Today is day 30 of my “30-Day-Gratitude-Journal Challenge*.” It’s been a great month of learning to be intentionally grateful every day. Here’s some things I’ve learned and of which I’ve been reminded.
- Ungrateful people are much like a container that has a hole in it leaking out every blessing that’s been poured in.
- Silent gratitude isn’t much use to anyone.
- Recognize (be on the lookout for blessings) and express appreciation (be intentional) to God and others.
- If tomorrow’s supply depended on today’s thanksgiving, how much would I have tomorrow?
- Gratitude is the overflow of a humble heart.
- The world says “protect what you have,” but God says “be generous.”
- Thank God for invisible blessings:
- miles driven without a flat tire
- diseases we don’t have
- Be thankful for blessings we take for granted (toothbrushes, glasses, soap, etc.)
- Look above your circumstances, look above your fears and see what God is doing in the midst of them. Ask God to show you your blessings.
- Two questions Nancy DeMoss asks anyone struggling with chronic discouragement or depression.
- Are you memorizing scripture?
- Are you singing to the Lord?
- Singing hymns (or just reading the words) are a good resource for encouragement and thanksgiving.
- Choose gratitude over bitterness.
- The restorative power of a grateful heart and tongue is more potent than we can imagine.
- Create a gratitude account, listing individuals you owe a debt of thanks. Then keep your account paid up by thanking those people.
- Anything that makes me need God is (ultimately, in the truest sense) a blessing.
- Undeniable guilt, plus undeserved grace, should equal unbridled gratitude.
- When we give out of gratitude to God, we cause gratitude to well up in others’ hearts.
- Give thanks in all circumstances. 1 Thess. 5:18
- Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise, give thanks to him and praise his name. Psalm 100:4
- I will extol the Lord at all times, his praise will always be on my lips. Psalm 34:1
Lord, I want to have a grateful heart, but forgive me for all my murmuring and complaining. Open my eyes to the positive things in my life and cultivate a thankful heart in me.
*Choosing Gratitude - Your Journey to Joy, by Nancy Leigh DeMoss
Thank you for your gratitude list. I have challenged myself to come up with an A-Z list of things i am thankful for and it is proving more difficult than I thought. Trying to think of a word beginning eith E now that I am thankful for. Here you just gave a whole list of things and I can't think of one E word!!!
ReplyDeleteThanks for that list of practical reminders I needed to read. Especially being grateful for the simple things we take for granted like soap. I am doing a terrific Beth Moore study on the Fruit of the Spirit---have you done that one? I agree that we can have gratitude--or peace--no matter what the circumstances are around us. But only when filled with the Holy Spirit that empowers us to live above life's challenges.
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