I love being around thankful people! They express appreciation for people and circumstances, they dwell on positive things, and they inspire me to do the same. There are literally hundreds of books and articles from Christian and non-Christian perspectives on the value and life improving qualities of being a person of gratitude. It is no wonder that God's word tells us repeatedly to give thanks!

Being thankful starts in our thoughts. Everything starts in our thoughts, actually. The David Platt "Follow Me" series really cemented for me this idea of our thoughts controlling our lives with this effective diagram/explanation:

Mr. Platt is saying that once you accept the gift of grace that Jesus offers, His Holy Spirit is inside of us - inner circle. From having Christ IN us, the first thing that we must allow Him to change is our mind - our thoughts, to become more like His. When our thoughts change, so will our desires and emotions, then when we have more pure and Godly desires, our actions and decisions will align with God. When our own actions begin to be obedient to Christ - we then have an effect on others through every relationship in our lives. Once we have an effect on others that shows the love of Christ - our life has a greater purpose and far more is accomplished. I know that's heavy - but it's rich truth. If it starts with our thought life - then let's pray for that thought life to be in line with Jesus!

And when I think about it - every action, decision, choice I've ever made has begun in my mind and my thought life. There are things we should obviously be thinking about, and then those places our minds dwell that serve no good purpose.

Thursday- Thankfulness/Thought Life:

Father God,

Thank you for my husband and children! Please help me teach my kids to be thankful and appreciate all the little things and the big ones. Help me model a grateful heart for every act of kindness shown to us. Plant gratitude in their minds for the things money can't buy. Help them to be thankful for people and fun memories more than toys or movies. Jesus help them to see and appreciate the beauty of creation, in the sunrise, autumn leaves, falling snow. God, help my husband to look for reasons to thank You. Help them to be overwhelmed with gratitude for the plethora of blessings you pour out on us daily. Help them to be thankful for people in their lives and to tell those people. Help them to be aware of the ways you give so much more than we deserve, and to thank you for them. Lord, I pray their thoughts are focused on the things above. Help my husband and children to think about whatever is noble, true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy. When their minds wander into selfish and dangerous territory, I pray you draw them back. Help them to fight against focusing on negative thoughts. Remind them to take every thought captive for your glory. Help me to plant seeds of faith and Biblical examples for them to think about. Keep my mind focused on you and praise and thanks coming out of my mouth, more than negativity or complaints. In Jesus' Name,

Amen.

This is the eighth post in a series on Praying for Your Family: a 31 Day Challenge. You can go to the main 'landing page' for a list of all the days by clicking here: