Gratitude

gratitude: a feeling of thankfulness and appreciation

 "Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today and creates a vision for tomorrow." ~~~Melody Beattie

I was reading through a fellow-blogger's posts the other day, and she was sharing how she wrote a "gratitude journal" last year. She then went on to share a couple passages with her readers.

I started journaling mine today. "I am grateful for my family: I need them and amazingly, they also need me." I challenge each of you to start your own journal.

There will be some days, through tear-brimmed eyes, that I know I won't find one thing to be grateful for. On these days, when on that very morning, I couldn't muster enough energy to even climb out of bed, if I can't think of anything but to write that I'm grateful for the day to be over, is sufficient. We all have these kind of days, sometimes even weeks and months, and it's alright. But I've realized that writing down something every day as to what I'm thankful for is uplifting and positive. It's similar to the classic movie "It's A Wonderful Life". George Bailey felt he had never made a difference in anyone's lives, and that it would have been better if he'd never been born. I guess what I'm trying to get across is that when you journal your gratitude, you realize just how much you do impact other's lives and how they richly bless you.

"Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts."~~~Colossians 3:16 NIV