“So how do you live in gratitude? Begin your day by feeling grateful. Be grateful for the bed you just slept in, the roof over your head, the carpet or floor under your feet, the running water, the soap, your shower, your toothbrush, your clothes, your shoes, the car that you drive, your job, your friends, your refrigerator that keeps your food cold. Be grateful for the weather, the sun, the sky, the birds, the trees, the grass, the rain, and the flowers. Be grateful for the stores that make it so easy to buy the things you need, the restaurants, the utilities and services and electrical appliances that make your life effortless. Be grateful for magazines and the books that you read. Be grateful for the chair that you sit on, and the pavement that you walk on. Be grateful for your favorite music that sweeps you away, and for movies that make you feel good. Be grateful for your phone that connects you with people, for your computer, for the electricity that lights up your life. Be grateful for air travel that flies you everywhere. Be grateful for the roads and traffic lights that keep the traffic in order. Be grateful to those who built our bridges. Be grateful for your pet, for your child, for your loved ones, for your eyes that enable you to read this. Be grateful for your imagination. Be grateful that you can think! Be grateful that you can speak. Be grateful that you can laugh and smile. Be grateful that you can breathe! Be grateful that you are alive! Be grateful that you are you!”  Rhonda Byrne

If the car you’re driving had been put in your care for safekeeping by someone you respect, and who might return at any time without prior notice, what would it look like?

Let your roots grow down into him and draw up nourishment from him, so you will grow in faith, strong and vigorous in the truth you were taught. Let your lives overflow with thanksgiving for all he has done.  (Col. 2:7; NLT)

This morning’s quote seemed quite apropos  for the first Daily Gram after a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend.  But it seems just a tad excessive, doesn’t it?  A little abnormal?  Should I really live like that?  (But that was last week’s theme.)

I read a very interesting little illustration on Thanksgiving Day.  It was the story of a prominent university professor and author who was lecturing to a group of students.  Suddenly, and without warning, he approached one of the students on the front row, asked to borrow her pencil, and promptly broke it in two, threw it to the ground and crushed it under his foot.  How does that story make you feel?  Me too!

But there’s a story behind the story.  You see, the professor had given that pencil to that student prior to the start of the lecture.  It wasn’t her pencil…it was his.  Now how does that story make you feel?

The professor was rather graphically and effectively making the point that our view of possessions changes drastically when we suddenly realize that we are simply stewards of all that we possess.

A little short today, but I have this sudden urge to go hug and kiss my wife, wash the car, and mow the lawn.

Prayer Power
Father, thank You for a wonderful weekend, and I ask for the grace to be ever mindful that all that I have is simply on loan from You.  May I be in a perpetual state of thanksgiving.

Link of the Day
Learning Gratitude

Blessings on you as you begin a new week with a grateful heart.