Practicing gratitude is life changing. I have experienced this first hand and have also witnessed the transformation of so many others from it. When you make gratitude an integral part of your daily life, it changes you. I’ve always been a naturally negative person, or at least I used to be. Of course, I still have my moments but I am so much better than I was. My transformation started years ago, when my Christian counselor recommended that I read the book “One Thousand Gifts” by Ann Voskamp. In this book, “Ann invites you to embrace everyday blessings and embark on the transformative spiritual discipline of chronicling God’s gifts. It’s only in this expressing of gratitude for the life we already have, we discover the life we’ve always wanted”.

When I first started reading the book, I was so disappointed by God and by life in general. I realize now, that I was only looking at what I lacked, what I hadn’t accomplished and what I didn’t have. I asked the Lord to show me blessings in the midst of my disappointments and He answered my prayers. I started keeping a list of my “gifts”, writing even the most mundane things down, like the way my dog tilts her head to one side when I say certain words to her and how argumentative but lovable my younger brother can be. Little by little, my perspective started to change and I began to see blessings everywhere, even in situations where I would normally be hard pressed to find them.

One of my favorite Bible verses is 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, where it says “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” I know that it can be hard to do these things but God wants us to do them, not for His benefit, but for ours. Voskamp writes “Giving thanks isn’t a pollyanna game – but a powerhouse game-changer: God asks us to give thanks in everything – because this is the way you live through anything.” Exactly!

I want to encourage you to ask God to show you His blessings in the midst of whatever you are going through and to commit to practicing more gratitude in your own life. I promise it will change you for the better.

Blessings,

Angela

P.S. If you don’t know what practicing gratitude looks like, there are many great resources online. I started with and recommend starting a gratitude journal (where you write about daily blessings or keep a running list of moments/people/places/things that you are grateful for). This website is also a good place to start so that you can find a practice that you can stick with for the long haul.