I have never had a natural proclivity toward a thankful heart. My inclination is always toward the negative; it’s a constant battle to turn unfavorable thoughts into positive ones. Some days I’m more diligent than others, and yes, after years of working on it, sometimes, on rare occasions, the positive attitude is my first response to a negative situation. I took a 4:8 challenge many years ago… based on Philippians 4:8… to work daily—no, hourly—to hold negative thoughts captive and find something–anything–in the situation that is positive.
Amazingly, if you dissect any situation, any moment, any thought, any outcome, and make a true effort, you can find something that is noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent or praiseworthy.
And, as Philippians 4:9 goes on to explain, when you make that effort, you have peace. So I decided I will write down a daily thankfulness and occasionally share some of them here.
The sun is streaming through the gently whispering lilac leaves outside my office window,
the lovely brown glass bottle I unearthed on a corner of our property this morning now sits, cleaned, on my window ledge,
the lilac perfume soothes me,
hints of birds’ chatter
and rippling waterfalls waft through the front porch,
and, well, it’s a perfect moment to start…
souly rested 