Count Your Blessings James 1:17 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 Ephesians 5:19-20 Psalms 34:1 Colossians 3:15-16 Psalms 100:4-5 1 Chronicles 16:8-11 05.01.15

COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS

BREAD

17 Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.   James 1:17 (NIV)

16 Be joyful always; 17 pray continually; 18 give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.   1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (NIV)

Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, 20 always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.   Ephesians 5:19-20 (NIV)

1 I will extol the Lord at all times; his praise will always be on my lips.   Psalms 34:1 (NIV)

15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.   Colossians 3:15-16 (NIV)

4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. 5 For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.   Psalms 100:4-5 (NIV)

8 Give thanks to the Lord, call on his name; make known among the nations what he has done. 9 Sing to him, sing praise to him; tell of all his wonderful acts. 10 Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice. 11 Look to the Lord and his strength; seek his face always. 1 Chronicles 16:8-11 (NIV)

BUTTER

"Nothing taken for granted; everything received with gratitude; everything passed on with grace."  G. K. Chesterton

“Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.”  Melody Beattie

“Gratitude makes even a temporal blessing a taste of heaven.”    William Romaine

“It’s grace and fresh gratitude that can make us strong enough to marvel in the seeming monotony of anything.”  Ann Voskamp

“Christian thanksgiving is the life of Christ in the heart — transforming the disposition and the whole character.  Thanksgiving must be wrought into the life as a habit—before it can become a fixed and permanent quality.  An occasional burst of praise, in the midst of years of complaining, is not what is required. Songs on rare, sunshiny days; and no songs when skies are cloudy—will not make a life of gratitude. The heart must learn to sing always.  This lesson is learned only when it becomes a habit which nothing can weaken.  We must persist in being thankful.  When we can see no reason for praise—we must believe in the divine love and goodness, and sing in the darkness.  Thanksgiving has attained its rightful place in us, only when it is part of all our days and dominates all our experiences.”   J. R. Miller

“Unyielding gratitude to God — is how God makes us unstoppable.”   Ann Voskamp

“But, grateful eyes truly do see grace and goodness, even in the most difficult and unattractive packages.  The Gratitude Syndrome makes you desire what you already have rather than always needing to have what you think you desire.  Gratitude makes life’s horizon bright and big rather than dark and distant. It turns what you have into more than enough.”    Jennifer Rothschild

“The root of joy is gratefulness … It is not joy that makes us grateful; it is gratitude that makes us joyful.”   David Steindl-Rast

“Martin Luther wrote in his book, Table Talk:  ‘The greater God’s gifts and works, the less they are regarded.’  We tend to exhibit a degree of thanksgiving in reverse proportion to the amount of blessings we’ve received.  A hungry man is more thankful for his morsel than a rich man for his heavily-laden table.  A lonely woman in a nursing home will appreciate a visit more than a popular woman with a party thrown in her honor.  If the birds only burst into song once a year, we’d all pay close attention.  But because they are singing every morning, we scarcely bother to listen.”    Robert J. Morgan

HEART SAVOR

• ·       Every gift God gives is good and perfect.
• ·       I am to be thankful – always.
• ·       I am to make my thanksgiving to God known telling of His wonderful acts.