A surefire way to remind yourself of God’s goodness to you is to count your blessings. You can do this via Facebook status the entire month of November or you can keep a journal ala Ann Voskamp. However you do it, just do it. Remind yourself of the good things and let them win, in your heart, over the harder things of life. This post is to remind me.

My folks. My mom massaged my hands, my wrists and my feet yesterday while I was luxuriously tucked under blankets watching HGTV and—it gets better if you can believe it—my dad helped Livia do her homework. Seriously amazing.

Jeremy. My husband has been a rock. He’s endured my frustrations of late with grace and gentleness and he’s been a big help before, during and after elbow surgery. Our time together in Rochester was as sweet as it possibly could’ve been and even here at home he’s taken on dad and mom duties with more sacrifice than I ever would have shown. God has paired Jeremy and I together for a reason. I like to say we’re a bit firework-y in our relationship, but that’s what happens when iron sharpens iron, right? At 14.5 years of marriage, we’re definitely more humbled and more in love than we were in the early years. I’m grateful for this man!

Piping hot mercy meals. Our church provides meals to those who are sick or have had babies or are dealing with death in the family. We ate something tonight that was 100% comfort food—love in a foil pan. A huge thanks to our church family for feeding us.

Flowers. People magazine and chocolate. Texts. Phone calls. Emails. As a giant extrovert it means a lot to hear your words of encouragement over the past few weeks. Thanks, dear friends, for not forgetting me even though I’ve been out of commission.

Being on the receiving end of lots of help has me thinking about friendship and generosity. Credit also goes to Tim & Kathy Keller’s The Meaning of Marriage, which we’re reading for a small group discussion, and my friend Kerri, whose latest blog post speaks of visiting new churches.

Friends, it means to the world to someone else when you go out of your way to remember them, when you take time from your own concerns to consider how you can help them. You don’t have to do anything world-changing or profound. You can send a card, drop a gift certificate in their front door, call and ask how they are doing, or text with plans to set up a coffee date. You can remember their birthday. You can shake their hand on Sunday and ask their name. You can ask about their kids (parents kind of love that) or you can offer to share your Sunday lunch (I loved that in college especially). When you’re making dinner, double the batch and deliver half to a friend for no good reason. Bake cookies for yourself and then take a plate to that neighbor you’re embarrassed you don’t know. Pick up a plant at your grocery store’s floral section (or a special juice or cheese and crackers that feels a bit extravagant) and drop them by your coworker’s desk the next day.

There are a million tiny ways to bring light and joy to the world around you. Just do it. For the glory of God, do it.