Image By Angela Parlin
Sometimes I’ve had a not-so-fun day at home with my kids. When my husband walks in and asks about our day, I let it all roll out. And what rolls out is a list of complaints, how everything went horribly for me. “I had to deal with ____ and take care of ____ and then they ____ and so I had to ____.”
As I recount the day’s battles, I sink deeper and deeper into my desire to just call it a day and go to bed, in hopes that I’ll wake tomorrow, having forgotten it all. In hopes that tomorrow, everything will be different.
When things are hard, I’m far more aware of my hardships than my treasures.
My hard days are not the whole story of my life, but I start to feel like they are. And I sink lower, because of my awful perspective.
“We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures.” ~Thornton Wilder
What I really need is to count my blessings–which is mostly a shift in perspective. More than likely, you need the same.
In the middle of any given day, we can either focus on all the treasures which surround us, or we can look long at all the things that are not as they should be. In the middle of any given day, we find both, don’t we, both treasures and difficulties?
Where will you focus?
Which will you recount?
Some believe that with our conscious thoughts, we’re choosing between being truly alive, or half dead. Do you agree, that we’re only really alive when conscious of our treasures?
The Bible commands us repeatedly, in both the Old and New Testaments, to give thanks to God for a variety of blessings. We should thank Him for everything–His mercy toward us, salvation, every spiritual blessing in Christ, the ways He provides for us daily, answered prayers, the people He places in our lives, faith, hope, material blessings–everything.
Always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Ephesians 5:20
And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him. Colossians 3:17
Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. Philippians 4:6
When you read these familiar scriptures, do you feel a little discouraged? Because when I read words like ALWAYS, for everything, in whatever you do, in every situation, I know I fall really short of them. But God’s will is not for us to feel discouraged. Instead, He wants us to bring it to Him in prayer–with thanksgiving.
Look at that, another opportunity to give thanks, this time in the middle of our shortcomings.
So maybe instead of getting tripped up on words like always, we start making a habit of giving thanks to God in this situation–and we continue until it’s a habit to give thanks in whatever we do.
Maybe it’s just that simple. Not always easy, but simple.
Today, we count our blessings and thank the Lord for every good gift He bestows.
Conscious of our treasures, may we come ALIVE with thanksgiving.
*And now, it’s LINKUP time! Welcome, #RaRaLinkup friends! I’m looking forward to reading your words this week!
Loading InLinkz ...
Envisioning the rest of this day with the intention of being alive and thankful by being conscious of the treasures in my life. Thankful for this reminder, Angela!
Love what you said here, Stephanie…living with the intention of being alive! Yes! That!
Hello Angela, I am blessed reading these words today. It is so similar to my recent post. I agree that when things don’t go well we feel displeased. It is difficult giving thanks when we are displeased but it is needful.
Thank you for the linkup today.
God Bless
Thank you for your encouragement, Iofema!
Beautiful Angela! I’m ready to come alive with thanksgiving today. The beauty of your post is that as we change our perspective and focus more on our treasures, those around us will be changed as well. Our new attitude will have a positive affect on everyone we encounter. What an incredible gift God has given us! Have a “thank-filled” day sweet friend!
That’s a great point, Kristine…the effect of our attitude on our people. Thank you!
Thank you for the reminder that I have so much to be thankful for. My God, my family, my health and most of all my opportunity to show others my thankfulness!. Love you Angela!
Love you too! You are so right–we have so much to be thankful for!
I’m with Stephanie above: envisioning a day ahead of me to be conscious of my treasures. That’s an amazing Thornton Wilder quote. Really beautiful and life-giving. And yes, I’ve been there, just like you, rolling off a list of complaints when my husband comes home. What if we rolled off the list of Thanksgivings instead? No matter what?
Betsy, Such a good thought! We can always find blessings to count. Thanks for this!
It’s sounds so simple doesn’t it! Give thanks instead of pointing out the hard moments of the day…so why do we find it so difficult! I’m so thankful it’s not just me and we can come together and encourage each other to focus on the treasure…focus on the MANY blessings to be thankful for 🙂 Thank you Angela!
Yes, Sarah…this is a sweet community where we can encourage each other–to focus on the treasure! Love that. Thank you!
Thanksgiving is a choice we make, isn’t it? Thanks, Angela, for using your words to direct our hearts toward gratitude. I’m going to be more purposeful in my first response to my husband when he gets home from work today!
That’s an excellent choice, Michele. Count me in! 🙂
Happy Thanksgiving. Angela! The reminder of our perspective today is important as we celebrate Thanksgiving this week. But it is important for everyday to look through God’s lens rather than our own lens of complaining. God’s perspective helps us see our blessings and surrounds us with a message of love. I pray we all choose to be thankful for our abundance and show that in our thoughts and actions. Blessings!
Yes, Mary…not just this week with Thanksgiving, but everyday! What you said is right, that it’s all about perspective and looking through God’s lens. Thank you!
Angela, I know that thanksgiving is the answer to so much. I so easily forget this. Thank you for the needed focus; I feel my heart settled in it’s benefits. XOXO
I know, Kelly…me too! I love that–“I feel my heart settled in its benefits.” Thank you for sharing!
What a perfect reminder for this Thanksgiving week, Angela. Thank you for your inspiration. I feel like I greet my husband with my hardships of the day far too often as well. Today I will try to list gratitude, which is honestly an incredibly long list :).
Candace, Great idea to make a list. When I was a teen and upset about all the things, my Mom would sometimes say “make a list, at least 10 things you have to be thankful for”. I would walk off gloomy and return lifted. I agree, it’s an incredibly long list!
Our pastor is constantly reminding us that sin starts in the mind. If we can control our minds and think on those things which are lovely and pure and true, our actions will follow suit. Angela, I am always blessed by your words. You have a God-given gift. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
That’s a really good reminder, Abby, and probably something that’s not said often enough in most churches. But I do find that for myself, that sin starts in the mind. Thanks for sharing this, with the reminder to “think on such things”.
“Where will you focus?” That is such a great question for so many things in life. Happy Thanksgiving friend!
Carmen, Thank you so much! And Happy Thanksgiving to you!
Bingo! WHY is it so easy to focus on the problems, the frustrations, the “what’s not right” versus thanksgiving? It’s a battle, so… And it is an issue for me. Simply picking up the ammunition of thankfulness helps. I’ll be picking up and offering thanksgiving today, Angela, right alongside you. Happy Thanksgiving!
Kristi, I think we are prone toward looking at the frustrations, and have to train ourselves to keep on giving thanks. Love that we are all in this together. Happy Thanksgiving!
Whew – Great refocusing words today Angela. I’m getting ready to have the boys home for the rest of the week on break. Thank you!
Thanks Meg! Enjoy your time with the boys home…Happy Thanksgiving!
Thank you so much for your encouragement! It is easy to dwell on the negative, but we have a lot to be thankful for. Even my pastor this Sunday said in his sermon that gratitude and thankfulness is one of the many marks of a Christian believer.
Great word, Samantha. It’s all about the heart, and we should always be growing in thankfulness. Such a good thing to reflect on…
I am learning more and more that gratitude is often a conscious choice. All too often I get caught up in reciting a litany of negative things, and before I know it, I’ve brought everyone else down with me. Thankfulness is to be sought after, and refocusing on blessings is a great start.
Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours! May it be filled with faith, family, friends, fellowship…OK, and lots and lots of food!
GOD BLESS!
Sharon, You and me both! “Before I know it, I’ve brought everyone else down with me.” Thanks so much for sharing that. Happy Thanksgiving!
Angela – It was so good to read these words & these in particular > “Conscious of our treasures, may we come ALIVE with thanksgiving.” May you & yours have a very Happy Thanksgiving!
Thanks so much Joanne! Happy Thanksgiving!
So true, so true “What I really need is to count my blessings–which is mostly a shift in perspective”.. why do we need a Thanksgiving holiday to remember the basic gratefulness God so graciously brings to our lives?
I know, Kathy…may it be a part of our lives more and more!
You make me feel less alone, Angela. It is so easy to see the hardships and not take note of the treasures. Those words in those verses make me feel discouraged sometimes, too, and I beat myself up for not being more thankful. But I love your reminder – “But God’s will is not for us to feel discouraged. Instead, He wants us to bring it to Him in prayer–with thanksgiving.” Have a Blessed Thanksgiving!
Trudy, Thank you for sharing this with me. What a gift it is for us to come alongside each other. 🙂 Happy Thanksgiving to you!
Beautiful post! I’ve had those days where my eyes focused on the hardships of the day, ignoring the blessings interspersed. And, yes, my strong-willed son’s attitudes sometimes drew me to that focus. 🙁 I love what you shared about our perspective shifting. Having an accurate perspective for each of our situations makes such a difference in how we walk out our days. Thanks so much for that reminder.
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
Thank you, Jeanne! I understand what you’re describing completely. So glad we can encourage each other. And a wonderful Thanksgiving to you!
This is so good, “So maybe instead of getting tripped up on words like always, we start making a habit of giving thanks to God in this situation–and we continue until it’s a habit to give thanks in whatever we do.” We are often the ones tripping ourselves, aren’t we? We miss the untied lace of blessing because we have not been focused on taking those steps and looking for the shining light He places before us as His lamp is the light to our path and the leading of our hearts. Thank you for the encouragement to seek after the positive power of making thanksgiving a habit in our hearts.
Blessings,
Dawn
Yes, Dawn…I can relate to tripping my own self up! 🙂 So thankful for His lamp lighting our path and leading our hearts! Thank you!
Hi Angela! Loved this post and as you can tell from my confession over at the Cheerleaders for Christ FB page, I needed this post and a perspective shift. Thank you!
I did see that, and love the way God sometimes works in many of us at the same time on the same issues. 🙂 Thanks, Katie!
Awesome post, Angela! Thank you so much for sharing such an encouraging word!
“We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures.” ~Thornton Wilder <— I love this! Such a powerful truth!
So great to visit and link-up with you, beautiful friend! GOD bless you! 🙂
Thank you, Tai! So glad you are part of this linkup!
You’re very welcome, Love! 🙂
Yes! Let’s be alive with thanksGIVING!
Thanks for the encouragement!
Thank you, Angela, for this sweet reminder of thankfulness. It truly has the power to change our lives! Thank you for hosting this week! Have a wonderful and blessed Thanksgiving!
Blessings and smiles,
Lori
It’s my pleasure, Lori! Thank you for being a part! Happy Thanksgiving to you too!