Practicing Thankfulness

And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness.

 And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.

 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.

Col. 3:14-16

Thankfulness has been on my heart a lot recently...

And, I'm becoming more and more certain that being thankful and grateful is a choice.

I have to remind myself sometimes (as I begin to see fault, or grumble) that I need to look for the

blessing in the situation.

In my previous post I mentioned that I keep a God's Grace Gifts journal.

This has been such an excellent tool for cultivating thankfulness!

I can look back through the pages of the last year and be reminded over and over

how many blessings God has graced me with.

I believe that in almost every one's life--that the blessings far outweigh the bad things.

However, the bad things seem to be what folks naturally dwell on,

and they often seem to plague us through the years.

They stay in the spotlight and absorb our thoughts.

I am trying to choose to focus on the blessings that I've been given in my life.

Purposefully choosing to remember the blessings that I've been given throughout my life

(that I do not even deserve!)

That's what grace is! NOT getting what we truly deserve!

(see Romans 5:12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:)

Some of my blessings are visible!

My family, my extended family, friends, notes of encouragement, flowers in bloom, a hug, a smile,  the Bible, the garden, the ocean, the dogs etc...

But some are not...like the feeling of God's presence, the answered prayers, words of love and encouragement, godly music, a gentle breeze on my face, the fragrance of lilacs, the laughter of a child, the voice of a dear friend on the phone...

So, I hope that you're looking for the blessings that are in your life today...and I hope

that you find as many as I am!

I am indeed blessed!