have small things.
We just can't let stuff happenor stuff that happens to us Take
(26:17):
away our gratitude and take awayour joy because the moment we
quit being grateful is themoment that every other word out
of our mouth is misery orungratefulness.
Philippians 4, 6, and 7.
Do not be anxious aboutanything, but in everything by
(26:37):
prayer and petition.
With thanksgiving, present yourrequest to God and the peace of
God will guard your heart.
Let's read that one more time,right?
(26:58):
Listen to the words.
And think about that verse.
(27:18):
Think about what you're goingthrough today.
Think about what you've wentthrough yesterday and what's
going to come tomorrow.
For just a moment, think aboutit.
Okay, now think about the momentyou're in.
Think about right now.
(27:41):
In everything by prayer andpetition, with thanksgiving,
present your request to God andthe peace of God will guard your
heart.
Pray to Him.
Thank Him for what you have andspeak to what you need with a
(28:02):
grateful heart.
Please don't come forgettingwhat you want.
Peace doesn't come from gettingwhat you want.
It comes from noticing what youalready have.
You know, it's hard this day andtime to not compare yourself to
(28:23):
other people.
Facebook, Twitter, X, Instagram,TikTok, you know, people put on
these facades of their life andBut everybody has stuff.
Everybody has stuff.
(28:44):
And all you can do is pray forthe stuff that you have.
All you can do is pray for thesadness that you have or pray
for the happiness that you want.
All you can do is find yourrelationship with God.
And in gratitude, you will findpeace.
In gratitude, you will findpeace.
(29:10):
Inventory of your blessingsdoesn't and won't change your
reality.
It changes the way you see it.
It changes your perspective.
It changes the way you seereality.
It changes the way that you dealwith that situation.
It changes with the way that yousee it.
(29:33):
And I have been doing this for awhile now.
And in every situation, good orbad, I thank God first.
I thank God first.
And then I ask for help.
(29:56):
Let's do a life blessinginventory, right?
Let's do this together.
So pause for a moment.
Breathe in.
What do you see around you?
What can you name?
I've got a voice to speak.
(30:16):
I have someone listening to thisepisode.
I have a phone or a mic.
I have a car.
I'm able to listen to thisepisode.
I'm able to speak in thisepisode.
I'm able to speak over you I'mable to share my gratitude and
my peace that God has given methrough all the years to you.
(30:41):
I'm able to just do it.
And that I am grateful for.
I have a God who hasn't left meyet.
When I was in addiction and inthe drug houses, when I was
dating a guy and he said,purposely wrecked his car trying
(31:03):
to kill us both.
When I had my son and I was lostand didn't know where I was at
or what I was doing, as Icontinued to grow as a mother,
as a woman, God was standingwith me.
He stood with me in the fire.
He stood with me in the floods.
(31:24):
And He stood with me in theflowers.
He was always there.
Make this a rhythm.
Weekly, daily, hourly if youneed to.
Inventory check-ins.
Reset your spirit.
When you start feelingnegativity in your life, when
(31:44):
you start feeling negativityaround you, when people speak
over you or speak into you andyou don't like it, tell them you
don't like it.
It's okay.
Tell them you don't believethat.
That God says you're loved.
That God says you're a daughterof his.
(32:07):
That God says that you will findpeace.
That God says that you are his.
If you're in a waiting season, ahurting season, a weary one,
this practice will anchor you.
(32:28):
Not everything will changeovernight, but your heart will
start to change.
On my journey as a young womanof faith, the bricks or the
stones around my heart, theydidn't fall apart.
They didn't fall off just fromone time.
(32:49):
One minute.
It took years.
It took years to trust.
It took years to be able to begrateful in the moment.
It took years to love myself.
It took years to find myidentity and cross.
And it took battles.
It took battles.
(33:10):
It took me standing on thebattlefield.
It took me kneeling on thebattlefield.
It took me saying, enough isenough, devil, and today is not
your day.
And I am no longer yours.
But your heart can heal.
And it will.
It will find peace.
(33:32):
Here's what I want you to takewith you today.
What small blessings have youbeen overlooking?
What's one small thing that youhave overlooked?
What would shift if you treatedevery grace differently?
Like it mattered.
What do you think would change?
What do you think would bedifferent?
(33:54):
Who do you need to thank?
If it's God, then thank him.
If it's a friend who's reachedout to you, who's been there for
you, who speaks life into you,then thank him.
And if it's you, if it's you, ifyou got up out of the bed today,
(34:15):
If you smiled at a strangertoday, then thank yourself.
I want you to tag us with onesmall blessing on our TikTok or
in our Facebook page that you'venoticed today or that you've
noticed tomorrow or that you'venoticed the next day.
Let's flood the feed withgratitude.
(34:37):
Write it, speak it, share it,steward it.
Let's pray.
Dear Father, thank you for everysmall blessing.
Thank you for the coffee.
Thank you for sunshine.
Thank you for allowing me tosleep late this morning.
(35:01):
Lord Jesus, thank you for lunch.
Thank you for the few momentsthat I got to spend with my
husband today.
Thank you for the moments oflaughter, unexpected peace, and
simple joys in life.
Help us to take nothing forgranted.
Teach us to count with clarityand joy and let our gratitude
(35:25):
draw us closer to you.
In Jesus name.
Amen.
So that's today's episode.
I know it wasn't a back andforth conversation, but I hope
that you've enjoyed it.
Unrelated Sisters Truth andGrace Conversation.
If it blessed you, send it to asister who needs to be reminded
(35:47):
that the little things matter.
And before you scroll on, pauseand count something, then count
it again.
I'll see you next time.
Stay grateful, stay grounded,and stay in grace.
We love you.
Dear Lord Jesus, I come to you.
to thank you for thisopportunity to pour into other
women, to pour into thelisteners, Lord Jesus.
I thank you for the blessingsand the grace that you show me
every day.
I pray, Lord Jesus, that thelisteners feel that grace and
(00:22):
they find that grace in you,Lord Jesus.
I pray that they listen and theyfind your presence, Lord Jesus.
I pray that it helps them toheal, Lord, Wherever they stand,
Lord Jesus, I want to thank youfor this opportunity.
I want to thank you, Lord Jesus,for everything that you have
(00:42):
ever done for me, for the gracethat you show me daily.
Lord Jesus, please give me thewords that you want me to say.
Give me the strength to tellthem transparently where we are
in life, Lord Jesus.
And we just thank you today.
We thank you with an open heartand an open mind.
(01:04):
In Jesus' name we pray.
Amen.
Hey family, welcome back toUnrelated Sisters Truth and
Grace Conversation.
I'm Shannon, and today I'm bymyself, and we are talking about
real life, real faith, and realfreedom.
I am so grateful that you arehere with me today.
This episode is a personal one,a quiet, kind of powerful one.
(01:31):
We're not talking aboutbreakthrough blessings or the
miracles you post about onFacebook.
Not today.
Today we're going to talk aboutthe small blessings, the ones we
overlook, the daily deposits ofgrace we forget to count.
Sometimes in life, it feels likelife gets in the way, and
(01:54):
sometimes Instead of beingthankful that our car started
today or instead of beingthankful that we woke up this
morning with just a few achesand pains and not any true
medical issues, instead of beingthankful that there's food in
our cupboards and being thankfulthat we have money to put gas in
(02:15):
our cars, instead of being thatway, we want to complain or
whine about our knees hurting orour back hurting or our head
hurting when we should bethankful for the blessings that
we receive.
The things that God gives usdaily.
(02:37):
Have you ever worked in retail?
I do.
An inventory day is a seriousdeal.
Every product big or small Why?
Because value can't be managedif it's not recognized.
(03:11):
And getting ready and prepared,getting organized, getting
cleaned up, getting to the placeto where people, other people,
strangers can come in and countyour blessings or count your
inventory.
So today we're doing a blessinginventory.
Not just the big stuff, but theoverlooked ones.
Clean laundry, unexpectedlaughter, no traffic, someone
(03:35):
just texting you saying thankyou or that they're thinking of
you or that they love you.
Let's count the things westopped noticing but couldn't
live without.
Why small blessings matter.
Let's talk about smallblessings.
You know what they are.
Breath in your lungs.
(03:57):
A roof over your head.
Warm food.
A good hair day.
The strength to get out of thebed.
The smile from a stranger thatshifts your whole mood for the
day.
We often wait for big blessings,the house, the healing, the
husband, the promotion, butsometimes it's the little things
(04:20):
that are sustaining us to be inbetween those big breakthroughs.
Limitations 3.22-23 Because ofthe Lord's great love, we are
not consumed, but His compassionnever fails.
They are new every morning,great in your faithfulness.
(04:45):
So the small blessings that wereceive every day for me is the
small things at work, right?
When someone tells me I'm doinga good job or one of my
associates tell me they loveworking for me, coming home and
snuggling with my husband,That's a small blessing.
(05:12):
Coming home and having able tocook dinner, even though some
days I want to complain or Iwant to whine because I've
worked 12 hours today and Idon't want to come home and cook
dinner.
I want to stop and picksomething up.
But my husband loves ahome-cooked meal.
He'd much rather have ahome-cooked meal than fast food,
and you can't blame him, right?
It's definitely better to cookit at home.
(05:35):
But those small blessings, theones where I can't afford to
stop and pick up food if I don'twant to cook, or I can come home
and cook, or when he's cleanedoff the counter, when he's done
a load of towels because Ididn't get to them yesterday on
my day off.
Those are the small blessingsthat make me thankful, that make
(05:57):
me grateful where I am today.
I remember praying.
a father for Dylan and a husbandfor myself, for someone to love
me the way that I love them.
And I remember it not alwaysmaking the right choices, not
(06:21):
always making the right choices.
And then I wanted to fix them.
I wanted the worst of the worst.
I wanted the one that was soscarred that the only person
that could bring them back wouldbe Jesus.
(06:41):
But I thought I could do it, youknow.
I just, you know, and I prayedone day and I was dating a guy
and he had kids of his own andhe was really, really good to
his kids.
And, you know, he proposed and Isaid yes.
(07:02):
But the closer it got...
to actually going through withthe process of getting married,
the more I started having panicattacks, the more I started
feeling overwhelmed and out ofcontrol, and the more that I
couldn't do it.
I couldn't do it.
I went to the post office.
(07:23):
We had spent quite a bit ofmoney on some really fancy, nice
invitations, and I'd sat down,and I'd wrote everybody letters,
you know, an invitation and Iwent and bought stamps and, you
know, stamps aren't cheap.
And I went to the post officeand I just sat there.
It's like my legs didn't work.
(07:46):
I couldn't get out of my car.
And I just sat there and I criedand I cried and I cried.
And at that moment, God spoke tome.
He told me that I didn't need ahusband anymore.
for myself to find my worth.
I didn't need a husband to feelsafe.
(08:07):
I didn't need a husband to bewith me, that he was there and
he had always been there.
I didn't need a father for myson because Jesus was there.
Jesus walked with him every day.
Jesus had his hand on hisshoulder every day.
And I had to come, I had tosurrender that.
(08:28):
I had to speak it out intoexistence, and I had to
surrender that to Jesus.
And the minute I did, it seemedlike my thought process changed.
It seemed like my heart felt alittle healthier.
Maybe a block fell off the wallwhen that happened.
(08:52):
But every single morning, thatmeans today's blessings are
fresh, not recycled.
God doesn't run out.
He continues to give youblessings every day, whether
it's the same blessing from dayto day, because you didn't
recognize that it was ablessing, you know, or it's a
new, fresh, but every day it's afresh.
(09:14):
Every day waking up is ablessing.
Every day being able to go towork is a blessing.
Every day being able to pray toGod is a blessing.
Inventory isn't just for stores.
Okay, retail people, you'll knowhow this feels.
Inventory in a big box store isa whole process.
(09:39):
You scan it, you get ready, youget prepared, right?
Everything has to have itsplace, and in its place it has
to be.
The store has to be clean.
It has to be organized,organized.
In the grocery areas, it has tohave the same item front to
back.
In the apparel, everything hasto have a tag on it.
(10:00):
In toys, you have to count thosesmall LOL balls that are in
baskets, anything under$5.
In a big store, you don't wantto miss anything.
You have to count the backrooms.
You have to dig and make sureeverything is being accounted
for.
(10:20):
You have to get underneath thecounters.
You have to get underneath thebins in the back room.
You have to...
Be focused, and it has to beright.
You need every dollar accountedfor.
Your home office tells you thisis how much freight you should
(10:42):
have in your building, and theywant it accounted for.
Now, there's some shrink.
There's some loss.
There's some things that walkaway, and in retail, that's bad,
but When we're counting ourblessings, is that bad?
(11:02):
You know, is the shrink bad inour everyday life?
You know, I truly believe thatGod brings into your life
whatever you need at that time,whether it's a person, whether
it's a song, whether it's aBible verse that you can't get
out of your head, that I trulybelieve that God gives you that
(11:24):
moment.
In that moment, what you trulyneed.
I've been in my job for 23years.
I've worked for the samecompany.
And every promotion that I'vetried for on my own, I haven't
received.
I have been passed over,overlooked.
(11:45):
But every promotion that hepushes me to take, every
promotion that he has wanted meto take, he has put me in a
store.
Where I could be His light.
He has put me in the company.
He has moved me around.
And every one of them that I'vehad is because I needed to be a
(12:07):
light in that store.
That store needed Jesus.
It needed to feel His love andHis presence.
One time I...
I thought I was pregnant.
We had been trying.
And I...
(12:28):
I miscarried before it had hadtime to get latched on real
well.
I started bleeding, and thatdevastated me.
I have one son.
He is not my husband's, eventhough my husband loves him.
(12:52):
Biologically, he's not his.
And I wanted so badly to give myhusband and my mother-in-law,
you know, a child and agrandchild at one time.
You know, and again, you know,God comes to me and he says,
another child is not going tofix the mistakes from the past.
(13:15):
Another child is not going tobring you and your husband or
your husband's family closertogether, which don't get me
wrong.
We are very close.
I love my mother-in-law.
I love my father-in-law.
I believe if I couldn't get ahold of my mama and I called my
mother-in-law that she wouldjump into her car and come to my
(13:37):
rescue if I was to ever needher.
But that's a blessing.
A lot of families don't havethat.
A lot of people I know, theydon't get along with their
mother-in-law.
They don't get along with theother side of the family.
And you can't do that.
(13:58):
I'm getting off topic here,aren't I?
So inventory has to be tedious.
You have to be tedious.
Why?
Because you can't manage whatyou don't count.
You can't manage what you don'tcount.
You can't manage what you don'tsee.
You can't account for it if youdon't organize it.
(14:25):
Right?
So it's the same with yourblessings.
Some of us are spirituallydiscouraged because, not because
we aren't blessed, but becausewe're not taking inventory.
You know, sometimes we forgetthings.
The small things that we gethappy in our world or we get
(14:50):
joyful in our world and weforget the blessings that God
gives us.
And sometimes we forget where wecame from or where we're headed.
And that's okay.
It is.
But today we want to try.
I want you to try something.
I want you to take one full dayand write down every blessing
(15:11):
that you notice intentionally.
look for the blessings, right?
Not just the obvious ones, butthe fact that your car started,
that your child give you a hug,that you had food in your
fridge, that your anxiety didn'twin today, right?
Those are pretty big deals in aneveryday life, right?
(15:37):
In Psalms 103.2, Bless the Lord,O my soul, and forget not all
his benefits.
It's not that we're ungrateful.
We're just unintentional.
Sometimes we forget.
Let's start remembering, youknow, being unintentional or,
(15:59):
you know, being intentional ishard for me.
Um, I'm a caregiver.
I want to take care ofeverybody.
And I forget sometimes to takecare of myself.
Um, And I heard a thing onTikTok the other day.
A guy was talking about howpeople talk about their cup
(16:21):
being full and overrun and thenit's empty.
And he said, well, why do youwant to be a cup?
And I thought, well, becausethat's the way I've always heard
it, right?
what else would I want to be?
You know, I want to, I wantJesus to pour into me and fill
my cup and I want my, you know,I want to be able to share my
cup with everybody.
But then there's times that mycup gets empty and it's hard to
(16:45):
find somebody to pour into youother than Jesus.
And, um, he said, well, whydon't you want to be a water
hose?
Water hose, you're connected.
And then you turn the knob andit just floats and You don't
have to worry about it runningout.
So are you connected?
(17:06):
Do you spend time with Jesus?
Do you take that moment everyday to thank him for what he's
given you?
Are you a cup or are you a hose?
This is a, um, this nextsegment, um, I find it, um, Kind
(17:30):
of found it funny.
It says, what's on your shelves?
What's on your shelves?
Right?
If we were to walk the aisles ofyour life right now, what's on
the shelf that you've neveracknowledged?
What small but sacred things aresitting dusty in the corner of
(17:51):
your hearts, never counted?
You know, That person who stillchecks in on you even though
they don't have to.
That friend, that mentor, thatperson that just blessed you
every now and again drops you atext.
(18:11):
Are you thankful for that?
The devotional that you readlast week that hit exactly where
it hurt.
The message that you heard onSunday at church or on the radio
station.
You know, wasn't that ablessing?
Wasn't it something you neededmore?
right when you needed it.
That day you didn't feel likecrying.
(18:33):
If you're going throughsomething, if you're going
through a loss, whether it be aphysical loss, a mental loss,
any of that, did you make ittoday without crying?
That's a blessing.
The moment you laughed andforgot the happiness.
You know, my grandma always usedto say that laughter was the
(18:56):
best medicine, that laughter Youknow, it could take away the
heaviness, the dark cloud overyour head.
All you had to do was find areason to laugh.
And I believe that.
I believe that.
And I believe that theseblessings count.
I believe they matter.
And I believe they shouldmatter.
And I believe that whateverblessings you come up with for
(19:21):
the day, that they shouldmatter.
You know, I think about what'son my shelves today.
And I've talked a lot about myhusband in this episode and his
family.
And, you know, I thank myhusband.
I do.
I thank him.
But I don't thank him for thestuff that he does every day,
(19:41):
for the stuff that he does.
And we were talking, you know,we had long, long days this week
at work because of getting readyfor inventory and getting
prepared for inventory andeverything.
And one day we were just we werestanding in in the main aisle
and we were talking about I wastalking about how spoiled my
husband was and talking abouthow he has.
(20:05):
We have Bermuda grass.
And if you've.
ever seen Bermuda grass it'sgorgeous but it's time consuming
like you have to take care of ityou know you have to feed it and
fertilize it and water it andyou have to mow it so many times
so that it grows and continuesto get healthy and there's a lot
to it and if y'all want one daywe'll do an episode on grass
(20:28):
because I have learned moreabout grass than I've ever
wanted to know but I don't thankhim for that right because he's
the husband and that's just hisjob and then I I don't thank him
for, you know, people who pullup in our driveway are always
like, God, you are so lucky.
Your house is so beautiful.
(20:50):
Your yard is so beautiful.
You know, the neighbor tells himall the time to stop that, you
know, he's having to get outthere and work because of the
way our yard looks.
But I don't thank him for that,right?
And he does a good job, but Idon't thank him for that.
And this past Christmas, Idecided I was going to learn to
(21:10):
play golf and golf is hard.
And we've already discussedthis, that when things are hard,
I'm not the greatest at stickingwith it.
You know, and he every day hetries.
Hey, do you want to go down andhit some balls?
He just wants me to learn enoughto go play with him.
Right.
And I want to.
I really do.
(21:31):
But.
It's just so hard and it's sotime consuming.
And I don't know that I want toput in that effort, but he wants
me to.
Right.
But I don't thank him for that.
And then I get frustrated withhim.
Right.
I get frustrated with himbecause he takes care of the
(21:51):
yard.
He takes care of the outside ofthe house.
And.
guess it's a double standard andhe calls me out on it sometimes
at least it makes him feel likeit's a double standard right I
get frustrated you know one timehe didn't pick his clothes up
(22:13):
and put them in the hamper sowhen I went to do clothes I
didn't wash anything that was inthe floor that was mean that was
so mean of me like it didn'ttake me it wouldn't take me five
seconds to bend over you knowbut it's the same thing I don't
know.
(22:58):
And he asked me if I was goingto do it anymore.
And, you know, I kind of snappedoff at him and, you know,
because he doesn't understandthe hard work that goes into
that and the, you know, the timethat goes into it.
But he goes, but I really likedit.
It made everything look so niceand so organized and so put
(23:19):
together.
And it was so beautiful.
And I was and the thought wentacross my head.
Well, you never told me thatbefore.
It's one of His blessings thatHe didn't count.
So, James 1.17 Every good andperfect gift is from above,
(23:41):
coming down from the Father ofthe heavenly lights.
Everything that walks in yourpath, everything that is there
for this moment, every person,every song, every preacher,
every moment, You should bethankful.
(24:01):
Everything good.
Every good thing.
Not just the big things.
You don't need to compare yourinventory to anyone else's.
What's small to them might besurvival for you.
Gratitude unlocks peace.
(24:22):
Gratitude isn't just cute.
It's powerful.
When you thank God for thesmall, you position yourself to
receive the big with humility.
And I believe that to be true.
I believe that instead of comingto God with your complaints or
(24:43):
coming to God with your ask orcoming to God with, you know,
whatever has upset you for theday, I truly believe that if you
speak to What you want to God ina grateful manner, or if you
thank Him for the small things,not just the big things, that
(25:08):
you're going to find a peacethat you've never understood
before, that you've never seen.
You're going to find a peacethat transcends all the
problems, all the stuff, andeverybody has stuff.
Everybody has stuff.
I have stuff.
Deborah, who's with me, hasstuff.
(25:30):
The preacher that stood on thepulpit on Sunday has stuff.
The person sitting next to youon the bus has stuff.
The person in the car at the redlot next to you has stuff.
But we can't let stuff...
with our gratitude.
We can't let stuff interferewith our peace.
(25:54):
We can't let the small thingsthat someone does to us or the
small things that happen to us.
And what's small to me might behuge to you.
And that's okay.
But you have small things.
We just can't let stuff happenor stuff that happens to us Take
(26:17):
away our gratitude and take awayour joy because the moment we
quit being grateful is themoment that every other word out
of our mouth is misery orungratefulness.
Philippians 4, 6, and 7.
Do not be anxious aboutanything, but in everything by
(26:37):
prayer and petition.
With thanksgiving, present yourrequest to God and the peace of
God will guard your heart.
Let's read that one more time,right?
(26:58):
Listen to the words.
And think about that verse.
(27:18):
Think about what you're goingthrough today.
Think about what you've wentthrough yesterday and what's
going to come tomorrow.
For just a moment, think aboutit.
Okay, now think about the momentyou're in.
Think about right now.
(27:41):
In everything by prayer andpetition, with thanksgiving,
present your request to God andthe peace of God will guard your
heart.
Pray to Him.
Thank Him for what you have andspeak to what you need with a
(28:02):
grateful heart.
Please don't come forgettingwhat you want.
Peace doesn't come from gettingwhat you want.
It comes from noticing what youalready have.
You know, it's hard this day andtime to not compare yourself to
(28:23):
other people.
Facebook, Twitter, X, Instagram,TikTok, you know, people put on
these facades of their life andBut everybody has stuff.
Everybody has stuff.
(28:44):
And all you can do is pray forthe stuff that you have.
All you can do is pray for thesadness that you have or pray
for the happiness that you want.
All you can do is find yourrelationship with God.
And in gratitude, you will findpeace.
In gratitude, you will findpeace.
(29:10):
Inventory of your blessingsdoesn't and won't change your
reality.
It changes the way you see it.
It changes your perspective.
It changes the way you seereality.
It changes the way that you dealwith that situation.
It changes with the way that yousee it.
(29:33):
And I have been doing this for awhile now.
And in every situation, good orbad, I thank God first.
I thank God first.
And then I ask for help.
(29:56):
Let's do a life blessinginventory, right?
Let's do this together.
So pause for a moment.
Breathe in.
What do you see around you?
What can you name?
I've got a voice to speak.
(30:16):
I have someone listening to thisepisode.
I have a phone or a mic.
I have a car.
I'm able to listen to thisepisode.
I'm able to speak in thisepisode.
I'm able to speak over you I'mable to share my gratitude and
my peace that God has given methrough all the years to you.
(30:41):
I'm able to just do it.
And that I am grateful for.
I have a God who hasn't left meyet.
When I was in addiction and inthe drug houses, when I was
dating a guy and he said,purposely wrecked his car trying
(31:03):
to kill us both.
When I had my son and I was lostand didn't know where I was at
or what I was doing, as Icontinued to grow as a mother,
as a woman, God was standingwith me.
He stood with me in the fire.
He stood with me in the floods.
(31:24):
And He stood with me in theflowers.
He was always there.
Make this a rhythm.
Weekly, daily, hourly if youneed to.
Inventory check-ins.
Reset your spirit.
When you start feelingnegativity in your life, when
(31:44):
you start feeling negativityaround you, when people speak
over you or speak into you andyou don't like it, tell them you
don't like it.
It's okay.
Tell them you don't believethat.
That God says you're loved.
That God says you're a daughterof his.
(32:07):
That God says that you will findpeace.
That God says that you are his.
If you're in a waiting season, ahurting season, a weary one,
this practice will anchor you.
(32:28):
Not everything will changeovernight, but your heart will
start to change.
On my journey as a young womanof faith, the bricks or the
stones around my heart, theydidn't fall apart.
They didn't fall off just fromone time.
(32:49):
One minute.
It took years.
It took years to trust.
It took years to be able to begrateful in the moment.
It took years to love myself.
It took years to find myidentity and cross.
And it took battles.
It took battles.
(33:10):
It took me standing on thebattlefield.
It took me kneeling on thebattlefield.
It took me saying, enough isenough, devil, and today is not
your day.
And I am no longer yours.
But your heart can heal.
And it will.
It will find peace.
(33:32):
Here's what I want you to takewith you today.
What small blessings have youbeen overlooking?
What's one small thing that youhave overlooked?
What would shift if you treatedevery grace differently?
Like it mattered.
What do you think would change?
What do you think would bedifferent?
(33:54):
Who do you need to thank?
If it's God, then thank him.
If it's a friend who's reachedout to you, who's been there for
you, who speaks life into you,then thank him.
And if it's you, if it's you, ifyou got up out of the bed today,
(34:15):
If you smiled at a strangertoday, then thank yourself.
I want you to tag us with onesmall blessing on our TikTok or
in our Facebook page that you'venoticed today or that you've
noticed tomorrow or that you'venoticed the next day.
Let's flood the feed withgratitude.
(34:37):
Write it, speak it, share it,steward it.
Let's pray.
Dear Father, thank you for everysmall blessing.
Thank you for the coffee.
Thank you for sunshine.
Thank you for allowing me tosleep late this morning.
(35:01):
Lord Jesus, thank you for lunch.
Thank you for the few momentsthat I got to spend with my
husband today.
Thank you for the moments oflaughter, unexpected peace, and
simple joys in life.
Help us to take nothing forgranted.
Teach us to count with clarityand joy and let our gratitude
(35:25):
draw us closer to you.
In Jesus name.
Amen.
So that's today's episode.
I know it wasn't a back andforth conversation, but I hope
that you've enjoyed it.
Unrelated Sisters Truth andGrace Conversation.
If it blessed you, send it to asister who needs to be reminded
(35:47):
that the little things matter.
And before you scroll on, pauseand count something, then count
it again.
I'll see you next time.
Stay grateful, stay grounded,and stay in grace.
We love you.
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