Thankfulness = happiness...

Thankfulness = happiness...

"I will praise God's name in song and glorify him with thanksgiving."

-Psalm 69:30

A thankful spirit is at the core of happy living. This is why those before us have left so many traditions, both religiously and culturally, to bring us into a constant and consistent pattern of thankfulness.

If you were raised in a Christian home, for example, it is likely you prayed before every meal giving thanks. Sometimes we pray, "Bless this food to our bodies," but the best kind of prayer is "Thank you, God, for this meal!" This prayer recognizes everything good comes from God and the one praying is blessed. It recognizes that there might be others who don't have food. It recognizes that tomorrow, "that person could be me."

We celebrate events like Thanksgiving and share with one another those things for which we are most thankful. Every year over the holidays, my dad would take the whole family up to an old cabin in the mountains. We would always end the year sitting by the fireplace with s'mores and hot chocolate, deep in conversation, saying what we were most thankful for. It was a memorable time that brought incredible warmth and happiness to a cold night. We would laugh and remember amazing stories or testimonies we would have forgotten otherwise. What a great way to end each year - with gratitude!

God wants us to be thankful because gratitude is the heartbeat of happiness.

Prayer: Dear Lord, help me to live every day from a centered place of thankfulness. Help my gratitude blossom into a deep and pervasive sense of wellbeing. Help my new attitude of thankfulness change the way I view the world and bless everyone around me every day. Amen.