THRIVE Issue 05
Be Thankful We THRIVE when we are thankful.
Today as I was cleaning my glass door I suddenly noticed the amount of slobber marks that were on the door from our two dogs. As I cleaned the outside of the door, I was watching the big dog, the one who owns most of the slobber, sitting on the couch watching me. Seeing his sweet face, my heart filled up with tender, warm feelings of love for him. Immediately I began to pray, “Lord thank You for these dogs. Thank You for the joy they bring to our home.”
Here is a picture of the big dog waking up on the couch. Too cute!
(Lol. He does not sleep with a pillow and blanket at night.)
BEING THANKFUL
I just heard John Maxwell share how his mom taught him, You have to be THINK-ful to be thankful. What did she mean by that? Before we can be thankful for something, we must think about it as a blessing. We can choose to be thankful.
WE HAVE A CHOICE TO BE THANKFUL When I saw the slobber on the door, I knew I had a choice in that moment. I could be frustrated because I had another mess to clean up or I could choose to be thankful for what I did have, which were two precious dogs.
Isn't this the choice that we get to make every day? How many times do we complain about the old car or the mess the kids left in the playroom, work issues, the needs of those in our family, or our friends… Think about what you are currently getting agitated about or frustrated with. IS THERE SOMETHING YOU CAN BE THANKFUL FOR?
Perhaps we do not have a new car, but we can be thankful for the fact that we have a car.
Better yet we can be thankful that we don't have a car payment.
Instead of being frustrated with a house that needs cleaned, we can be thankful that we get to clean a house.
We can be thankful for those who are in our life. We can appreciate them as gifts from God!
We can find something to be thankful for.
THANKFULNESS CHANGES OUR HEART AND OUR MIND. Thankfulness changes how we think about and respond to others. In our own life there are many reasons to be frustrated and desire things to be a certain way… but that is a much lonelier way of living. Because I have experienced lots of loss in my past, I know how life changes quickly and sometimes without warning. That is a huge help for me, reminding me to be THANKFUL for who is in my life. Then as I share my thankful heart with my loving heavenly Father it bonds my heart closer to Him.
Give thanks in all things.
Psalm 106:1 (NIV) says:
Praise the Lord Give thanks to the Lord, because He is good; His love endures forever.
HOW DO WE GIVE THANKS IN ALL THINGS? Even in the most difficult situations I encourage myself to find something to be thankful for. Just recently when I was overwhelmed with my life’s circumstances:
I chose to recall 3 things right then that I could be thankful for.
I pondered those three thoughts.
Immediately I changed my focus from an overwhelmed heart to a thankful heart.
Did it change the circumstance? No. But it did change me as I went through it. I was reminded that:
God is good.
I can trust Him.
I am thankful for what He has done and what He will do.
I set my attention back onto the good and prayed about it all. I released the scary situations into God’s faithful hands and then I did the next right thing with a thankful heart.
LET’S BE THINK-ful.
I CHALLENGE YOU to be think-ful! When your heart starts to sink, or you become worried, fearful, frustrated, jealous, envious, dissatisfied, or bored, take inventory of all you have to be thankful for.
Consider your everyday life which is full of so many good things to be thankful for. Often times we are overlooking some blessings because they seem ordinary or mundane and we may even take them for granted. (We can do that with those who are closest to us.)
Thankfulness grows as we appreciate all that the Lord has blessed us with!
BE THINK-ful so that you can be THANKFUL! Let me know what you are thankful for. (I am enjoying all of your comments.!) I am THANKFUL for YOU!
With a thankful heart,
Dawn