Secular or Buddhist mindfulness exercises help people. That’s a fact proven by research. Christian mindfulness exercises are similar, but different.

First, they help us grow closer to God as well as becoming more present. We believe that God exists in the present moment. (Our view of the past is flawed. Our thoughts about the future are just our imaginations. Only in the present can we be sure we find God.)

Second, we have a partner in our endeavor: the great God of the universe, who says in James 4:8: “Come near to God and He will come near to you.”

There’s a free PDF from Kenneth Boa and Jenny Abel packed with Christian mindfulness exercises to try. It’s called “A Guide to Practicing God’s Presence: A Companion Guide to Life in the Presence of God.” You can download it by clicking here.

I’m going through these exercises to see which work best for me, and I invite you to accompany me. Here’s the first one.

Record exactly what you are grateful for daily in these four categories:

• The glory of God’s creation
• A material blessing
• A person in your life
• A spiritual blessing

Then pray and thank God for each item. This is a good start to a new practice or a great addition to any gratitude practice we already have.