My House isn't Small. My Thankfulness is.

Recently, I was having a conversation in Spanish with someone who was asking me about our new house. Side note: It was amazing to me that I was actually speaking Spanish (at least, to me it was Spanish.. to him it may have been Spanglish with a side of southern accent!).

Anyway... he asked me how big it was and I said, well, it's a small house. The main floor is about 1000 square feet, but the basement is finished. 

"Wow. That's big."

I was instantly ashamed of myself as I remembered he lives in a smaller house... with multiple families.

I was instantly ashamed not so much because of what I said, but because of my lack of gratefulness. I am really excited about our house and we are working hard in it, but what I said didn't express that at all.  

In the first two houses David and I rented, we fell to our knees and prayed a prayer of thanksgiving for the house. In this new house, we've been focused on the work that we need to do to get it ready rather than just taking a moment to give thanks. 

When we are grateful, we take pride in showing off our blessings. I always show people pictures of my kids. I love them and know they are a blessing in my life. When someone gives me a thoughtful gift, I am excited to tell/show friends. 

But there are so many things in my life that I take for granted, and so many lessons I need to learn from others. 

I am currently in New Mexico and had a lovely conversation with a young youth minister here who asked me how to help people be less negative. It took me some time to understand, as we spoke, that what is at the root of all this negative talk is a lack of gratefulness. We complain because we are unsatisfied and we are unsatisfied because we want more, something different, or we are uncomfortable or suffering. It's easy to zoom in on the things that are causing us to complain rather than to turn our eyes towards the things for which we should be grateful. When we are grateful, we can experience joy and hope. When we become bitter by our circumstance, we only reflect bitterness, and will continue to be miserable and make others miserable around us. 

Being grateful isn't a feeling. It's a discipline. 

If we want to be a thankful people, we have to practice giving thanks. We all know the verse that instructs us to "Pray without ceasing", but the rest of that verse... 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 says:

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 

We are instructed not just to give thanks when good things happen to us, but to give thanks in ALL circumstances. 

I'm going to make giving thanks a regular part of my day, to God and to my brothers and sisters in Christ who may not know how they are appreciated. To my family, to my wonderful, holy husband who is such a great dad and friend. 

Thank you for reading. :)

PS.  I continue to thank all of you who have blessed our CD funding campaign. We are almost to 30% of our goal, but have a ways to go. Please consider even the smallest donation or shortest prayer contribution. God bless! http://www.gofundme.com/9mm60s?preview=1