Contagious Gratitude

“Gratitude can be as contagious as its evil twin. So if you’re tired of living in an atmosphere where all the joy and beauty have been sucked out through negative, unappreciative words and attitudes, you can make a change. You can become the type of person you’ve always wanted to be around— the kind of person who makes Jesus and His gospel winsome to all who come within reach.”

DeMoss, Nancy Leigh. The Quiet Place: Daily Devotional Readings (Kindle Locations 5221-5224). Moody Publishers. Kindle Edition. 

Thank you for joining me for days of Thanksgiving.  May we all go forward with gratitude in our hearts for all that our gratitude God has done for us!!

*photo taken at Asuke

Grateful People

“…grateful people are humble, while ungrateful people are proud. Gratitude is a revealer of the heart, not just a reporter of facts, events, and details. And among the things revealed most clearly in those who express gratitude as a way of life is a heart of humility.”

“A grateful heart is a full heart, whereas an unthankful heart is an empty one. The difference between being full and empty is not usually the difference between rich or poor, at home or away, cupboards bursting or thinly lined with soup cans and Ramen noodles. The difference, almost always, is gratitude.”

“…grateful people are characterized by thankful words, while ungrateful people are given to murmuring and complaining. Some grumble at why God puts thorns on roses. Others notice, with awe and wonder, that God has put roses among thorns.”

“Thankful people are refreshing, life-giving springs, while unthankful people are life-takers and joy-robbers. Not that there aren’t appropriate times and settings to share our troubles with a caring friend. Not that “I’m fine” should always be the automatic, canned answer whenever people speak to us. But ingratitude is toxic. It poisons the atmosphere in our homes and workplaces. It contaminates hearts and relationships.”

DeMoss, Nancy Leigh. The Quiet Place: Daily Devotional Readings (Kindle Locations 5160-5220). Moody Publishers. Kindle Edition.

*photos taken in beautiful Pennsylvania

Paving the Way with Gratitude

“If you’ve always wanted prayer to be as natural as breathing, then try paving the way with gratitude. And see if prayer “without ceasing” doesn’t become your experience instead of your exception.”

DeMoss, Nancy Leigh. The Quiet Place: Daily Devotional Readings (Kindle Locations 5148-5149). Moody Publishers. Kindle Edition.

* photo taken at Shiragawago 

Thanks to God

Thanks to God for my Redeemer,
Thanks for all Thou dost provide!
Thanks for times now but a mem’ry,
Thanks for Jesus by my side!
Thanks for pleasant, balmy springtime,
Thanks for dark and stormy fall!
Thanks for tears by now forgotten,
Thanks for peace within my soul!

Thanks for prayers that Thou hast answered,
Thanks for what Thou dost deny!
Thanks for storms that I have weathered,
Thanks for all Thou dost supply!
Thanks for pain, and thanks for pleasure,
Thanks for comfort in despair!
Thanks for grace that none can measure,
Thanks for love beyond compare!

Thanks for roses by the wayside,
Thanks for thorns their stems contain!
Thanks for home and thanks for fireside,
Thanks for hope, that sweet refrain!
Thanks for joy and thanks for sorrow,
Thanks for heav’nly peace with Thee!
Thanks for hope in the tomorrow,
Thanks through all eternity!

~August L. Storm

*photo was taken on the Biltmore estate in Asheville, NC

Christian Gratitude

“It is only by recognizing that our blessings have a single Source— a real, personal, living, and loving Giver— that gratitude becomes authentic, Christian gratitude: recognizing and expressing appreciation for the benefits we have received from God and others.”

DeMoss, Nancy Leigh. The Quiet Place: Daily Devotional Readings (Kindle Locations 4617-4619). Moody Publishers. Kindle Edition.

*photo taken in beautiful Pennsylvania

Happy Thanksgiving!

photo credit

Attitude of Gratitude

“…in the few pages of his Colossian letter, the apostle Paul challenges believers to be ‘always’ thankful (Col. 1: 3), ‘abounding’ in gratitude (2: 7), devoting ourselves to prayer, ‘being watchful in it in thanksgiving’ (4: 2). The ‘attitude of gratitude’ is a clear command and expectation of God. Even when we don’t feel so inclined or are more mindful of our problems than our blessings, we are told to give glory and gratitude to Him.”

DeMoss, Nancy Leigh. The Quiet Place: Daily Devotional Readings (Kindle Locations 4495-4499). Moody Publishers. Kindle Edition. 

*This photo is from days gone by.  These are three people in my life that I am very thankful for!

Come, Ye Thankful People

Come, ye thankful people, come,
Raise the song of harvest-home!
All is safely gathered in,
Ere the winter storms begin:
God our Maker doth provide
For our wants to be supplied;
Come to God’s own temple, come,
Raise the song of harvest-home!

~Henry Alford

Triumphant Conquerors

“Gratitude is what transforms overwhelmed strugglers into triumphant conquerors, even if their circumstances remain, for the present, unchanged.”

DeMoss, Nancy Leigh. The Quiet Place: Daily Devotional Readings (Kindle Locations 3685-3686). Moody Publishers. Kindle Edition.

prayer + thanksgiving = peace

“When prayer teams up with gratitude, when you open your eyes wide enough to look for God’s mercies in the midst of your pain, He meets you with His indescribable peace. It’s a promise: prayer + thanksgiving = peace.”

DeMoss, Nancy Leigh. The Quiet Place: Daily Devotional Readings (Kindle Locations 2892-2893). Moody Publishers. Kindle Edition. 

*emphasis mine

**photo taken at the Biltmore estate