Why Am I Always Complaining?

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Am I Messing Up My Kids?: Book Club Wednesday

"Be thankful.  Cultivate an "attitude of gratitude."  Thankfulness is much more dependent on attitude than circumstance.  When you feel the lack of what you don't have, thank God for what you do have!  At any time, there is more going right in the life of a committed Christian than there is going wrong.  It's just that the "wrong" makes a lot more noise than the "right."--Jim Stephens

Lysa Terkeurst begins this chapter by saying, 

"The attitude of thankfulness can so easily become overlooked.  I'm talking about the art of saying "thank you."

Could this chapter 12 have been any more timelier as far as Thanksgiving goes!  I was so amazed at the timing that God has as I read this chapter earlier this week.  

Let's face it...we as Americans are SO blessed in this country...and yet we have so much stuff that we just forget to be thankful.  Today, I was able to go to the gym again.  I normally go three to four times a week and spread out my days, but this week I was able to do back to back days.  Man it felt good.  It felt good to get out of the house.  It felt good to run for two miles on the tread mill.  It felt good to be by myself.  It felt good to be taking care of my body.  And as I was leaving I ran into my trainer and a friend, and as I wished them a "Happy Thanksgiving" and ran to my car in the rain...I thought to myself...I should have told Christopher, my trainer, how thankful I was for him this year.

For four months I got to train with him.  I lost over 15 pounds.  I gained confidence, endurance, and muscle!!! I made friends at the gym because of him.  I now have my own routine, workouts, and am constantly seeing results.  I really should have thanked him, but I felt weird.  Trust me I baked him brownies and thanked him after my sessions were up...but I should have thanked him again for all that he did for me.  Many times I think we just expect people to know how much they mean to us, or how much we appreciate them, but we forget the art of saying Thank you!!!

You better believe the next time I go to the gym this week I will find him, and thank him again!  He's always there!  He works out everyday!

Sometimes, I think it's easy to spot the negative in people instead of seeing the many positives.  Do we see the loving husband we've been blessed with, or just the man who forgot to pick up his socks and take out the trash?  Do we see the bright, energetic, sweet daughter in our home, or do we grumble about how loud, and wild she is?  Do we notice the many times our baby wakes up in the middle of the night, or do see how advanced and healthy our child is?

If you are anything like me, sometimes we get hung up on the negatives instead of choosing to be more intentional about expressing our thankfulness to our kids and spouse.  Tomorrow, I am going to thank my kids in the car ride to Bible Study for the distinct qualities I see in their lives.  I am going to purposefully text John and tell him how much I appreciate how hard he works to provide for us.  I realize I need to model what I preach.  If I want my kids to be more thankful.  Then I better start doing the same!!!