Living An Attitude of Gratitude

We all have much to be grateful for in our lives. Even those with hardships can be grateful in the midst of the storm if we choose to be so.

This weekend at church Pastor Paul Daugherty taught on letting Heaven Invade Our Praise. He had several amazing thoughts on this subject and I have reflected on what he taught throughout the weekend and throughout this morning.

To me, allowing God to invade my praise is always remembering I don't know where the person I am looking at is coming from: is her marriage falling apart, has he just lost his job, did she just get an argument with her parents, is he planning to run away, does she have a huge family party she is planning and she is running late, is he headed to an interview, is she packing for college, does she have 30 minutes before the baby wakes up and she is rushing to get home? We all are in different parts of our days when we encounter each other at the bank, in the grocery store aisle, at a stop light, or ordering lunch. What I am choosing to do each day is to remember that what you are going through is just as important as what I am going through and I determine in that moment to make what you are going through better, even if only for a minute. This is my gratitude for all He is in my life changing my attitude.

You know please and thank you are still important words. I work in a high school office and this year I have been working with the students who come to my office to sign in, sign out, call a parent, use a pencil, drop off a note, make a copy, etc. to use pleases and thank yous. You would be amazed how many times they don't, or maybe you wouldn't be surprised! I don't do what they need until they ask me nicely...isn't this something we all learned in Kindergarten but how quickly we all forget the person on the other end of what we have to do in that moment. They want the pencil, the copy, the phone call, the sign out sheet, they forget I am the one attached to making that happen for them and they skip over being polite to get what they need. I am determined NOT to do that in my life. I want to say please and thank you every time, even the times when they don't "deserve" it because that is clearly when they need it most. I have started making eye contact when I say thank you, so the person handing me my receipt, or my drink, or my groceries knows I recognize them and I am thankful for what they have done.

This time of the year is so magical. It is full of people being their best, giving their best but everyday is our opportunity to live a life full of gratitude for all we are blessed with. Even in the storms we are to praise God, in Psalms 34:1 (NLT) it says, " I will praise the Lord at all times. I will constantly speak his praises." All times is all times, there isn't a day off, a situation that exempts us from praising Him and from that gratitude of what He has done, is doing, and is going to do from impacting all areas of our lives.