Tag: gratitude

How To Be Thankful And Grateful.

Gratitude to me is thankfulness in action. Being thankful is not only good manners it is a heart response to show appreciation to others.  We are celebrating the ‘Thanksgiving Holiday’ this month, but we need to be thankful and grateful all year long. Thankfulness and gratitude comes from the heart of humility. It shows appreciation to others without resentment or wanting something in return.

According to the dictionary what does grateful mean? Grateful is “feeling or showing an appreciation of kindness; thankful” received or experienced with gratitude; welcome”

“By definition: thankfulness is feeling pleased and relieved. Gratefulness is showing appreciation for something done or received. Being thankful is more about expressing a feeling like saying “thank you.” “Where thankfulness is an emotion, gratitude is an attitude of appreciation under any circumstance. Gratitude involves being thankful, but it is more than that. Gratitude means expressing thankfulness and being appreciative of life daily even when nothing exciting happens.”

These definitions show us the difference between the words but in reality they both are necessary to have in life. Feelings will follow thoughts, but gratitude shows through in your attitude.

Ask yourself these three questions to know if you are a thankful and grateful.

First, do I appreciate the little gestures of kindness?  Secondly, do I express my gratitude with words and deeds? Thirdly, do I look for ways to express my thankfulness? If you consistently do these things your living with a thankful and grateful heart. 

If not, there is hope for you. By looking at your thoughts and actions. We change when we repent and ask God to forgive us for not being thankful. Then ask the Lord to show you how to be thankful for the trivial things in life.  Start a thankful list to remind yourself of things that are good and pleasant. Enjoy the trivial things in life by looking at the beauty around you and appreciate it. These small steps will lead you to having a thankful and grateful heart.

Here are a few thankful Scriptures to mediate on: I suggest saying them out loud so that you will hear them.

Psalm 136:1 “O give thanks unto the LORD; for his mercy endures forever.”

Philippians 4:6-7 “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be make know to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Psalm 95:2 “Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise.”

I Thessalonians 5:16-18 “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you”

Being Thankful

Attitudes of gratitude. What does it mean to have an attitude of gratitude? How is one thankful in hard times?

Usually an attitude is used to convey a negative, but we can be thankful daily, and it comes through and touches others.

Being thankful in all the situations seems impossible especially during the most difficult and painful times. Being thankful doesn’t mean your thankful for the problem. It does mean in all the surrounding circumstances one can see things their thankful for.

I’m not talking about pretending everything is ok. I’m thinking about how through tough situations somethings people did or said brought support and comfort which can be something to be thankful for.

The word thankful means: “pleased and relieved and expressing gratitude and relief.” It’s and attitude of gratefulness and appreciation for something someone said or did for you. It is amazing how just saying, thanks will express our appreciation. Having this attitude of gratitude for me is a way of life.

The Bible tells us in 1Thessalonians 5:18 “In everything give thanks for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”

Gratitude is “The quality of being thankful, readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness.”

An example of gratitude: today we had another crawlspace company come and give us an estimate to deal with mold and the water in our crawlspace. I’m thankful we found the problem so we can handle it. Even though it will cost much in the long run taking good care of our home will benefit us in the long run.

I’m also thankful even though I have had surgery and been laid up for eight weeks now. I can be thankful for the close friends who brought food, visited with me or sent cards. Instead of being upset that my bone fractured during surgery I’m taking time to heal and be thankful in the process of recovery.

These two situations are different, but thankfulness is still present in my heart. If your focus is on what you can appreciate it helps you to keep your mind off the bad in it.

You still must deal with the situation but finding some areas to be thankful for are healthy for you.

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

Being anxious tries to keep us fearful in the situations but as you surrender the situation to God through prayer and supplication with thanksgiving the peace of God will surpass your understanding and guard you heart.

Choose to be grateful today.