Being Thankful

What does it mean to be thank­ful? I’m not talk­ing about being polite after someone’s opened the door for you. I’m talk­ing about feel­ing thank­ful for the true bless­ings in your life. True Bless­ings” mean the things in your life that res­onate impor­tance in your life — the things that touch your core. How does being thank­ful affect your life? Let’s look at it in terms of some­one you may know. Imag­ine the per­son who is usu­ally in a bad mood. They are always com­plain­ing about some­thing, there is always some­one who’s done some­thing to them and they’re always get­ting the bum deal. This per­son is hard to be around and it takes a lot of energy to main­tain a rela­tion­ship with them. By the end of a visit, you’re exhausted! Do you think this per­son is a thank­ful one? Prob­a­bly not. In fact, if you asked them what they’re thank­ful for, they may have a hard time telling you. On the other hand, think of some­one else you know. This per­son is ener­getic, and has a cer­tain spark to them. They laugh a lot and have a “can-do” atti­tude. They may be afraid, but they are will­ing to try new things. If you ask them what they’re thank­ful for, they will be able to list off many. And when you visit with this per­son, you feel ener­gized, inspired and thank­ful to know them. It’s safe to say that this per­son is more ful­filled in their life than the unthank­ful one. Of course our lives are never per­fect but we still strive for per­fec­tion. But you know how it is. You reach the top of one moun­tain and lo and behold! there’s another moun­tain to climb! Don’t feel dis­cour­aged by this. Be sure to look back at all the moun­tains you’ve climbed and acknowl­edge the growth and progress you’ve made. Be thank­ful for the expe­ri­ences because with­out them, you wouldn’t be where you are today.And what if where you are today is not where you want to be? Again, be thank­ful that you are where you are — because now you have a very clear idea of what you don’t want. You can now work towards what you do want. If you are won­der­ing how to get started on this, begin with a list. Write down every lit­tle thing you’re thank­ful for. Noth­ing is too small to put on this list. Include the mun­dane things like the first cup of cof­fee in the morn­ing or the birds that were singing. Tell your­self that you’re going to add to it all day as ideas pop into your head. Keep this idea in your mind all day. You don’t have to be totally focussed on it, just be open and know that at the end of the day when you read over your list, you’re going to see that there are so many won­der­ful things in your life that you have to be thank­ful for. You can even add things that you don’t have, but want. This is impor­tant in man­i­fest­ing our dreams. The Lord has revealed to me how a thank­ful heart can change the whole way you see life! It is a flood-gate opener to bless­ings, joy peace and all sorts of good­ness. With thank­ful hearts, we can even touch the very heart of God, and King David even told us that when we approach God, enter into His gates with thank­ful hearts!
I will be start­ing a fam­ily jour­nal and encour­age my fam­ily to join with me and learn what it is to be thankful…join me.