Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. ~1 Thessalonians 5:18
November is here!!! How I love this month with is chilly mornings, falling leaves, cozy sweaters, and wool socks. The very best part of November, at least for me, is Thanksgiving. This is a holiday for traditional foods and family gatherings that bring back precious memories, and invites us to make new ones. But most importantly, it is a time to intentionally thank God for all His grace-filled blessings which He lavishes upon us each and every day.
I'm sure that all of you who follow me here are grateful to the Lord for all He has done. But do we stop and actually take time to thank Him? Verbally or in writing? If you are a parent, you understand the monumental task of teaching your children from the moment they can speak to say the "magic" words, please and thank you. What a glorious day it is when our children say, "Thank you," without having to be prompted or prodded to do so.
Imagine, then, how our heavenly Father feels when we actually tell Him, "Thank you," and mean it with all our heart. I can envision Him smiling broadly like a proud Papa at His beloved children.
That's why I've decided to start a Gratitude Attitude journal for the month of November. I'll write down at least one thing for which I'm grateful each day. Some days, of course, I will certainly record more than one circumstance or happening where the Lord deserves my thanks and praise. At month's end, I'll have a record of the manifold ways in which God has blessed me and others in my life.
Would you like to join me in this journal adventure of gratitude? Or, maybe, you're already engaged in a daily routine of keeping a journal of your thankful thought to God. Either way, I'd love to hear about it in the comment section below.
And who knows? We may all fall in love with our gratitude attitudes toward our Abba that this practice will continue until the moment we draw our last breath here on earth. And the best news? We can then spend eternity thanking Him face to face.
Amen!
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Bom dia, Martha
ReplyDeletePostagem muito edificante, a gratidão alegra o coração de Deus e o nosso também. O diário de gratidão é uma ótima ideia, há sempre muitos motivos para agradecer, vou começar a escrever na minha agenda, obrigada pela dica. Gostei de saber que Paul David Tripp tem um devocional, deve ser bênção, estou lendo o livro dele: Instrumentos nas Mãos do Redentor, é muito bom, um forte abraço.
PDT is such an excellent writer, Lucinalva, I agree wholeheartedly. I'm so glad, too, that you are going to join me in this gratitude attitude adventure. Gratitude, as you said, gladdens our hearts and God's.
DeleteGrace and blessings!
Sounds like a great idea! (And good luck on the comment before me!) :)
ReplyDeleteI have a way to translate, Bill, thank goodness! Lucinalva is a beautiful person, inside and out. Glad you liked the gratitude attitude idea, too.
DeleteGrace and blessings!
If I were to start a Gratitude Journal I would need to build a large extension to the house in order to store all the journals.
ReplyDeleteA great post, Martha. Thank you and God bless always.
Now that gives us all something to think about, Victor. Our gratitude to God should be endless!
DeleteGrace and blessings!
Another great post...and I am with Victor on this, it would take a much larger place in order to store all the verbal and handwritten thank you's. Wishing you a beautiful day.
ReplyDeleteAs I told Victor, Linda, our gratitude to God should be endless, taking up much more room than we could ever imagine.
DeleteGrace and blessings!
We have much to be grateful for.
ReplyDeleteWe absolutely do, Glynn.
DeleteGrace and blessings!
Yes, we do have so much to be thankful for...and our friends here in Blogland are always on the list. I will try to do as you have suggested...sometimes my good intentions get lost in the hubbub of life, but I do try to be intentionally thankful for something every day. This is a wonderful way to spend this month, and every month, for certain! Thank you for your wonderful, thoughtful and encouraging posts always. Be blessed my friend.
ReplyDeletePamela, even if we start our day simply thanking God for His keeping us through the night, that's a good beginning to our gratitude journey. I do hope to carry this practice on passed November, too.
DeleteGrace and blessings!
Gratitude makes life always beautiful, no matter what happens. God bless you, dear friend 🧡
ReplyDeleteOh, yes, it does, Linda. A gratitude attitude can turn even the craziest of days into a positive experience.
DeleteGrace and blessings!
I have been promoted in the past few months to thank God for a long and blessed life. There have been trials, but especially in those times I have been most thankful for His abiding presence.
ReplyDeleteBlessings, Martha!
Lulu
Sometimes, Lulu, it is those very trials of life that bring out our deepest gratitude for God's love and presence. That's a great thing!
DeleteGrace and blessings!
I would like to start a Gratitude Attitude journal along with you Martha and will do that...hopefully, I won't walk away from the computer and forget. I'm good at that. I am thankful for this beautiful day today. We have blue skies, sunshine, and the leaves are gold and orange and falling. Beauty only God could make and bless us with. Thank you for your encouraging posts.
ReplyDeleteI'm so pleased you want to join me on this Gratitude Attitude journey, Henny! The day you describe looks like the header photo I shared that my husband, Danny, took years ago. So much to be thankful for!
DeleteGrace and blessings!
That's a great idea Martha. I have a couple of blog friends who always add what they are grateful for at the bottom of their daily blog posts.
ReplyDeleteI have one blogging friend who does the same, Martha. It's a small world, isn't it?
DeleteGrace and blessings!
Beautifully said, dear friend--and not surprisingly, we're on the same page again regarding the importance of this activity. Actually, applying the gratitude attitude on a daily basis has been a part of how Diane and I begin our day for decades. We've believed that acknowledging what He does for us on a daily basis is the beginning point of how we express our love for Him. I learned something about that process a long time ago in the relatively early years of our life together.
ReplyDeleteFor a while, we had adopted a practice of taking early morning walks together and just chatting back and forth. Without telling her about it decided that I was going to add something to the routine. Every morning, I was going to mention some new thing about her that I really appreciated. For a while it was pretty easy, but as the days went on it was a little more challenging to come up with new material. I discovered that in order to do that, I had to start paying attention to her at a different level. I had to watch more closely, listen more carefully, and see her from different perspectives. What I learned was that there was so much more that I loved about her than I had ever imagined. And the same thing is true about the incredible God we love and serve. The more we pay attention to what He does, what He says, how He handles certain situations, and what He accomplishes in, through, and for us, leads to a discovery that our love hasn't begun to probe the depths that we're capable of experiencing, and that He deserves.
So, thank you. sweet, gifted sister, and may the living God we serve together bless you and Danny with fresh waves of love infused gratitude every day.
I so appreciate the detail you went into with your comment here, Ron. Yes, the deeper we come to know God, the more we can find in which we can give Him thanks and praise for all things. What a great way you chose to make Diane feel special and loved.
DeleteGrace and blessings!
We gave much to be thankful for -Christine cmlk79.blogspot .com
ReplyDeleteYes, indeed, Christine.
DeleteGrace and blessings!
What a wonderful idea! A month full of actual thanksgiving!
ReplyDeleteA whole month does sound great to me, Ginny, and maybe we can actively practice this gratitude attitude throughout the months and years to come.
DeleteGrace and blessings!
Martha, about 30 years ago, I started a grateful journal. I promised to write to God - 5 things every single day that I was grateful for. For some reason this stuck with me, and I am still doing it today. I have tried to get so many friends to do this with me - as it has CHANGED MY ENTIRE LIFE! I just can't tell you the difference it has made in my life. So, I will keep doing it with you!
ReplyDeleteOh, Sandie, what an inspiration you are! Thanks so much for sharing what you've been faithfully doing for the last 30 years. Being grateful absolutely does change our outlook on how valuable our lives are and what God is doing each and every day to focus us on Him and His providence. I hope that so many more will get on board.
DeleteGrace and blessings!
Back in 2017 I was gifted a lovely turquoise journal and decided to use it for a record of daily gratitude. Now I'm on a third journal for this purpose. I only write down one or two items so the practice isn't burdensome. But combing through the day's events to decide what to write adds to the pleasure!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing what your joyful practice has been since 2017, Nancy! No, it's never burdensome, but a release and acknowledgement of God's great, eternal love for us. I'll bet you'll be starting on your fourth journal before you know it.
DeleteGrace and blessings!
I'm having a fellowship tomorrow with my bible study ladies and we' ll be focusing on thankfulness. I'm looking forward to what will be revealed.
ReplyDeleteThat sounds so exciting, Debby! I hope you will share this challenge with them if you feel so inclined.
DeleteGrace and blessings!
Martha, just before I read this, I answered an author's newsletter question. She asked us to say in 10 words or less what we're thankful for this year. My answer - "God has graciously held me up through some tough times!" Love, hugs, and blessings to you for God's grace to give us thankful attitudes!
ReplyDeleteGrace is my word for the year, Trudy, and all the glory goes to Him for teaching us to be grateful in all things because He is the initiator of all love and mercy in our lives. That's not a coincidence you describe here, but a "God-incidence."
DeleteGrace and blessings!
A wonderful post, I know some people who don't seem to be grateful for the things they have always wanting more, which to me is a sad way to live
ReplyDeleteIt is a sad way to live, indeed, Jo-Anne. Nothing we have in this life materially will last, yet so many cling to that deception that robs them of the thankfulness they should feel in the moment for health, friends and family. And most importantly, for God's love for all His children.
DeleteGrace and blessings!
I love this practice of expressing gratitude daily! Oftentimes, simply for being on His wake-up list. Even when things don't go exactly "my way", I try to ask the Lord what I might learn from the experience.
ReplyDeleteMyra, your attitude is the best that anyone could have. Today was one of those days for Danny and me that things did NOT go exactly our way as we had hoped. But we both learned from the experience and I know we are better for it and more grateful than ever.
DeleteGrace and blessings!
I thank Jesus every night and every morning and many times throughout the day. When I close my eyes, and when I open my eyes, I thank Jesus. Gratitude is such a part of my whole being and never taken for granted. Thank you for this very special reminder, Martha!
ReplyDeleteYou are so welcome, Terri! Yes, I find myself doing exactly what you do - thanking Jesus in every circumstance I face, morning, noon and night. When it becomes a habit as you've expressed here, we can't help but know that showing gratitude for His goodness shines His light onto all around us.
DeleteGrace and blessings!
Martha, I love this idea of a gratitude attitude. Being grateful, especially to the Lord, makes all the difference in our lives and perspective on life. Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays and the Lord continues to teach me how a true heart of thanksgiving lasts all year long. God bless.
ReplyDeleteI agree, Karen, that we should have a gratitude attitude throughout the year, not just in November. I'm hoping to keep up this practice going forward. Thankful hearts are joyful hearts.
DeleteGrace and blessings!
I am not much for journaling. I do thank the Lord throughout the day for everything. It is not that there is anything in the days that is not His. I admire your thoughts on having a gratitude attitude. Bless you for the post and the offer of joining you.
ReplyDeleteHugs and Blessings
You are so welcome, Jim! Whether we write down our gratitude list to God or simply thank Him throughout the day doesn't matter; only thanking Him does.
DeleteGrace and blessings!
Ah this is a wonderful idea to keep a journal of things you find to give thanks for throughout your day. I keep a random one but am a prayer journal writer who often records events that have happened that the Lord has done for me...this I do each morning along with my Bible reading of the day. Take care and have a great November. Hugs!
ReplyDeleteYour practice sounds wonderful, Debbie! That is certainly a form that holds much potential for giving thanks to God in so many ways.
DeleteGrace and blessings!
I must be more consistent in my practice of gratitude - it makes such a difference in so many ways. Thanks for the reminder- I am grateful to you.
ReplyDeleteYou are so welcome, Carrie. A gratitude attitude can definitely make all the difference. I'm grateful for you, too!
DeleteGrace and blessings!
Great Endeavor!! I started a gratitude journal 7 years ago and I am still going strong. It is the very first thing I do each morning, and it has made a monumental difference in my life. I find that the more we are grateful, the more we find for which to be grateful. Happy Journaling!!
ReplyDeleteBeing grateful does make a monumental difference in our outlook and attitude in life, I agree. Seven years and still going strong? Wow! Now that's inspiring for all of us.
DeleteGrace and blessings!
1Thessalonians 5:18 is such a great reminder.
ReplyDeleteI do love that verse, too, Diana. It is a reminder that all of us need from time to time.
DeleteGrace and blessings!
Thoughtfully written, Martha. Gratitude makes a huge difference in how we relate to God, to people, and to circumstances, both good and bad.
ReplyDeleteGratitude does make a huge difference in the quality of our lives and the lives of those around us, Barbara. It is a joy to be thankful.
DeleteGrace and blessings!
If ever we needed to cultivate gratitude, it's now when all around us is negative, snarky, and unkind. Thanks for the nudge to check our attitudes often, friend.
ReplyDeleteWeekend blessings to you.
We all need to cultivate a gratitude attitude, Linda, I agree. It definitely enhances our lives and helps us not to hear the negative voices that vie for our attention.
DeleteGrace and blessings!
Amen 🙏🏽
ReplyDeleteAmen is right, Cloudia.
DeleteGrace and blessings!
I hope you have a great november!
ReplyDeleteBjxxx,
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I hope you do, too, Teresa.
DeleteGrace and blessings!
I do. The original title of Buttercupland was Buttercup Counts Her Blessings. It was/is a steady reminder to be grateful.
ReplyDeleteThat would be the best reminder, Carol.
DeleteGrace and blessings!
Practicing gratitude is such a wonderful practice. I remember starting a gratitude journal years ago with Ann Voskamp's book, One Thousand Gifts. I haven't done it consistently but I admire those who do!
ReplyDeleteI admire them, too, Lisa. I'm hoping to do the same.
DeleteGrace and blessings!
This is giving warm, heart-full vibes that make you want to slow down and soak it all in.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much, Melody, for your kind words here. I'm glad this post encouraged you to slow down and be in the moment.
DeleteGrace and blessings!