Tag: Gratitude

5 Ways to Enhance the Gratitude Capacity of Your Heart and Give Thanks

Jeannie Waters25 Comments on 5 Ways to Enhance the Gratitude Capacity of Your Heart and Give Thanks

 

My friend Karen planned a Friendsgiving celebration for the residents at the healthcare home where her mother lives. We decorated the tables with tall lanterns filled with tiny lights and red, orange, and yellow silk leaves. Then we added stuffed pumpkins and sprinkled candy at each place. During the celebration, the elderly ladies and gentlemen taught me an important lesson.

After participants had listened to a devotion about friendship and played games, they gathered around the tables to share some of their blessings. Their lists included life, family, friends, good memories, sunny days, chocolate cake, and many more.

When I heard wheelchair-bound nursing home residents express thanks for their blessings, I considered my heart’s gratitude capacity. If they can thank God for their blessings while facing adversity, surely I can, too. Then I wondered how Scripture can help us develop an attitude of gratitude when we experience trials or hear distressing news.

Gratitude fills my heart when I enjoy family gatherings, breath-taking mountain views, and vanilla lattes. But I confess, words of thanksgiving often sputter and stall when I face trials.

Recent trials include a stubborn printer with the nerve to die the night before a speaking engagement, even more stubborn plumbing that required a costly repair days before guests arrived, aggravating back pain, and far worse, a friend’s cancer diagnosis.

The grateful hearts of my new wheelchair-bound friends set a Christlike example for me.

Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

1 Thessalonians 5:18 ESV*

At the conclusion of the activities, we enjoyed ice cream sundaes. The sweet ladies at my table loved the choice of chocolate or caramel syrup and the addition of nuts and cherries. Laughter bubbled from the conversations as we ate.

Then Karen gave each resident a handmade bookmark decorated with fall pictures and a ribbon. She also gave them blank thank you cards and suggested they give the cards to a family member or a facility employee they appreciated.

Miss Maureen, a white-haired saint, grabbed Karen’s hand, pulled her closer, and gave Karen her thank you card. Whispered words brought tears to Karen’s eyes. “Thank you for taking time to bring joy to us. This was such fun. Please come back again.” My misty-eyed friend promised we’d return.

As the sweet residents wheeled from the room, some of them held our hands and told us how much they’d enjoyed the celebration. I suspect our blessings outweighed theirs.

With their kind words echoing in my heart, I pondered the biblical instruction to express thanks in all things. I long to develop an attitude of gratitude—even in challenging times—like I’d observed during the Friendsgiving celebration.

The Bible doesn’t tell us to feel thankful. Instead, it instructs us to give thanks.

Perhaps we should read verses about expressing gratitude daily and ask God to increase our capacity to give thanks—like my new friends modeled for me.

The Bible doesn’t tell us to feel thankful. Instead, it instructs us to give thanks. Share on X

5 Ways to Enhance the Gratitude Capacity of Your Heart and Give Thanks

1. With obedience to God

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

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever. Give thanks to the God of gods, for his steadfast love endures forever. Give thanks to the Lord of lords, for his steadfast love endures forever; to him who alone does great wonders, for his steadfast love endures forever.

Psalm 136:1-4

Giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Ephesians 5:20

2. With singing

I will give to the Lord the thanks due to his righteousness, and I will sing praise to the name of the Lord, the Most High.

Psalm 7:17

Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth! Serve the Lord with gladness! Come into his presence with singing!

Psalm 100:1-2

3. With recognition of His love and peace

Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!

Psalm 107:1

And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful.

Colossians 3:15

4. With prayer

Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving.

Colossians 4:2

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

5. With awareness of who God is and remembrance of His gifts

The Lord is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts, and I am helped; my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to him.

Psalm 28:7

Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of man! For he satisfies the longing soul, and the hungry soul he fills with good things.

Psalm 107:8-9

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.

James 1:17

The echo of gratitude from my new friends’ words and the verses I found are filling my heart and my words with thanksgiving.

Your Turn

What’s one way to develop a heart of gratitude? How is giving thanks beneficial to our walk with Christ? I look forward to your comments.

*All verses are taken from the ESV.

Another story of gratitude

Click here Gratitude According to Aunt Tommie for a devotion from A Place at His Table: God’s Daily Gifts to Satisfy Your Heart. Marilyn Nutter shared it on her website. You’ll read how my Aunt Tommie shared 6-ounce bottles of Coca-Cola and wise advice about gratitude.

A Place at His Table includes 40 devotions with Table Tips–recipes, easy centerpiece ideas, and celebration suggestions. What a perfect hostess gift!  

   Available at Amazon & at other places where good books are sold.           

 

Two Role Models Who Loved God as Their Heavenly Father and Thanked Him for Blessings

Jeannie Waters23 Comments on Two Role Models Who Loved God as Their Heavenly Father and Thanked Him for Blessings

This month’s calendar includes a day to honor fathers, but I want to tell you a true story about two mothers, my role models, and the way they thanked their heavenly Father for blessings.

My ninety-eight-year-old mother-in-law, Carolyn, went to her heavenly home earlier this year. When the family prepared to sell her home, I removed the plaque you see in the title photo. It hung on the wall over her table where we had eaten delicious fried chicken and biscuits for decades.

Carolyn had written my mother’s name and the year 2014 on the back of the plaque. Mama gave it to Carolyn as a birthday gift in August of that year. Mama died the following December.

Life was hard for these two beloved ladies, who each lost their fathers to tragic events during childhood. As girls and young women, they lived in near poverty and struggled through trials and disappointments.

Yet both surrendered their lives to Christ and lived lives of joy-filled faith in their heavenly Father. Rather than complain, each of them exhibited a cheerful outlook and gratitude for His blessings.

Today when I prayed about what I’d share with you, I looked above my desk and read the words on the front of Carolyn’s plaque. “God our Father, we thank You for our many blessings.”

Although we’ll honor fathers we know this month, let’s pause to focus on our heavenly Father. In a passage where Paul calls Christians to live a holy life and separate themselves from sinful living, he includes God’s promise,

‘I will be a Father to you, and you shall be My sons and daughters,’ says the Lord Almighty.

2 Corinthians 6:18 NKJV

Imagine the privilege—sons and daughters of Almighty God.

Imagine the privilege—sons and daughters of Almighty God. Share on X

My mother and mother-in-law understood although their earthly father was absent, their heavenly Father adopted them into His family (Romans 8:14-16) because they’d previously surrendered their lives to Christ. They knew the truth of John 1:12,

But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name.

John 1:12 NKJV

The words “receive” and “believe” in this passage define God’s children as those who acknowledge Jesus as God’s Son, the Messiah, and surrender their lives to Him. Jesus clearly says, He is God’s only provision for salvation and eternal life with Him (John 14:6).

As God’s children, we can look in the Bible and list His numerous attributes which describe Him as the perfect Father. Today, let’s focus on those David recorded in Psalm 103:8-14. As we read the passage, let’s pause to thank Him for each quality.

The Lord is merciful and gracious,
Slow to anger, and abounding in mercy.

He will not always strive with us,
Nor will He keep His anger forever.

He has not dealt with us according to our sins,
Nor punished us according to our iniquities.

For as the heavens are high above the earth,
So great is His mercy toward those who fear Him;

As far as the east is from the west,
So far has He removed our transgressions from us.

As a father pities his children,
So the Lord pities those who fear Him.

For He knows our frame;
He remembers that we are dust.

Psalm 103:8-14 NKJV

Take the truth with you  

As we read Scripture this month, let’s list on paper or in an electronic journal the attributes of God we notice and how they make a difference in our relationship with Him. Let’s ask Him to show us the kind of Father He is and why we can trust Him. This practice will surely deepen our love for Him and remind us to pray the words on my mother-in-law’s plaque: “God our Father, we thank You for our many blessings,” including the privilege of being Your child.

Let’s hear from you

I hope you’ll share in the comment section your favorite attribute of our heavenly Father or an encouraging verse about Him. How does knowing about God help you trust Him?

Here’s a link to a post with memories of my dad. Memories of My Dad

The Blessings We Forget

Jeannie Waters26 Comments on The Blessings We Forget

Even in the season of Thanksgiving, we can forget precious blessings from God. This week, when I read an email from a friend, I realized my gratitude list needed work.

In the email, our friends, Chip and Susie, requested prayer and shared news of Will, their friend who’d been bedridden since January 2—for ten long months.

One illness had led to another until Will was too weak after hospitalization to make the required progress for admittance into rehab. He believed he’d never walk again.

Hannah, Will’s wife, cared for him the best she could and called for medical transport when appointments were necessary.

Sad to see his friend incapacitated, Chip prayed and studied YouTube videos. He then asked if he could try to help. First, he carefully lifted Will into a wheelchair and pushed him down the sidewalk to visit neighbors.

Hannah, his wife, stood on the grass and watched Will draw in deep breaths of fresh air and throw his head back to gaze into the sky. When she watched neighbors come outside to greet her husband and heard his laughter and lively conversation, joy tears trickled down her cheeks.

The blessings?

  • Fresh air.
  • A change of scenery—from four walls to the crimson reds, fiery oranges, and sunny yellows of fall
  • The sound of birds chirping and a dog barking
  • The welcoming smiles of friends and jovial laughter

I’m quite sure Will and Hannah thanked God for those blessings—the blessings we tend to forget.

Would you like to hear more good news? After continued prayer and study, Chip is helping Will learn to walk again.

Will takes small steps and only a few at a time, but with determination and the hope of acceptance into rehab, he believes he will walk again. As he makes painstaking progress, Hannah observes from across the room where she claps and smiles through teary eyes.

After reading Susie’s email, I walked outside and took deep breaths of crisp fall air, then I thanked God I could walk, breathe fresh air, and hear the crunch of fallen leaves under my feet.

I also thanked Him I could serve as the hands and feet of Jesus as Chip and Susie did.

During this season of Thanksgiving, my gratitude list will be a little longer. What about yours?

Let’s express our thanks to God through His Word for the blessings we remember and the ones we forget to notice. 

Let’s express our thanks to God through His Word for the blessings we remember and the ones we forget to notice. Share on X
This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is maple-leaves-2789234__480.jpg

Let’s thank Him and praise Him for who He is.

Oh come, let us sing to the Lord!
Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation.
Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving;
Let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms.
For the Lord is the great God,
And the great King above all gods.

Psalm 95:1-3 NKJV

 Let’s thank Him …

For His goodness and His mercy.

Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever.

1 Chronicles 16:34 NKJV

For this day He has made.

This is the day the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.

Psalm 118:24 NKJV

For salvation in Christ, a free gift to all who surrender to Jesus Christ our Lord.

But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Romans 5:8 NKJV

Apples, Leaves, Fall, Still Life, Basket

Please tell us about a blessing you appreciate or a gratitude verse you enjoy.

Happy Thanksgiving, dear friends.

Finding Pandemic Gratitude and Service

Jeannie Waters28 Comments on Finding Pandemic Gratitude and Service
This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is Every-day-is-a-gift-from-God-bird.png

The little bird figurine in the photo above sits on my kitchen counter and reminds me, “Every day is a gift from God.” I gave the bird to my mom to encourage her when she struggled to maintain her usual optimism in the face of congestive heart failure and muscle weakness.

My mother longed for the former days of good health and the freedom of independence when she could meet friends for lunch and shop for groceries.

As the current pandemic continues to stretch across the months of 2020, we too long for the former times—for the good health and freedom of pre-COVID days. We pray for the restoration of health and for release from viral fear that plagues so many.

Like me, I’m sure you’re hoping life returns to normal soon.

I miss “normal” blessings like hugs, visits, and handshakes. Mask-free breathing and fellowship over coffee would bring relief. The thought of going to a movie or attending a local theater play delights me.

How do you manage the lack of the “normal” you prefer? Here’s how my mom responded to her lifestyle changes:  

During one of our daily calls, she admitted, “I felt a little down this morning and had a pity party. Then I told myself, ‘You have plenty to be thankful for. Look at the blessings God has given you. Stop fretting over what you can’t do and do something for someone else.’”

She followed her own advice. That afternoon she prepared a dish of chicken and dumplings for a friend who had weekly chemo treatments and then addressed cards to some church members who in her words, “have far worse problems than mine.”

My mom missed the good ole days—the days before the effects of illness and aging restricted her activities. However, despite hindrances, she thanked God for His blessings and looked for ways to serve others.

Despite our pandemic hindrances, we can express gratitude to our heavenly Father and then ask Him to reveal the ways we can bless others.

Instructions in the verses below can lift our eyes from circumstances we don’t like and focus our gaze on the One who designs the gift of daily life. Ask Him to show you creative ways to meet the needs of others.  

Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to do it.

Proverbs 3:27

Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.

Philippians 2:4

Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.

Galatians 6:2

Are you ready for gratitude and service? Does your heart feel lighter?

The sun’s up, my friend. Let’s tear the wrapping from this new day, thank our Lord for it, and use the time to bless others because after all, “Every day is a gift from God.”

In the comment section, please list an item from your gratitude list and share an idea for blessing someone else. Hearing from you encourages me and other readers.

Bible verses are from the ESV.

What’s Hindering Your Gratitude?

Jeannie Waters12 Comments on What’s Hindering Your Gratitude?
What’s Hindering Your Gratitude? JeannieWaters.com

Do you buy event or travel tickets early to ensure the best view? Some concert attendees select seating close to the stage, and many frequent fliers prefer a window seat glimpse of the clouds.

Years ago, at a rainy college football game, I appreciated the no-umbrellas-in-the-stadium rule because I preferred getting drenched in my poncho rather than having an obstructed view.

The way we face life’s circumstances can distort our view of God’s blessings and hinder our gratitude. It’s like watching a stage play from the last row of a large theater. Thankfulness can slip from the fingers of our heart when we fail to concentrate on blessings.

In our area, autumn beauty arrived later than usual this year. Due to limited summer rainfall, some of the leaves turned crispy brown and fell early. This week, however, God’s pre-winter palette commands center stage and calls for front row seats. 

I read about the scarlet reds and fire-bright golds but had I not looked for myself, I would have missed the splendor. Forgetting God’s blessings is like closing my window blinds and only imagining our Bradford pear with its Christmas-tree-like color sparkling in the sun.

 One morning I looked out of partially opened blinds and saw only a couple of limbs on our pear tree bedecked with leaves of orange and yellow.

Peering through the slats in the blinds is like being somewhat grateful but not fully experiencing and expressing our gratitude to God—possibly because we are comparing our blessings to those of others or harboring bitterness and unforgiveness in our hearts.

Like the slats in the blinds, those sinful attitudes thwart awareness of the ways God works in our lives. Conversely, turning our focus to Him and His blessings generates a heart of thanksgiving.  

When I fully opened the blinds, I saw more limbs of the almost thirty-year-old tree and noticed brilliant sunlight filtering through the branches. As the blinds obscured less of my view, I saw more of the beautiful tree as well as additional colors.

Yesterday, I claimed a front-row “seat” by walking around the magnificent pear tree, a gift from my dad who now gazes at heaven’s grandeur.

JeannieWaters.com

With nothing blocking my view, I saw leaves tinged in coral and others wearing a deep purple hue. I noticed the strong trunk that supports the limbs and the tiny golden-brown berries clinging to small branches.

Like you, I want to enjoy God’s blessings with unhindered eyes, recognizing His provision and remembering His goodness. I want my heart to be filled with gratitude and overflowing with praise this week and every week.

What hinders our gratitude? Busyness at this time of year can sidetrack our intent to give thanks, even on a day designed for enumerating our blessings.

That, dear friends, would mean we (including me) are too busy. Instead of saying, “Stop and smell the roses,” perhaps we should say, “Stop and take a walk or drive to see seasonal beauty and thank God for His creation and provision.”

Other hindrances to gratitude are sinful attitudes that blur our vision of God’s kindness. Let’s ask Him to forgive bitterness, envy, resentment, or any other sinful thoughts that may be lurking under the surface of our smiles (1 John 1:9).

Rather than scrutinizing the bounty of others, let’s thank our heavenly Father for His generosity as we develop a heart of contentment.  

Now we’re ready to look through open blinds and take a walk as we ponder God’s goodness to us. Here are some ways to make Thanksgiving a season of gratitude:

  • Thank Him for His greatest blessing, the gift of salvation. Jesus died on the cross that we could have forgiveness, fellowship with Him now, and eternal life (John 3:16).
  • Pray the words of the psalmist who understood the value of praising God for Who He is and His gifts.

Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised;
And His greatness is unsearchable.

Psalm 145:3
  • Look for blessings that you might ignore on other days. How many can you list today? Try writing some down or creating tally marks as you thank God for them.

Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good!
For His mercy endures forever.

Psalm 118:1

Before we gather with friends and family, let’s grab a window seat or a chair on the front row to ensure we grasp the fullness of God’s blessings.

How are you focusing on gratitude this week? Please share your thoughts below.

Have a Thanksgiving filled with gratitude!