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PROGRAM D-8123
I’m encouraging all of us to work at developing a genius for gratitude in our daily lives. In writing to the Colossians, the Apostle Paul said that because they had received Christ Jesus as Lord, they should overflow with thankfulness.
My guess is that some of you are thinking that sounds like a Pollyanna type phrase—overflowing with thankfulness. I mean, come on, we live in the real world and nobody can overflow with thankfulness all the time, right? Maybe you’re thinking that overflowing with thankfulness is a bit much. Perhaps it’s just a figure of speech to catch our attention.
However, the Bible keeps insisting that thankfulness is to be consistent and abundant in our lives as believers. Ephesians 5:19-20 says, “Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” In 1 Thessalonians 5:18 we’re told to “give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”
Seems to me we have to practice thankfulness—find ways to help us develop a genius for gratitude. If you want to play the piano, you have to practice. If you want to dunk a basketball, you have to practice. Likewise, if you want to be a genius at gratitude, I think you have to practice that, too. I have given you two suggestions for practicing gratitude, and here are two more:
- Do the thankful alphabet. Start with A and go through Z, naming something starting with each letter for which you are thankful. You can have some fun with this! It’s a great game to play in the car with your kids, and it’s a wonderful way to pull yourself out of the doldrums when you’re having a bad day!
- Make every Tuesday a “Thankful Tuesday.” Or if you prefer, every Thursday a “Thankful Thursday!”
How do you make a “Thankful Tuesday” or “Thankful Thursday”? Make it a point on those days to list things and people for which you are grateful, things and people you might not normally think about but they enrich your life. How about sitting around the breakfast or dinner table and having everyone share things or people for which they are thankful? This sure is a good way to teach children a genius for gratitude.