At a young age most of us are taught to say “thank you’ when given a gift.  Or at least I hope so; I know I was.  I realize that not everyone has been taught this very simple but important communication of the heart.  I say of the heart because that’s where it all begins.  So maybe that’s where the problem is; our heart needs an adjustment.  Many of us can probably remember a situation when we were given a gift that wasn’t exactly what we wanted or expecting, and it was hard to be appreciative of the gift, especially when we were young.  Actually, this can happen at any age.  It makes for an awkward moment, and even sets the tone for the whole atmosphere in the home or work place, or even between friends.  It is those times we remember the saying, “It’s the thought that counts”.  In other words we consider the heart of the giver.  We consider that they spent time and money to purchase the gift; and therefore we are grateful for their efforts.

If we have trouble expressing our gratefulness for the small things in life, I can guarantee that we will have trouble with the more important things too.  Why?  It’s because gratefulness is an attitude of the heart.  It is all about the heart. We need to understand that being glad and rejoicing and giving thanks is a choice.  This is true in our relationship with people and more importantly, in our relationship with God.

The Bible tells us in James 1:17 that God only has good gifts for us.  So even if a gift is packaged a little differently than we expected, we know that HIS gifts are good for us and we can be grateful.  He gives us light and life.  Light means that He gives us direction, and life means freedom from the dominion and bondage of sin.  Our attitudes, opinions and behavior affect our ability to receive the blessings of God.  It doesn’t change the fact that He has made His blessings available to us; it affects our ability to receive His blessings.  When we keep our heart pure and free from sin we have the confidence and boldness to come into the throne room of heaven to ask and receive from Him all that we need.  (Hebrews 4:16)

Psalm 145:9 tells us that the Lord is good to all; and his tender mercies are over all his works.  God only has good blessings to offer us.  He has no sickness, no diseases, no poverty; no strife, not bitterness, no troublesome worries, He has only good, good, blessings for us.

Psalm 9:2 says, “I will be glad and rejoice in thee; I will sing praise to thy name, O thou most High”.  The “I will” really points out that it is our choice whether we praise our God, and it is not based on our feelings or circumstances, it is simply a choice, a decision.  Most of the time I begin my praise time with God just thanking HIM for who is; He is love, He is kind, He is forgiving, to mention a few. It’s good to thank our Heavenly Father for what He does for us and what He gives us but it is important to thank Him for being who He is.

My prayer this week is that our eyes will be open to see all the great blessings around us and will give a voice to our gratitude by saying “thank you”.  It will change the atmosphere in our lives and the lives of others.

So, staying in tune with the topic of this post, I say thank you to of you who take time to read my Blogs and to send me comments.  I appreciate you.