Over winter break, my mom mentioned to me that she wanted to have a Blessings Jar in our house. I was thrilled and super excited with the idea and told her I would happily participate.

She started looking all over the internet for ideas or jars that we could buy, but the inner elementary school teacher in me took over. I told her I would create one for our family! Believe me when I say this DIY was actually super simple. I have attempted many in the past and never liked how they turned out, but I'm loving our jar.

Here is the step by step of how to make your very own blessings jar!

1. Decide on a container.

I chose to use an actual mason jar that we had laying around the house from yearly canning. You can use a bin, a plastic jar, a cup, a box, anything that suits your fancy! Just simply rename it, "blessings bin" "blessing box" etc.

2. Paint your container

Adding color to your container makes it that much more attractive. I chose to spray paint ours with chalk paint! I did one coat, waited an hour, then applied a second coat. I let it sit for 24 hours before trying to write on it, just in case!

3. Decorate your container!

Decorating was easy for mine. I used chalk markers to write "2017 Blessings Jar" & "count your blessings" on the front. Then, I went on Pinterest and looked up different quotes and verses that people have used. I chose "My cup overflows with your blessings" -Psalms 23:5 because it was most fitting :)

4. Pick out your paper.

You can make this as simple as you would like. I have seen some people tear up scrap pieces of paper; other people (like myself) want pretty paper. I bought cardstock on sale at Michael's. I then cut it up into different sized pieces, that way if you had a lot to write you had more room or if you didn't have much to write you didn't waste space.

5. Have a place to organize your unused papers

I am still waiting on my mom's approval of what she would rather have sitting around her house but here are the two options I have considered: either clip them all together, or put them in an envelope and decorate the envelope. Other ideas I have seen are bins/boxes/jars that the slips of papers are kept in!

6. Explain how it works to those participating!

If this is a personal blessings jar, you don't need to explain how to use it to anyone! If you're doing this with family, a significant other, or friends, make sure to explain how it works and give them ideas of what to be writing on the slips of paper.

For ideas, read my paragraph "What blessings can I write about?"!

Why a Blessings Jar?

Day to day can be pretty rough, frustrating, and just down right awful. Do you know why that is? We focus on the bad and let it take over our entire mood. One bad moment and BANG! You're snapping at anyone who tries to come in contact with you. When so many people looked back on 2016, it wasn't pretty and it was reflected in so many social media posts:

"This year was miserable. I don't think it could have been any worse." -anonymous

"I hated 2016 and everything it had to offer." -anonymous

"&@#! 2016 BYE" -anonymous

"The worst year ever." -anonymous

This list could go on and on, but these are just a few that I came across. You know what each one of these people did wrong? They didn't even consider all the blessings they had in 2016, and I promise you there were plenty, but we forget about them.

I truly believe if we let the blessings in our life affect our mood in the way we let bad things affect our mood, we would be happier human beings. And that is the purpose behind a Blessings Jar.

Blessings jars are an incredible way to help us focus more on the good things in our lives and less on the bad things. At the end of the year before you start to think, "Man! This year was T E R R I B L E!", dump out the blessings jar, read them all and you'll be quickly reminded about how good God has made your life.

How do I use it?

Anytime you experience a blessing, write it down, fold it up, and put it inside of your "Blessings Jar" (or whatever you have made). I have seen some articles suggest you do one a week while others tell you to set a goal at least once a day. You can put in as many as you want. Personally? I am giving myself the challenge to put one in every single day because I know that I am completely surrounded by God's blessings. I also suggest putting the date on the blessing when you write them, that way you can remember when you were writing it!

What blessings can I write about?

ANY!!! These can be a variety of BIG or small blessings. But here are a few starters to get you going:

-something that made you smile

-when you notice God's beauty around you

-a new friend

-scripture or verse that you love or that spoke to you.

- someone's first anything (first pet, steps, boyfriend, words, driving a car, day of school, job, etc)

-memory you don't want to forget

-answered (even unanswered!) prayers

-when you were able to help someone (financially, gave advice, held a door, donated something, pay it forward, etc.) YES it is a blessing to be able to help others!!!!!

-something that made you laugh

-a kind stranger

-ways you see God at work

-a life changing moment of yours or of someone you know (marriage, baby, job etc)

-a call/text/letter/email/message from someone you haven't heard from in awhile

-a big or small goal/challenge that you completed

-something that caused happy tears

and MORE!

If you have anything to add to this list, please feel free to comment below!