Preparing to be Thankful

How do you prepare to be thankful? Or do you?

Here are a few ways that I prepare myself to be thankful this busy season.

Remind yourself what God has done for you

In Scripture different people recited the things God had done for them or was to them. We tend to forget His goodness, so we need to remind ourselves of who He is and what He does for us.

Psalm 118: 1-5 is a good example:

Notice how many times the psalmist repeats the same thing. Often we forget or just can’t imagine or believe God’s goodness toward us.

Just read through most Psalms and you will find many ways to thank the Lord.

Sing songs and worship God

Another way to prepare our hearts to be thankful is to sing songs of praise to Him. I don’t sing well, but I can make a “joyful noise” unto the Lord. Sometimes I just page through a hymnal reading the verses until something speaks to me. I enjoy the old hymns best because there is usually some meat to them, but some of the newer praise songs will do as well.

Practice gratefulness

You can also practice gratefulness. I recently heard someone counseling a couple whose young son had died. It had been several years since his death, but they were still struggling to overcome their grief. The counselor suggested they begin to thank the Lord for the years they had with their son and the things they were able to do with him during his lifetime.

This is a rather extreme situation, but many of us can relate in one way or another to a loss or disappointment. Instead of looking at what we’ve lost, we need to look at what we’ve had or what we still have – what the Lord has been more than gracious to give us, rather than what He has taken away.

In our human frailty we tend to forget far too easily.

I recently read about a homeschool mom who had a DONE box where her children would put all their finished school work and projects. When any of them would be tempted to think they were not accomplishing anything they could look in the box and actually see their accomplishments. We should all have a box like this, even if it’s only a mental one, that we can show to our enemy when he tempts us to give in to discouragement.

Here is another article I wrote about thankfulness that I thought you might enjoy.

The Thankful Heart

Here is a link for Silverbox Creative Studio. They have a beautiful printable available to make chains or napkin rings. I’ve printed them and intend to enter my guest’s names and use them for napkin rings. You can even print them in a color to match your table setting.

Isn’t this the cutest ornament you’ve ever seen? Its called snowflakes and ice sicles. Available now at GildedGears.com

Finding Joy in the Journey,

Phyllis

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Phyllis Sather

Proclaiming God’s Faithfulness at:

http://www.Phyllis-Sather.com
Contact me at: Phyllis@Phyllis-Sather.com