Being Thankful

 

 

Hurricane Sandy? A miscarriage? No job? Sickness? Cancer? Bankruptcy? Divorce?  There is so much hurt, disappointment, and so much sadness in our lives.  There are so many trials that we could be facing at any point in time. When asked for prayer requests most of us could give a list that would fill an entire 8x11 piece of paper.  That is ok.  We live in a fallen world and there will be pain and sadness. 

Through the trials, the pain, the sadness, have you ever considered keeping a Thankfulness Journal?  When we go before The Lord in prayer we tend to give a list of requests and things that we want Him to do for us.  Requests are not a bad thing but I challenge you to also be thankful.  I challenge you to write down 3 or 4 things each day that you are thankful for.  Through the hurt, the pain, etc, we can see that there is still so much in which we can express thankfulness.

The month of November has prompted many Facebook users to list something each day that they are thankful for and this is a great idea - but I challenge us to go deeper.  To have a thankfulness journal in the back of your prayer journal or even to have a seperate journal going to focus each day on thanksgiving.  It can be big things or small things - the items don't matter rather its our attitude of being thankful.  I encourage you to hold fast and to cling to the Lord.  He has promised us so much in His Word and we have been so blessed.

Psalm 100:4

⁴ Enter his gates with thanksgiving
    and his courts with praise;
    give thanks to him and praise his name.
⁵ For the Lord is good and his love endures forever;
    his faithfulness continues through all generations.

My journal entry today:

• I'm thankful for the beautiful sunrise that I get to watch each day as I drive to work.
• I'm thankful for the girls I work with and the friendships we have together. 
• I'm thankful for my large McDonald's Diet Coke (in a styrofoam cup) - sometimes it's the small things:).

What are you thankful for today???