I love being around people who have a “Thankful” attitude. They are magnetic. One thing I’ve noticed about people with a “Thankful” attitude is that they are thankful by choice. They don’t wait for perfect conditions or special blessings, they see life as an incredible gift from God and a perpetual blessing. The beauty of their attitude is they live on a higher plain than others do. Here are a few lessons I’ve learned from them that when applied will help you grow to masterpiece living:
Focus On The Right Things
It is easy to focus on the wrong things, the negative things, or the destructive things. This is one reason I love to talk about the promises of God for living life as His masterpiece. We need to look to the future rather than just today’s trouble:“We don’t look at the troubles we can see right now; rather, we look forward to what we have not yet seen. For the troubles we see will soon be over, but the joys to come will last forever.” (2 Cor 4:18, NLT) When I see the trouble and pain of this world, I need to remember that this is temporary and focus on the right things.
Living In The Desert
I love where my family lives in the Arizona desert. The weather is absolutely amazing, most of the time. We have two months of the year when the heat becomes unbearable. I typically go into our hot season saying I’m going to have a great attitude no matter how hot it gets. After 2 months of temperatures over 100 degrees it gets hard to have a good attitude for everyone living here. The thing we all say during that time to encourage one another is, remember how beautiful it will be in just a few weeks. We think of the times that others will be scraping ice off the windshield of their car and we will be sitting in our back yards BBQing in shorts and tee shirts. That’s focusing on the right things!
A Check Up From The Neck Up
Most of you understand the importance of getting regular physical checkup with your doctor for your health. It is equally, perhaps more important to have an intelectual and emotional check up so that we can focus on the right things and have a “Thankful Attitude”. Here’s a verse that will help with you do just that: “Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.” Philippians 4:8 (NLT)
Tomorrow I will continue with Part 2 of “The Power of Being Thankful”. Take a moment and let me know what you are going to be thankful for today.