that are sometimes the most difficult;
especially when we are talking about attitudes of the heart.
Now thank we all our God
With heart and hands and voices
For some reason,
and I guess that reason could easily be attributed to a
selfish nature,
gratitude, thankfulness and appreciation do not come naturally...
even though we may appease our conscience by our rote use of "thank you" and the warm feelings we have toward people who are lovable and do lovely things for us.
I find it very easy to be grateful when a delightful friend tells me how much our friendship means to her and offers to buy me lunch.
At that moment
and in that situation
I am rockin' the gratitude-o-meter!
Where does my heart turn under normal day to day life?
If I'm not careful to be intentionally grateful, my heart is prone to
feelings of entitlement,
childish offense,
and selfish agendas.
Being intentional and deliberate about my heart attitudes requires planning, designing and just plain purposeful action. Not necessarily in our outward actions but in the inward workings of the heart.
Deep inside where no one but God sees ...
I wrote a song a few years ago that addressed the hidden regions of the heart.
You know my heart, O Lord
You know each thought I have
You see the hidden
You see each day I live
You see inside of me
You see what's deep within
You know what's true
You know what's stained by sin
Merciful Father, cleanse me
I give my heart to You
You are pure and holy
Make me more like You
Look in my heart, see inside me
Each hidden part, purify me
There is nothing I can hide from You
Look in my heart
Holy Lord of all, look in my heart
Here is my heart, O Lord
Humbly bowed down to You
Broken and emptied
Longing to be made new
Lord, fill my heart with love
Flood every secret place
All for Your glory
All by Your love and grace
Holy Lord of all
Look in my heart
As we allow God to work in our hearts and if we are willing to respond to His interior design blueprint, we will see an outward manifestation that more easily expresses grateful attitudes.
Along with the remodel progress will be a need to haul off the debris. But let it go! Say goodbye! Now is the time to be deliberate and purposeful with training the heart to turn toward being grateful.
Seeing each day as an opportunity to live a life of thanksgiving... being grateful by design.
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