Gratitude

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1 Chronicles 16:8      Oh, give thanks to the LORD!  Call upon His name; make known His deeds among the peoples!

Psalm 7:17      I will praise the Lord according to His righteousness and will sing praise to the name of the LORD Most High.

Psalm 9:1     I will praise You, O LORD, with my whole heart; I will tell of all Your marvelous works.  I will be glad and rejoice in You; I will sing praise to Your name, O Most High.

Psalm 95:1-2      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.

Psalm 100:4-5      Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise, be thankful to Him, and bless His name.  For the LORD is good; His mercy is everlasting, and His truth endures to all generations.

Psalm 118:28-29       You are my God and I will praise You; You are my God, I will exalt You.  Oh give thanks to the LORD, for He is good!  For His mercy endures forever.   

Philippians 4:6      Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God

Hebrews 13:15      Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise of God, that is the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name.

 

One of the best gifts we can give God, who has given us so much, is gratitude.  Gratitude is more than just being thankful, but saying it, showing kindness to others, being gentle and loving, and showing others a manner of living as Jesus showed us. 

God, the Father, sent His Son to be the sacrifice for each and every one of us—for past sins, for future sins, and to assure that we would be saved to live in eternity with Jesus and the other heavenly beings.  Gratitude is easy for me to have and feel as I know the wretch I have been and can be.  But although my biggest and most wonderful gift is salvation, I am grateful for my family and friends, for the many wonderful experiences and sights I have enjoyed throughout my life. 

He created me and allowed me to be born into a wonderful loving family where there was love given and shown, discipline was doled out when it was needed – a rare spanking, being grounded or losing privileges, losing out on spending time with friends and plans we might have made if we were bickering among ourselves and did not stop when warned; then it might be the afternoon was spent raking the leaves from our large lawn and bagging the leaves instead of attending a football game, or some other plan we may have.  We learned there are consequences of misbehaving, and although I never liked having my desires reined in, I always knew the punishment was fair and deserved. 

It’s important for us to know there are consequences to misbehaving/sinning.   My parents could not always know that we would do something that was not acceptable, but once they caught up to the fact we had done something inappropriate or wrong, they handled it, told us it was not going to be tolerated and why, and if repeated what the consequences would be. 

Certainly, I did some sneaky things that I knew were unacceptable – smoking, going downtown without asking permission or letting them know I was going there.  But the worst offense to them always was lying.  Lying broke trust and caused such sadness to them.  I only lied once, and never forgot the look of disappointment on my mother’s face.  I was punished for the lie, but whatever she doled out as punishment was whatever, quickly forgotten, but the look on her face broke my heart, and vowed then and there to never tell a falsehood again.

Without discipline and learning to be responsible, there are all manner of people who are raised who are not pleasant to be around.  They expect life and all they desire to come easy for them, and they are entitled to all manner of things in life without having to work toward them.  I think it is more difficult for them to deal with life when they do become adults if they have always been given a lot without having to work and learn discipline. 

Life becomes more difficult when bills are become one’s responsibility, especially if they never had to save for something and work toward that goal – physically, financially and doing chores.   And it is harder for many raised like this to be grateful as they never had to really strive toward a deep desire.   

I will always be grateful that my parents and grandmother always made sure we had to work for something – it was not just handed to us.  To me one appreciates more – you tend to take care of your bicycle better if you have some money in that, and it took a period of time before you had enough to go and purchase it.  It is the same if working toward something one wants to achieve – good grades, being a good oral speaker, working hard in a specific sport, or in many sports.  The sense of success and achievement is important to a sense of gratitude, I believe.

God wants us to be grateful and gives us many gifts daily if we take time to see, listen, smell, or whatever.  I love watching the many birds that come to my feeders, splashing in the birdbath and knowing that His word says He knows each one.  There are beautiful flowers, the many different moods of the ocean, the wonder of the sunrises and sunsets we get to enjoy and be thankful for.   

I believe God blesses us more when we acknowledge being grateful for one of His gifts—butterflies, hummingbirds, seeing the grace of deer, the blue sky, the giggle of a baby, playing puppies or kittens.  It only takes a moment to spot or hear something to make you feel grateful—and how pleased He is that you sent Him up a thank You. 

I am so thankful for all the blessings He has bestowed on me during my life.  Family, lifelong friends, opportunities to live in many different and lovely areas, and given me church families in the various places He has put me for a time.  What a wonderful life He blessed me with.  My heart is always grateful for all You have blessed me with, and I can share it in “mybellaviews.”

 

Grateful Marquees

Count your blessings,  one by one

Gratitude is the parent of all other virtues.