Skip to main content

Week 1- Experiments in Gratitude

Thankfulness.  Gratefulness.  (Adj.)
  
The realization that we are blessed.  In more ways- each day- than we realize. 
  

 It's been an interesting experiment so far. It seems the minute I choose something and begin to "practice" thanksgiving throughout the day, I am suddenly in deep testing mode.  It's not been easy doing this for even a week.

 This was a surprise to me.

 For some reason I thought practicing thankfulness would be a breeze- natural- like breathing.  I had another thing coming.  I guess this thing that came was called "life."  As in the first day when I chose to practice gratitude for my job... it was the worst day on that job I've ever had.  I'm not kidding.

A sampling of what I practiced this week:
  • job(s)
  • my beautiful house
  • moments of silence
  • good health
  • that we can choose growth, not apathy
  • that we can pursue our calling in life
  • the helper that brings peace, comfort and wisdom to my life
Now, please understand that my list is not a reflection of my priorities- what's number 1 or number 783 on my list of important things.  (Case in point: the morning I woke up with "The Bunny Song" in my head and just about went crazy trying to get it out!)  Rather, the topic comes to me in the first hour or two of my day...and I go with it.

 I've come to the conclusion that these things, although they proven challenging, were meant to be an exercise in growth, perspective and trust.

 I believe that God is the source of all good things.  Even things that don't seem "good" at the time, I choose to believe there is a greater purpose in it.

 I hope you've joined me in my journey.  I'd love to hear how it's going for you and what you are learning from it.  Keep practicing my friends...perhaps over time it will indeed become much more like breathing.
Labels:

Popular posts from this blog

Living in the Light

Recently I was leading our congregation in the old hymn “Great is Thy Faithfulness.”  I’ve always been intrigued by a particular phrase in verse 1. Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father There is no shadow of turning with Thee Thou changes not, Thy compassions, they fail not As Thou hast been, Thou forever will be There is no shadow of turning with God. Think about that for a minute. A shadow is formed when an object blocks another light source. This means there has to be an external light source in order for a shadow to be created. There is no light source other than God. He is the source.  There is no shadow when He turns. There is no other source of Light and Truth. He is constant, everlasting, and never-changing.  Without Him, there is only darkness… not even a shadow! Mind. Blown. Consider James 1: 17 Whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes o
Read more

Peacekeeping Vs Peacemaking- What's the Difference?

Being at peace with everyone seems impossible and at the very least, improbable. It hurts to not feel at peace with everyone, because we want to be liked (and drama free) right? It doesn't feel good when relationships go badly.  But this goes deeper than being liked or eliminating drama. It's about growing into mature people of God.  That's why Paul, in Romans 12:18 encourages us to ... do everything possible on your part to live in peace with everybody.   This is actually encouraging to me, because I may honestly do everything I feel is humanly possible, but still not achieve resolution- or even reconciliation in some cases.  Unfortunately these things aren't always possible, but a transformation of our own hearts and the practice of maturing as a peacemaker is... ...because we can only control ourselves and our behavior,  no matter what the other person does. (insert big sigh here. Okay 2 big sighs)  There's a big difference between peacek
Read more