Skip to main content

Day 4: Begin Your Day

I’m always slightly in awe of creative people.  I enjoying crafting and photography, but as I am always looking for inspiration and working to grow, I tend to turn to the internet for ideas.  While I have been searching for inspiration on gratefulness, I can’t help but be inspired by several artists’ creations surrounding the word ‘grateful.’  One in particular tends to stand out – It has the saying, “Start each day with a grateful heart.”  I tend to think of ending the day with a grateful heart – counting my blessings as a lay down from a long day (Thanks Bing Crosby).  But, what would by day start to feel like if I more consciously started my day with a grateful heart.  How would my outlook change if I counted my blessings in the morning?

I can already feel the change in my heart.  I can feel the worry, the anxiety - starting to lift from my shoulders.  By turning to gratefulness when situations seem stressful; my attitude is one of increased patience and love.  In turn, I am enjoying my blessings more.  I even enjoyed laundry day!   When my alarm goes off tomorrow, I’m going to count my blessings as I ready for the day.  Say thanks for my hot shower, filling breakfast, and my alarm clock that tends to be in the form of my 4-year-old daughter.  By changing my outlook on my day and starting with gratefulness, my heart will be ready to continue that gratefulness as the day wears on.

“In the morning, when I rise … Give me Jesus”
I love this hymn.  It is a wonderful reminder what life is all about.  And with a life to live for Him, what better way than to start the day by being grateful that I know Jesus and that He lives in me … and that I get to live for Him.  #livewithagratefulheart #lent2017 #40daysgrateful

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Day 8: Meaning of Thanks

What does it mean to be thankful?   To show gratitude?   We’re taught from an early age that ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ are like magic words, usually helping you gain something.   As an adult, I have learned to say it as a polite reply but I don’t tend to give it a lot of thought in terms of the sincerity I should be trying to express.   The flippant use of these magic words led me to do a little soul searching (and Google searching) for a deeper meaning in what being grateful should mean.   In my search, I read a very simple but powerful statement covering thankfulness:   “Put simply, thankfulness is recognizing good things that have happened to you, and acknowledging the people who made those good things happen … In the Bible,   thankfulness is recognizing who God is and what he has done.”   – Jeffrey Kranz http://overviewbible.com/thankfulness/ I love the statement about God.   I tend to p...

Day 7: Turn to Him

Why do we wait to turn to God?   Why do we try to handle things ourselves?   I’m beyond grateful that my heart has started this incredible journey.   I’ll admit, I knew my heart needed an attitude change and I knew that only real change could come from turning to the Lord for His help, guidance, and peace.   It may have even been a bit selfish, wanting to be more joyful and to be a better version of myself.   With that, I feel that I have been selling this journey short in my mind and selling God short for the work He can do in a willing heart. I had also forgotten how comforting turning to His word can be.   Not only am I convicted in areas of my life that I can do better, but I also am continually comforted by His promise of everlasting love and peace that only He can provide.   As I was reading various other devotions on gratefulness, I was in awe of several verses that spoke of God’s desire for us to #livewithagratefulheart.   One such pa...