Spirit of Gratitude

gratitude

I take way too much for granted.

I get up each morning. Go to let my puppy out, grab breakfast, check email, make my way to the shower, get ready for work as I watch the morning news, grab the lunch and coffee that my husband put together, kiss hubs goodbye, start my car, and start my workday. I like my coworkers. I like my job. I like what my office stands for. I come home from work and have hang out time with David. We run together, play a game, he cooks for me. We veg on the couch and watch TV. We climb in bed together & wake up next to each other. My family is (mostly) healthy. My bills are paid. I have great friends who support & encourage me.

What exactly could I ever complain about? Nothing! At least that’s what one would think.

I, however, find a million things to complain about --There are too many weeds. I want this, but can’t spend the money. I don’t know how to do this. I’m tired. I’m too hot or too cold. She gets on my nerves. He ripped me off. Too many commercials. Not enough time. That’s not fair. They didn’t say thank you. My head hurts…

Shut up already!!! Am I serious?

I have way too much to be grateful for than to sit around complaining about petty things. So what my shower was cold, my husband loves me. So what I’m stuck in traffic, I live in a great community. So what she gave me a dirty look, I have great friends who don’t judge me. So what if money is tight this month, I have a God who will see me through & always loves me just the same. I am so thankful for these things.

Instead of living with a spirit of attitude, what would it be like if we instead took on a spirit of gratitude?

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Comments

  1. Your are so very right, good work lady!

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  2. i agree! it's our human sinful nature that we have to battle. but God is good, he continues to shower us with grace even when we are very grateful.

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  3. i am so with you! i get sick just thinking about how often i complain and what i complain about! ugh! thank the Lord for His beautiful grace! cheers to living with gratitude!

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  4. love this post! so true, and we all take so many things for granted! i want to stop letting little things get in the way of my happiness too!

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  5. i was attempting to give myself this exact same speech this morning...but then i got stuck in traffic after i'd already left the house later than hoped and it all went out the window and i internally complained like there was no tomorrow.

    but then i read this, and i got the kick in the pants that i so greatly deserved. you are SO SO right. my prayer today is that we both can have that attitude of gratitude and to see life for the little beautiful things that God gives us daily. i can only imagine how hurtful my bitter spirit is towards God who has given me so much.

    here's to today!

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  6. i think of this regularly. my initial thoughts are always of the "woe is me" variety. always getting frustrated over the most mundane aspects of life. (i.e. spilling coffee. too many traffic lights. a torn shirt.) but i am constantly challenging myself to remember::

    if another good thing NEVER happened to me---i still have had way more than i could ever deserve.

    i would love to be remembered as gracious.

    thanks for this post!

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  7. So very true! Thanks for this reminder! We need to be so very thankful for God's blessings on our live!

    ~blessings

    Dorcas

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  8. Beautiful post. You have spoken the truth and have reminded me to always remember what I have been given and not focus on what I want. Beautiful.

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  9. This hit very close to home for me. I too have a wonderful family, loving husband, and the best friends but I can always find SOMETHING to complain about. I try on a daily basis to be positive, but those thoughts always creep in. I appreciate your honesty, this was a great post.

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  10. Oh goodness. What a great reminder :)

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  11. perfectly said and beautifully written. thank you for the perspective!

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  12. thank you for the reminder blair!! i seem to often forget how incredibly blessed i am... i have a tendency to focus on the negative things when really they are completely outweighed by the positive! why waste energy in that way - it does absolutely no good!

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  13. This is such a great post. I too have soo much to be thankful for, and am very fortunate - yet it seems we always tend to focus more on the negatives. cheers to concentrating on the positives. My day is looking brighter already!

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  14. I love this post!

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  15. What a beautiful post! Just what I needed to read tonight, I am guilty of taking things for granted, i guess like most people... but good to be reminded just how many amazing things I have in my life to be thankful for!

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  16. Agreed! If only we could remember this thought whenever we feel hungry. Or tired. Or annoyed. Or... :)

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  17. Blair, this is an incredible post and I completely agree with you. The two biggest things I whine about: being so far from my boyfriend (6 hours on a plane far) and not knowing what career path to take. Those certainly aren't little things, but sometimes, I forget to focus on all the positive awesome things in my life. Thanks for the reminder.

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  18. Wow! I definitely appreciated reading this post and I can definitely relate, especially today! Thank you for wording it so well and keep up the positive thoughts. You are great!

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  19. Thank you so much for sharing this. I've been feeling along the same lines and would love to live in an attitude of gratitude always.

    You're a shining star!

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  20. Well said. This was such a great post, very well written. You are so right about complaining. I am much the same way.

    Thank you for the perspective!

    :) Marcie

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  21. I know this too well, as I am the biggest complainer of all time! The other day I made a joke out of it because I literally had 10 things to complain about. But I really don't need to :-/

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  22. I need to adopt that spirit of gratitude too. I complain about the same things!

    Rachael

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  23. Absolutely wonderful post - thank you so much for the reminder! :)

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  24. blair, you are just too awesome for words (do you know that?) it's like you took the thoughts right out of my head.

    thank you for a dose of reality.

    xoxo.
    jozen

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  25. I absolutely love this post, Blair, and your idea of having gratitude instead of attitude! I think we are all guilty of complaining about the little things at times, but you are right and looking at the bigger picture is something we can all take the time to do...thanks for the reminder! :)

    Liesl :)

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  26. I so understand this. I recently did a Grateful Series on my blog to keep me focused on the positive, check it out here:
    http://ashleightimchenko.blogspot.com/search/label/The%20Alphabet%20Series%20-%20Things%20I'm%20Grateful%20For

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  27. have been given and not focus on what I want. Beautiful.
    PPC Advertising India

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