Bella, our year and a half old Black Lab, is an amazing dog that loves to fetch and retrieve everything. She gets so excited to return a golf ball, a Frisbee, or a training device. I have spent countless hours working with her and training her as a bird dog to retrieve ducks, geese and pheasants. Since she is still very young and instinctual, I have to work with her almost daily to maintain her skills. If I don’t, she may abandon what she has been taught and do what her instincts tell her. The choice is up to me what kind of dog I want – a nice house dog, or a highly trained hunting dog.
Life is full of choices. One of the simplest, most basic choices we have is the attitude we will put on display each day. We can choose to be a positive upbeat person or a negative complaining person. We have so much to be thankful for – especially as we sit and reflect this Thanksgiving season. But somehow we make the choice to turn from all that we’ve received and to focus on what we still want. We minimize the blessings of life and magnify every negative circumstance we encounter. The list of complaints begins. When thankfulness is part of the discipline of our lives, our joy increases. Does your life feel joyful, focusing on the positives in life, or sad and miserable, fixating on the negatives?
In every situation, we can always find something to be thankful for—always. We can make the decision to focus not on what’s wrong but on what’s good and right in our lives and give thanks for that. This growing level of gratitude produces joy. It makes me think of the old analogy that we each have two dogs living inside of us. One dog is an energetic, positive, and thankful dog. The other is a negative, complaining, ungrateful dog. The one that survives is the one you feed the most. You have a decision to make.
Ephesians 5:20 ~ Giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
1 Thessalonians 5:18 ~ Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
“Dear Lord, I choose to say thanks today. Though my life is far from perfect, I choose to thank You for all that’s good. I thank You even for the hard things that You use to grow me. I love You and I trust You, so I can thank You in every circumstance. It’s in the name of Jesus I pray, Amen.”