Lessons I Have Learned:  A number of years ago, I either heard or came upon this thought that I could expand giving thanks beyond one Thursday a year to all year long.   This idea led me to the idea that the secret to living (and not just talking about) a Christian life was found in thankfulness.  When I was thankful I was able to look for, recognize and acknowledge my blessings before the One who gives them.  This switched my focus and energy from wanting more to contentment with what I already had.

A program in which I participate has a challenge for each person to see if they can identify one hundred things for which they are thankful.    It fosters what they call “an attitude of gratitude.”  It is an interesting challenge which anyone can try.  The end result always seems to be a deeper awareness of the abundant blessings which encompass every one.  From this it seemed that thankfulness need not be confined to the arena of religion.

There was a popular song many years ago that had these lyrics:  “When I’m worried and I can’t sleep, I count my blessings instead of sheep, and I fall asleep counting my blessings.”  I wonder how many others have discovered the power of thankfulness in their lives.

My experience so far has taught me that thankfulness gets me out of the rat race of competition with others.  It gives me the opportunity to take inventory of where I am and what I already have so I can feel good about myself and what I have accomplished.  Beyond that it makes me see in tangible ways how my life is being watched over by a power greater than myself.   This insight shapes and grows the unselfish virtue of thankfulness in my soul.

With such great rewards, why would anyone want to keep thankfulness confined to just one Thursday a year?   Let’s all begin to explore all year long the many secret advantages of a thankful attitude.