Saturday, October 5, 2013

Attitude of Gratitude



Most people know that this is one of my favorite passages in Scripture. For so many years I tried to figure out what God's will was for my life and I realized this verse makes it quite simple:
  1. Rejoice always.
  2. Pray without ceasing.
  3. Give thanks in all circumstances.
None of these are easy, but it is right there, spelled out for us in Scripture what we are to be doing. That last one trips me up... it says ALL circumstances. It doesn't say to give thanks when everything is going great, when your family is healthy, your job is going well, your friends are all cheering you on, you have no money problems and everything is just peachy keen in your world... no it says ALL circumstances.

This means when someone gets cancer, your job is stressful, you have friends who desert you, you have debt you can't see any way out of and things just look like they couldn't get any worse... give thanks.

I wrote a while back about how I wanted to get back to doing my gratitude journal in this post. I did well for a while but it hasn't been going very well lately. So, I have a new plan... from now until the end of the year I am going to post a gratitude post on here. I was trying to figure out a way to have a separate page on my other blog for gratitude posts but I couldn't figure it out. I may post some of my gratitude posts on that blog, but the plan now is to post them here on my personal blog.

Since I don't have Internet at home anymore, many of them will be written from my phone, which isn't ideal, unless I can get them written at work... but some days may be shorter than others. The point is, I want to get back to having an attitude of gratitude EVERY DAY!

So, here's today's gratitude post:

  • I am grateful today for a great night sleep. I fell asleep fast and slept a good 8 hours for the first time in a very long time. It wasn't a restless sleep, it was a nice peaceful sleep and I woke up feeling refreshed and ready for the day.
  • I am grateful for "fall in a cup" aka pumpkin latte from Solid Rock Coffee House here in Huxley... it is the bomb! I had 2 cups of decaf today.... topped with whipped cream and cinnamon and nutmeg and it was absolutely delicious!
  • I am grateful today for a beautiful day... although I have spent most of it inside at the coffee shop I have enjoyed the sunshine and blue skies through the windows.
  • I am grateful for the cooler weather... I am ready for fall!
  • I am grateful for getting so many things done today: I got some Bible reading done, I finished a book I was wanting to finish today (The In-Between by Jeff Goins) which I HIGHLY recommend. I wrote some about how it impacted me in a blog on my other site: www.nottoobrokenforGod.com
  • I am grateful for getting to watch an online "launch party" of a book by a Pastor in Tennessee called "Let Hope In" by Pete Wilson (this post is starting to feel like an advertisement for books) But, the "launch party" featured some amazing people that I have followed online and in the music world, along with Jon Acuff which is where I even heard about the online "launch party." I took 4 pages of notes from the discussions that the author had with various people. God really spoke deeply to my heart.
  • I am grateful that God has been speaking to me about slowing down, not worrying about that next big thing... I know God wants me to write "My book" but I am not on a time-table and I don't have a deadline. I am a bit overwhelmed with building a "Platform" on my website and getting a following (aka - a "Tribe") I know these are things I need to do, but I spent almost 3 years blogging just what was on my heart when it was on my heart and figuring out an editorial schedule and all the ins and outs of the process is a bit overwhelming. I am grateful God is reminding me that Rome wasn't built in a day and I can take my time and do what I can when I can and that I can work on my passion and dream and make an impact for Him in the day-to-day of life. Yes, my book will get written, I just don't know when at this point.
  • I am grateful for healing God is doing in my life. Two weeks in a row I have been faced with the same situation dealing with a person from my past that used to be family to me. Today when I was faced with it, I didn't have the same sinking feeling that I did last week... I felt pretty matter of fact about it, I didn't shed a tear, I didn't let it ruin my day. GOD DID THAT! It was amazing and I am SO GRATEFUL!
  • I am grateful for a relaxing evening ahead of me... I am definitely a home-body and I am looking forward to a night relaxing at home with my kitties just chilling out.
  • I am grateful for God's steadfast love - He keeps reminding me over and over and over again how His love is immovable, unshakable, constant... unchanging. That is a remarkable thing to me and I am very grateful.
  • I am grateful for God's grace. I know that I fail every day. I know that there are things I need to do differently in my life, but God's grace meets me where I am every day... His mercy... oh, how I am grateful for His mercy... 
  • I am grateful for my friends... I really have the most amazing friends ever!
  • I'm grateful to you... my readers... those who have followed my blog for so long.... thank you for sticking with me... for being a great support and encouragement.
With gratitude,

Sherri