Saturday, November 9, 2013

A Thankful Heart


“And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.” (Colossians 3:17)

How do you think you would view your life if you ~started each day~ and ~ended each day~ with a grateful heart?

Counting our blessings, noticing the simple pleasures, and living each moment as if it were a miracle shifts our focus from what our lives may be lacking to the abundance that is already present. It’s so easy to take for granted the good that is already present in our lives, and rather focus on what’s not present in our lives. When things don’t go our way, we need to remember that with every difficulty we need to ask ourselves, “what’s good about this?”, “what can I learn from this?”, and “how can I benefit from this?”. Many people struggle with finding contentment, but why do we put ourselves in a race to succeed and gain when instead we could be enjoying what we have and where we are currently in this present moment?

So…how do we come to have a thankful heart?

~How can we be grateful to God for the small things, the stuff we take for granted, or the things that we feel we are entitled to?~

~How can we be thankful in the hard things, the ugly things, the “I never wanted” things, the things of sorrow and pain; is it really possible?~


“Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.” (I Thessalonians 5:18)



·         Choose your feelings…begin each day with prayer, inspirational reading, uplifting music; speak words of gratitude, and think on all the things you have to be thankful for!

·         Choose your actions…our hearts overflow when we put love in action and give the gift of friendship; thankfulness is expressed through our ability to bless others!

·        Choose your words…Pause and think before you speak, and rather than grumble, think about what is helpful, useful, and uplifting in all circumstances. Our conversation reveals what is in our hearts!

“Let us come into His presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to Him with songs of praise!” (Psalm 95:2)

There is a strength that comes from having a thankful heart; possessing a grateful heart is not an obligation, but rather a privilege! There is something to be thankful for in each and every moment of our day. When we start to recognize everything as something to be grateful for, that’s when things begin to change. Trust and gratitude go hand in hand, and when we trust that there is a divine reason for everything, we can be thankful for all of it.

We are showing…

v  faith in place of uncertainty;

v  appreciation instead of dissatisfaction,

v  and love instead of fear!


When we show gratitude for all our blessings (no matter how big or small), they multiply and we have more to be thankful for! Every experience comes to us from God’s personal and loving hand; He is arranging the events of our lives, and we need to see this evidence all around with eyes that see God’s hand at work in every moment of every day. When our feelings, actions, and words are focused on our many blessings, we see normal, everyday things as a gift, and with thankfulness in our hearts we will reap a harvest of gratitude instead of dissatisfaction and restlessness. Thankfulness and gratitude protects and guards our heart!!






                                                Linking up this week with:


Beauty in His Grip Button

USE this for BLOG


23 comments:

  1. Yes...it is all in the attitude! Focusing on our troubles or dissatisfaction in life will cloud our perception and keep that cloud over head. But, when we switch our focus to the good things around us (and there ARE many), our moods shift and we are able to see more and more of our blessings! I'm trusting God today! Blessings, Joan

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    1. For sure Joan! I am leaning more and more to having an attitude of gratitude; it does shift my mood and certainly those around me! :) Blessings sweet friend!

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  2. HI Denise,
    I tend to think more and more about not taking things for granted this time of year because of autumn. People who love this, the shortest of seasons, will often lament it's ending...but, what if it were autumn all year long? We likely would take it for granted as well....maybe that is why God makes it so short...so that we will fully appreciate one of His best creations!

    I agree with you about choosing our feelings actions and words...though choosing feelings may not always be possible, the other two definitely always are unless you suffer from 'turrets syndrome' or something! And once you have chosen those other two...maybe the feelings will fall in line with the actions and words instead of feelings dictating our actions and words?...Sounds like discipline...sounds like I need to try this, lol!
    ~Blessings and love~ Lisa

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    1. Oh I needed to hear this Lisa; I have been thinking about how sad I am to see the fall season turn into winter, but your words have so much truth! Good discipline for me my friend! :) :) Blessings and love to you too!

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  3. Hi Denise! I always look forward to your thoughtful and beautiful posts.

    It really is about choice, isn't it? I have thought lately that I need to CHOOSE joy. Isn't so wonderful to know people who just ooze joy and thanks? And the 'thank you' transforms me to that joy. Who likes fear? Love is so much better. And in love there is no fear.

    Thank you for your blogging. I really enjoy visiting you here.
    Have a happy weekend!
    Ceil

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    1. Thanks for your lovely comment Ceil; you are always such a joyful person! I love being around people who have joy and thankfulness in their hearts; it is uplifting and encourages me to bring joy in other people's lives. Blessings; enjoy the rest of your weekend too!

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  4. So true. No matter what circumstance we find ourself in if we remain thankful. We all have much to be thankful for if we open our selves up to the Lord and all He gives to us.

    Have a blessed weekend!

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    1. We really do have so much to be thankful for Chelle; I know we have to dig deep sometimes, but God's many blessings are there waiting for us to accept and give thanks for! Praying that you have had a joyful weekend dear friend!

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  5. Love your post, as always. There is so much to be grateful for in our lives, but we tend to concentrate on what's going wrong. I choose to let go of what's wrong and build-up what's going well. If I can honestly do something about the things that are going crazy, I will. But, if I can't, I pray for strength to let go. The Lord has too many wonderful people, places and things to enjoy, for me to concentrate on circumstances that are out of my control. Sometimes, I have to "go-through" for a while, in order to understand that I am making the choice to stand in the rain without His wonderful umbrella. I choose His joy and His umbrella! Blessings!

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    1. Aw; love what you said here Cynthia! I choose to stand under His umbrella too, and accept His strength to let go of the things I cannot change! :) Blessings sweet sister!

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  6. Your posts always urge me towards heart changes and excellence. One thing I try to do is read a praise verse from the Psalms. Not as part of my time with God but immediately. Set the tone for the day.

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  7. Dear Denise
    I want to add to your words that one can truly be thankful for suffering as well. Actually, I was just thinking last night when I was battling terrible Fm pain, that I don't know where I would have been without the blessings of this illness. I think I would still have been chasing my own tail like a dog, trying to earn God's love and approval!
    Blessings XX
    Mia

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    1. Amen Mia! When we allow ourselves to express joyfulness even in times of pain and suffering we gain strength and endurance; we rejoice in spite of our grief and the end result is greater spiritual power and strength. Blessings and prayers dear friend; I hope your pain is much better today, and that you have a blessed week!

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  8. "Choose your actions" I just love that.. Deliberate, thought through actions.. Perfectly put!

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    1. Hi Ren; thanks sweet friend! Have a blessed day! :)

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  9. Dear Denise,

    Wow...this is very good and a much needed reminder on the importance and huge difference that gratitude makes. I especially loved "Choose your feelings, actions, and words." It's so easy to let your feelings take us for a ride rather than choosing something different, or in this case, something better.

    Lord bless...Susan

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    1. Our feelings are temperamental aren't they??!! Thanks Susan; Lord bless you on this beautiful day too dear friend!

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  10. Hi Denise, I love how you show our attitude is a choice, to be grateful and thankful is a choice. Thank you for this reminder that when we choose thankfulness in our lives we are so much more blessed.
    God bless my friend
    Tracy

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  11. Such great advise. As you said we lose so much by focusing on our circumstances it is a ploy to take our focus off of the Lord and His goodness and greatness. Without a doubt my blessings are greater! (fitandbeyond40.com) I believe that this is my first time visiting your blog and I love it...such an inspiration.

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  12. Hi Denise! I'm finally back at blogger and I have updated about the recent mission trip I went to!

    I'm really encouraged, and somehow convicted as well when I read your post. It is not easy to wake up and end my day with a thankful heart when my day was screwed up. In reality, it is really hard for me to pick out something I can thank God about.

    I'm just thankful that there is one thing that always stays unchanged, and I can be forever grateful about: The Love of God, and the Holy Spirit for being my best friend. I love when you said, "There is a strength that comes from having a thankful heart; possessing a grateful heart is not an obligation, but rather a privilege!"

    God bless! And may God continue to use you mightily for His Kingdom's glory!

    With love
    Joy :) -hugs-

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  13. This is so true. We should always have a thankful heart. We should thank God for his blessings. And also the people who are helping us to have those blessings.
    Spiritual thoughts

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  14. Denise, this is beautiful. I mean it. I love your graphics. I hope you are having a wonderful week.

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  15. Denise, I love this! Such a beautiful message. It makes such a difference when we have a thankful heart....which is why I'm finding blessings in this deployment. There are so many reasons to be thankful even with my husband away. Sorry it took me several days to get by but thank you for linking this up for Three Word Wednesday. Blessings to you.

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