Count Your Blessings - Wednesday December 04, 2013
Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget none of His benefits. Psalm 103:2
One of my favorite holiday movies is White Christmas. There is a scene in the film where Bing Crosby and Rosemary Clooney are suffering from insomnia. They start singing a song that begins, "If you're worried and cannot sleep, just count your blessings instead of sheep..." Pretty good advice, not just when you find yourself tossing and turning at night, but continually. I have found many benefits from practicing thankfulness. First, cultivating a grateful spirit transforms my attitude. When I am focused on the blessings in my life, I find myself less frustrated and annoyed with the little things that go wrong. Second, it reminds me that God is the Giver of all good things. I acknowledge Him as the source of all that brings me joy. Third, it motivates me to want to be a blessing to others. I have been given so much and the natural outworking of that is to give to someone else.
Today, try making an actual list of all the blessing God has given you that make life wonderful. Don't overlook the little things-like a good cup of coffee in the morning or a comfortable pillow to sleep on at night. At a worship service last year, we got into small groups and came up with a list of things from every letter of the alphabet. See what a difference a thankful heart can make in your day!
"I will give thanks to you, Lord, with all my heart; I will tell of all your wonderful deeds. I will be glad and rejoice in you; I will sing the praises of your name, O Most High" (Psalm 9:1-2 NIV).
Submitted by:
Kelly Lewis
Gracepoint Community Church
Lewis Center, Ohio
One-Year Reading Plan:
Daniel 11:36-12:13
1 John 4:1-21
Psalms 123:1-4
Proverbs 29:2-4
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SCRIPTURE REFERENCB-ES: Unless otherwise identified, Scripture quotations are from the New American Standard Bible B) The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995. Scripture quotations marked (NIV) are from the Holy, Bible, New International Version, copyright B) 1973, 1978, 1984 by InternaB-tional Bible Society; (NKJV) are from New King James Version B) 1982 by Thomas Nelson; (NLT) are from the New Living Translation, B) 1996, Tyndale House Publishers; (ESV) are from English Standard VersionB., B) 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers; (TM) are from The Message B) 1993 by NavPress Publishers.