The 24/7 blog that we've called Resources is intended to be a multifaceted exploration of the Christian life. It is a place where we expand the conversation about what God is doing in our lives and in our community, and further reflect on what it looks like to live a life of full devotion to Christ, 24/7. This post is the first from Carrie Jones, a longtime member and elder of Southridge.
As I thought about what to write about this week, I knew that I needed to look no further than to ask myself, “what has God been teaching me lately?”
My family is in a bit of a funk, so it seems. A rut of sorts. For whatever reason we have found ourselves in a place of complaining and grumbling. About anything and everything. I’m not sure how this happened. I know it didn’t happen overnight. I also know that it’s not getting better. In fact, I can see how we are starting to spiral downwards. Left to their own devices, my kids, as cute as they are, are not going to turn this around.
Enough is enough. And, I’m exhausted.
As I’ve thought about this and have observed my family, I have learned a few things:
- Complaining is contagious.
- Complaining steals our faith and robs our joy.
- There are always things to complain about. Especially if we are looking for them.
- The fact that my kids are at times being ungrateful might be indication of something deeper going on in my heart. I first need to look inward and search my own heart and see what exactly I am modeling to them. In other words, I need to deal with my own heart first.
In a desperate, “Lord, I need a miracle moment”, I turned to my concordance and looked up praise, thanks, thanksgiving, joy and so on and began searching for and writing down scripture verses on little orange cards that I have.
This week I have those little orange cards taped them all over my house. On our chalkboard in the kitchen, mirrors, in the hallway, bathrooms and even in the car. They’re in all kinds of places where we can’t miss them. I’ve also resurrected our family’s gratitude journal and put it with a pen in a more visible spot in our house. I’m encouraging myself to model gratitude, even when I don’t feel like it.
For my orange cards, I chose verses like:
Psalm 100:4
Philippians 4:6
Hebrews 12:28
2 Corinthians 2:14
Colossians 2:6, 7
Colossians 3:15
Colossians 4:2
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
Psalm 146:1-2
Psalm 139:14
Psalm 34:1
Nehemiah 8:10
Habakkuk 3:18
I’m reminded that words are powerful. The word of God is living and active (Hebrews 4:12). It alone has the power to change both our minds and our hearts. I’m realizing that this is an area in which our minds are desperately needing to be renewed (Romans 12:2).
Want to know what I am learning about gratitude?
- Cultivating a thankful attitude so often begins with the mind. It is a choice of the will.
- Gratitude is contagious.
- Worry and complaining cannot co-exist with gratitude and praise.
- Gratitude builds faith and trust in God.
- The more you look for things to be thankful about and to celebrate, the more that you find.
So, how about you? How can you cultivate a spirit of gratitude, joy and thanksgiving in your life?
"How good it is to sing praises to our God, how pleasant and fitting to praise him!" (Psalm 147:1)
