Maybe you have seen it, floating around your different social media channels. There seems to be a trend to share three positive things daily you have experienced, for a five day period. Some have viewed this as a challenge. I see this more as an invitation to gratitude.

So with that in mind, I invite you to list three positive things, attributes or experiences you are thankful and grateful for, daily for five days.

As for me, yesterday was a day of wonderful conversations with mentors, thinking partners and friends.

1) My wife Allison and I met our friend Pete Erickson for coffee yesterday morning.  I have worked with Pete on the staff in a congregation, as well as in different consulting capacities. Pete has a way of seeing through the muck, and being a co-conspirator of change believing that there are always ways to improve the way we do things. He is a wonderful talking partner and networker, and I always leave a conversation with him inspired with new ideas and new possibilities.

2) Allison and I have been hosting our friend Carrie this week while she has been doing some work in Minnesota. I am grateful for that. I am also grateful that we were invited to join her and her former boss, Pr. Peter Hanson for lunch. I had not planned on this conversation, but the invitation to lunch emerged yesterday, and fortunately I had some free time between meetings. The conversation was rich, and for that I am grateful. I am also grateful for the imaginative openness that Peter has about the congregation he is serving and the church as a whole.

3) Speaking of imagination, one of my favorite talking partners is my friend and mentor, Dr. Terri Elton. We had been planning to meet, talk and imagine over dinner for weeks. Given yesterday’s other conversations, it ended up being the perfect way to wrap up a day of amazing conversations with friends and fellow imaginative and innovative leaders. I always leave from meeting with Terri with more ideas, wondering about possibilities and questions than when I arrived. I think that’s a sign of a good leader, and definitely of a mentor and friend.

I am grateful for all of these conversations and these amazing people. I’m happy to be able to share these positives with you. Now it’s your turn. What are 3 positives from your day?