gratitude week ~ day 1

Gratitude is not an area I find difficult to do, but there is always room for improvement. There are many moments through out the day that I feel thankful, and there are those times when I remind myself to BE thankful.  I believe there is always something to be thankful for no matter what your circumstance.  The Apostle Paul said,
"Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." ~ 1 Thessalonians 5:18

In all circumstances.  

There is always something to be thankful for.  
Do you ever stop to think about the small things? For instance, we need food to survive, got it, but God didn't want us to eat just for survival, He wanted us to enjoy it. So He have us taste buds, to taste with. He also wanted us to smell it, so He gave us an olfactory nerve. Food gathers people, it connects us, and we get to savor it. Amazing! 
How about art, or being creative. God was the first artist, and He made the most amazing landscapes, and filled it with some of the weirdest animals, and clothed it in all the colors that He designed.  I might paint something, and mix different colors to get what I want, but He is the author of color, and what amazing colors He did create!

This week I am participating in Gratitude Week 2014 with Michelle gd and many others.  I really loved the idea of capturing that which I am grateful for with my lens even better than writing it down. 

 ~  I love worship. lifting my hands. singing the
     words. each one. noting its meaning. imagining
     my Abba Father.    

    A Psalm. A Song for the Sabbath. It is good to give thanks to the Lord, to sing praises to your name, O Most High; to declare your steadfast love in the morning, and your faithfulness by night, to the music of the lute and the harp, to the melody of the lyre. 

                                           ~ Psalms 91:1-3

 ~    We have had the most beautiful autumn I can 

        remember, but eventually it had to end.  We 

        got a snow storm and the cold that comes with

        it.  It is the circle of life, and its days are 

        numbered.  moisture. and it does encourage

        nesting, warmth, baking, doing.  Did I mention

        how completely grateful I am to be warm.  It is

        one of my favorite things, to be warm.  It 

        makes me giddy with gratefulness to be warm.

        warm.  It also makes me mindful of those who 

        are in need of warmth.

 ~    this guy.  We are not home together very often

       as we work different shifts, and different 

       weekends.  So when we are home together, it is

       nice, even if we are in different parts of the 

       house, doing different things.  it is nice to co-

       exist.

 ~    Books.  I love books.  I love learning.  I am 

       grateful that there are people, different from    

       myself, the same as myself, open and willing to

       share their ideas, their stories, their inspiration, 

       their imagination.  I mean seriously when I go 

       into a book store it is like endless possibilities.

       I feel so inspired, so possible, so giddy just

       entering. I need to read more. I love the written

       word. I love books.