Thankful?

I'm reading an awesome book called Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World. I read a book written by the same author a few weeks ago, and it was also great! This book talks about finding intimacy with God, even when your circumstances aren't optimal. I think we can all agree that there have been times in our lives when we're thankful all the time, because everything is going well. I think we can also all agree that there are times when we're the furthest thing from thankful, because things are going poorly in our life. Being in Germany right now, it's easy to be thankful to God for providing us with such an incredible opportunity to travel...together! I can look around at God's creation, and His people, and see his awesomeness. I have a tendency to walk out of situations like this, and back in to my day-to-day life, and not put effort into being thankful. I am working on that area of my life so hard, and I think I've gotten better at praising God, no matter the circumstance. Thanking the Lord for John, my family, my job, my dog, friendships, my house, my community, and so on shows me that I have much to be thankful for! In the book I'm reading it says this,

"Gratitude is important because it has the power to change our attitude. When we are willing to give thanks to God in all things, not just some things- to consciously thank him even when we don't feel very grateful- something in us begins to shift. We begin to see life as Christ sees it, full of opportunities rather than obstacles. And when we view life through eyes of faith, fear just has to flee."

I love that! Don't you? Training ourselves to be grateful, even if we don't necessarily feel it in the moment. I've been practicing this over the summer, and I can see a change in my thoughts and attitude.

Food for thought...