I am grateful
for my family. Julie has started a new
job as a 1st grade teacher at the school that is closest to our house, and I am
big time grateful. As Ruth gets ready to
leave for college each day seems to show us more blessings of how God has
prepared her for this time. I don’t look
forward to her leaving, but I am as a dad so grateful for her and this
opportunity. I am thankful that today
Ryan finishes his 2nd week of band camp and is having a good time. Rebecca is working her first job this summer
and enjoying it. I’m grateful for God
providing for Rebecca and making her so strong.
In just one week we will host the 9th year of back2school. I am nervous and exited, but most of all I am
so thankful.
You get the
point. It is a big deal to be thankful. When we are not grateful or maybe oblivious
to god’s blessing, we are not where we should be. Being thankful expands our hearts and
minds. A grateful attitude spills over
in to a satisfied and happy life.
We must all
find ourselves being more and more grateful.
The following is what our family read together last night from www.youversion.com:
The Power of
Grateful Prayers
In Philippians 4:6-7 we find one of the
most difficult verses in the entire Bible to obey: “Don't worry about anything;
instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all
he has done. If you do this, you will experience God's peace” (NLT).
It’s not easy to stop worrying about
the often-scary, everyday parts of our lives, but God tells us how in the next
part of the verse: “Pray about everything … and thank him for all he has done.”
Grateful prayer brings peace. God says, when you start to worry, pray.
Parents understand the power of
grateful prayers. Most parents wouldn’t appreciate their children always making
requests without saying “thank you” for what they’ve already received. God sees
it the same way. He wants us to ask him for what we need and want. More than 20
times in the New Testament, we’re told to “ask” him. But he wants us to ask
with gratefulness.
The Bible urges us to be specific in
our requests — and our praises. Instead of a simple “thank you for everything,”
he wants us to tell him what we’re grateful for. When I say to my wife, “I'm so
grateful for you,” she tells me to be specific. She likes to hear what I
appreciate about her and what I'm grateful for about her. God does, too. So
when you pray, tell God what you’re thankful for. Prayer is one of the most
important ways we tell God “thank you.”
Thanking God in advance is a big step
of faith. When we have the faith to thank God ahead of time, miracles happen.
The more thankful we are, the more God works in our lives. The Bible says that
God inhabits the praise of his people. He uses our thanksgiving as an
instrument of power in our lives.
So,
what are you thankful for?
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