“He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has.”  ~Epictetus

Gratitude-noun- the quality or feeling of being grateful or thankful

Thankful-adjective- feeling or expressing gratitude; appreciative

Grateful-adjective- warmly or deeply appreciative of kindness or benefits received

 “Gratitude is the best attitude” Anonymous

This past Sunday’s message at church was about being thankful and also living a thankful life. We shouldn’t just say thank you when we receive something like a gift or a compliment. We should be grateful and thankful just for life. We should be thankful for the lessons we learn that help us become wiser and stronger. We should be thankful and grateful for being able to read this post or view this site. We should be thankful for being able to breathe, smell, hear, taste, and touch. How many times do you say thank you in one day? How often are you appreciative for the simple things in life? Many people (myself included) take things for granted. We need to become mroe humble and appreciate the things around us.

When I was on vacation with my friends in St. Thomas this summer, I remember standing on the balcony of the condo we were staying at and just standing their in awe. I was just so amazed at the beauty God had produced and I stood outside on the balcony just saying thank you. Not just thank you for me being able to go on vacation and have a good time, but I was just thanking God for being who He is because no one or no big bang could have created such beauty. Don’t wait until you have a problem and God brings you through and then you say thank you Lord. Give thanks at all times even when things get rough, thank Him for all of your struggles, because obviously you emerge as the victor.

So being that this is the week of ThanksGiving Iam going to start my Journal of Gratitude and everyday (or as often as possible) I will write what I am thankful for. We learn something new everyday and that is a blessing, being able to learn, so take this journey with me as we prepare to live a thankful life.