I am Learning . . .

I have said it before...about a million times (*smiles*)...and I'll likely say it at least a million more...this is my favorite time of year!  I've noticed on FaceBook that so many of my friends and their friends are doing the 30-day challenge.  They are posting something each day in November that they are thankful for.  I think that's a great idea.  What bothers me is that while we seem to do this big thankful thing in November what are we doing the other 11 months of the year?

Don't get me wrong...I, like each of you, am thankful all year long but just how often do we truly express our thankfulness during the other months of the year?  I know for me...the awareness of being thankful is not near as strong December thru October.  Yes, I am thankful and yes, I express that BUT not near as much as I should.

Ralph Marston once said, "What if you gave someone a gift, and they neglected to thank you for it--would you be likely to give them another?  Life is the same way.  In order to attract more of the blessings that life has to offer, you must truly appreciate what you already have." 

Country crooner Willie Nelson has said, "When I started counting my blessings, my whole life turned around."

 Viki King said, "You won't be happy with more until you're happy with what you've got." 

While I'm not the biggest Oprah fan, she definitely got my attention when she said "Be thankful for what you have; you'll end up having more.  If you concentrate on what you don't have, you will never, ever have enough." 

The common theme in all these quotes seems to be ... be thankful and happy with what you have...not fretting over what you don't have.  It's easy to want to 'keep up with the Joneses,' so to speak.  It always appears that the grass is greener over the fence but I'm beginning to see that this isn't always the case. 

The Word of God says it best in Philippians verses 11-13:  "¹¹... for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.  ¹²I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty.  I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.  ¹³I can do all this through him who gives me strength."   How can we expect God ... or anyone else ... to bless us more than what we have been blessed unless we are satisfied with what we have?  That is sometimes a hard pill to swallow...I know.  I always want the newest, the best, the biggest, etc.  I am learning...learning to be content with what I have and not covet after the things I would like but don't have.  I am a work in progress.  Are you?

I pray that you will examine your own desires.  I pray that you will begin to have the same thankful attitude all year long and not just in November.  I pray that for myself, too!

God bless,