Be Grateful . . . Make Your Summer Days Count

It was one of those rare days . . . a day to celebrate . . . a day to be grateful:

Waking  up to the sun rising above the backdrop of the mountains and ocean.

Eating our family favorite breakfast treat, Knafeh bjebn.

Playing games with 16 month-old Madelyn.

Eating dinner in front of haystack rock as the ocean serenaded us.

Ending the day with a bonfire on the beach and the light of the moon.

Going to bed looking at the stars.

It was one of those rare days that we were consciously grateful to experience.

How often do we thank God for what we are surrounded by, how we are created, and what He is doing with a conscious gratefulness?

On the one-of-a-kind rare days we will gladly give thanks to God; however, the ordinary day is as much a miracle as a rare day and deserves our attentive gratefulness.  

The Psalmist clearly reminds us; 

This is the day which the LORD has made;
         Let us rejoice and be glad in it. (Psalm 118:24).

Nothing will seem right when gratefulness is missing. The thing is . . . gratefulness requires attention to the fact that God has made the day with our subsequent  response of celebration . . .  with rejoicing and gladness.

We have the choice to make the next 49 days before Labor Day count. 

Wake up with anticipation for the day and then live each moment to the fullest with gratefulness.

Acknowledge that God is God and made the day.
Intentionally develop a life pattern with the attitude of gratitude.

Learning with you to KICK START the day with gratefulness that God is God and made the day,

Pastor Kerrie

(written by Kerrie Palmer © 2010 All Rights Reserved)

interactstudies/ ~ kpalmer@hillchurch.com ~Church on the Hill~700 N. Hill Rd.~McMinnville, OR 97128~503.472.8476 ~www.hillchurch.com~Archives & Daily Subscription: go to http://kickstarttoday.blogspot.com/