How to Stay Thankful: Continuous Sharing and Receiving
“I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life” — Deuteronomy 30:18–20
Maintaining an Attitude of Gratitude
Expressing thanks isn’t just a platitude. Being grateful is really an attitude — a way of life that changes everything. Developing a gratitude attitude is all about counting our blessings.
Let’s make it a habit to list the things we’re grateful for. If you’re not accustomed to doing it, why not start this Thanksgiving? Sitting around the dinner table, people can say what makes them happy.
After that, make it your family’s routine to give thanks at suppertime — once a week on the weekend is a good place to start — and watch it grow from there. Like Hayley Mills as Pollyanna, you could play “The Glad Game.” Even in moments when it feels like there’s nothing to be glad about, there is always something. If things are unusually bad, it may feel foolish to look for the silver lining. But even in the worst of times, there’s still plenty to be thankful for.
I’ve often found that simple gratitude itself has healing power. When our daughter was little, if she started to whine, if she fell down and scraped her knee, if she threw a tantrum, or if she couldn’t fall asleep, I’d tell her to stop…
