Rain. It's back for a while in our neck of the woods, a reality in the Oregon valley we live in. True Oregonians enjoy a walk in the rain, listening to the rain fall on the roof, the smell of the earth after a good rain, and even watching it pour from the skies with a hot cup of coffee, a good book, and a fire going. There's a certain peacefulness about it; however, I question how grateful I am for shelter when I think of those who are living without it. The days of darkened skies, wind, and rain become a huge challenge for the homeless.
As I listened to the rain pound on the roof down last night, I thought about a family, three generations, who had been living in a tent for several months. A way had been found for them to get into an apartment. I am certain they're grateful for being provided with shelter.
Always give thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ (Ephesians 5:20, NCV).
The words, always and everything, require our attention. Seriously, Ephesians 5:20, has some big implications in the way we live, making it clear we're to ALWAYS give thanks for EVERYTHING. Look closely at what this means. There's no condition put on it, which means we're to give thanks in the good times as well as in the times when life is not going the way we want it to go. I have no problem giving thanks for what I define as good and great. It's far more of a challenge to give thanks when life is messy, inconvenient, and even down right difficult. But. The true art and attitude of gratefulness comes from taking the focus off of self and our circumstances, recognizing God to be the Giver. It's humbling, isn't it? It takes the exercise of intentionally saying thank you for everything to develop gratefulness.
Giving thanks makes us mindful of what's really important and what's not. If, we're not careful, we will feel we are owed everything. We're not. Life itself is a gift from God. So. The first step to being grateful is to pay attention to God rather than to ourselves. When we lose sight of God, we tend to stop giving thanks.
Kerrie
(written by Kerrie Carlisle Palmer © 2011 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED)
As I listened to the rain pound on the roof down last night, I thought about a family, three generations, who had been living in a tent for several months. A way had been found for them to get into an apartment. I am certain they're grateful for being provided with shelter.
Gratefulness is a way of life, an art and an attitude. The thing is . . . gratefulness comes from paying attention to God, the Giver of Life . . . intentionally giving thanks.Consider:
Always give thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ (Ephesians 5:20, NCV).
The words, always and everything, require our attention. Seriously, Ephesians 5:20, has some big implications in the way we live, making it clear we're to ALWAYS give thanks for EVERYTHING. Look closely at what this means. There's no condition put on it, which means we're to give thanks in the good times as well as in the times when life is not going the way we want it to go. I have no problem giving thanks for what I define as good and great. It's far more of a challenge to give thanks when life is messy, inconvenient, and even down right difficult. But. The true art and attitude of gratefulness comes from taking the focus off of self and our circumstances, recognizing God to be the Giver. It's humbling, isn't it? It takes the exercise of intentionally saying thank you for everything to develop gratefulness.
Giving thanks makes us mindful of what's really important and what's not. If, we're not careful, we will feel we are owed everything. We're not. Life itself is a gift from God. So. The first step to being grateful is to pay attention to God rather than to ourselves. When we lose sight of God, we tend to stop giving thanks.
- Pay attention to God.
- Intentionally develop the art and attitude of always being grateful for everything.
- Take time throughout the day to pray the simple and powerful prayer: Thank You!
Kerrie
(written by Kerrie Carlisle Palmer © 2011 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED)