Gratitude

A Time to Think

Let gratitude be the pillow upon which you kneel to say your nightly prayer.
And let faith be the bridge you build to overcome evil and welcome good.
 –Maya Angelou, author and poet

A Time to Act

Approach today with a grateful heart.

Sometimes, it's easier said than done. Sometimes, an email devotional comes at just the right time to rearrange my attitude just a tad.

I know I have plenty for which to be thankful. But I don't think I'm alone in letting circumstances beyond my control cause moments of forgetting how blessed I am. Sometimes, it's like I'm looking through obscured glass. It's like my Grandpa Neelly used to say: "You've been drinking muddy water." He was talking about blocking his view to the television. But it works for attitudes, too, I think.

The Sunday School class I facilitate just completed a study called #struggles: Following Jesus in a Selfie-Centered World by Craig Groeschel. Each week, there was a section called Practice: IStrategize. It was a way to put the book knowledge to "boots-on-the-ground" use. An option during the first week was "Cultivate gratitude."

Go on a daily hunt for God's goodness in  your life by keeping a gratitude list. Throughout the day or at the end of the day, write down at least 10 things you're grateful for. ... You might choose to focus on a specific area in which you're struggling with envy or to focus on gratitude in general. Either way, begin by hunting for God's goodness in the little joys or graces you might otherwise take for granted: God, thank you for ... hot coffee first thing in the morning, a good night's sleep, giving me the courage to apologize ... Praise God for His relentless goodness in your life and ask Him to help you make gratitude the lens through which you routinely look at life.

It reminded me of an exercise I'd done several years ago after reading Ann Voskamp's One Thousand Gifts.

 It never hurts to get a timely reminder, does it? I wrote this post a couple of weeks ago. But I could use a change of perspective today. Funny how that works!

After Christmas, I ordered a discounted journal from a photo site, thinking it would be a good place to keep track of my prayer list.

 I've also been using it for my "thanksgiving" list.

 Being thankful isn't limited to one Thursday in November. It's even more important on those days when you have to look around a little more.