Natural Forces
Don’t you love how fast little round wheels can make you go on a skateboard?
There is another natural force that also interests me. When you put two magnets together, one side attracts and one repels. That is just the way it is. I love being able to take advantage of something that just is because God put it into nature.
One of the advantages of being th(i)nkful is that it naturally repels complaining. When grumpy meets th(i)nkful, they repel each other. 
In other words they are not good bedfellows. One has to leave.
When you choose to think thanks about every circumstance in your life, whether those circumstances are positive, neutral, or negative, you are creating a natural repellent to ingratitude and complaining.
When our kids were little, I would teach them the ABC’s of Scripture memory. We had a verse for every letter of the alphabet. I can still quote those verses as we drilled them often into our minds. 
The ‘D’ verse was “Do all things without murmuring and disputings.” (Phil. 2:14).
Complaining and murmuring seemed to come very easily to young children, and well, for that matter, to not so young children. In fact, even as adults, most of our problems seem to be rich people problems. “I lost my iPad, or our dryer just died, or we muddied our really good track shoes, or I didn’t get to the sale on time.” We are blessed to even having such problems.
Choosing to think thanks about whatever it was that initiated the complaining had a way of expelling the ingratitude.
Choose to be Thankful
Really, it is not that hard. Just choose to be thankful! 
You refuse to think the grumpy thoughts of complaining and instead exercise your will to think thanks about whatever is in front of you.
The beautiful natural thing that happens is that you begin to repel the negative force of murmuring and you experience grace to embrace prickly things that God has ordained in your life to make you more like His Son.
My Own Choice
I am writing this to stimulate you to think thanks, but I’ll let you in on a secret. I need to be reminded of these principles myself. David and I have had the unique privilege of doing extensive traveling this past year and it is not over yet. Our journeys have taken us from New Zealand to China; Seattle to Philadelphia; Kansas to Wisconsin. Later this year we are moving to Amanzimtoti, South Africa. Yes, it is amazing. I really do love it. BUT…it is exhausting and I struggle to choose gratitude at times.
So, let me make a th(i)nkful list in regards to travel:
- We get to experience and learn so many new things
- Our own view of life is challenged when we observe how others live
- Seeing how big the world is makes us realize how big our God is
- We get to taste different foods
- Connection with the Body of Christ all over the world is extremely encouraging
- We get a vast amount of exposure to illustrate lessons of life
- We may be a connection point for other people
- God gives us enough strength to do His will
So here’s to future trips coming up! I choose to think thanks and get on my roller blade. David, I am right behind you! 🙂
Simple Travel Tips
There are tricks you can put into use that ease the difficulties.
- Plan out a clothes package that mix and matches
- Drink lots of water to help with air travel
- Perhaps take an aspirin the day before air-travel to thin your blood
- When flying, get up and move from time to time to avoid bloodclots
- Have a checklist to go over so you don’t forget important things like charging cords, brush or comb, makeup, toothbrush and toothpaste, inflatable neck pillow, headphones, reading material
- Have a toiletry bag with things just for travel if possible
- Keep thank you cards in your suitcase
Have you ever thought about what someone would find among your things after you died?
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ng thinking thanks takes time. You have to see progress in little steps at a time. Think about that path through the woods. As you step by step conquer the mess, soon the path becomes apparent.
The outside appearance of a box can hide a multitude of things. It is often quite difficult to imagine what is inside. The actual item may be a lot smaller than the box, but the box is filled with tissue paper as a playful deception. That’s part of the giddiness of Christmas giving – concealing the contents, avoiding the predictable. At the appropriate time, however, the lid comes off and what is inside becomes visible.
The Psalmist makes a revealing statement about the righteous person in Ps. 140:13. Someone who loves God and is cleansed by the Lamb, will surely give thanks. They will have a bent towards wanting to be th(i)nkful. It will fit for them and not feel out of place.
THE DAILY EXCHANGE. Every day Elisa and Nicole text back and forth things they are #thinkful for. They have developed a pattern to spur each other on to look for things that they are thinking thanks about that day. Both of these ladies live in a climate where a long winter is approaching and it becomes harder to feel thankful and more necessary to think thanks. I welled up with tears to read that they were doing this. How cool! Having an accountability partner to keep you on track helps incredibly.
TH(I)NKFUL JOURNAL. My friend Marni sent me this picture. She had been given a small journal. It was to inspire one to write down one thing every day that your were th(i)nkful for. Our brains develop neural pathways by doing something over and over again. At first it feels like you are carving a difficult path through the woods, but as you do it over and over, it starts to happen automatically.
e an alabaster box filled with precious spikenard perfume and poured the ointment on Jesus. Jesus was visiting Bethany six days before his crucifixion and had been invited to a meal at Simon’s house. Resurrected Lazarus was seated at the table, and Martha was serving. Mary took a costly treasure, worth a person’s yearly wage (about $50,000.00 today), and poured it out on Jesus. Her act was taken by Jesus as preparation for His upcoming burial (Mark 14:8). John tells us the house was filled with the odor of the ointment (John 12:3). Imagine spending $50,000 for something that would disappear in a few minutes! She was obviously convinced of who Jesus really was, and must have strongly sensed that his death was close.
and listening at His feet (Luke 10:18-42). He had also come to them in Bethany four days after Lazarus had died and raised him from the dead (John 11). Now, He was again with them in Bethany, and Mary grabbed the opportunity of worshipping Him with probably her greatest treasure, the alabaster flask containing costly spikenard perfume. She didn’t hold back. She poured out her treasure on her even greater Treasure, the Lord Jesus, in preparation for his death and burial. She knew from experience that He had the power to raise people from the dead. Although she may not have known all the details of how Christ would die and rise again, her faith, garbed with devotion, was strong and committed.
I Corinthians 3:12-14 states that at the Evaluation Seat of Christ all our works will be tested by fire. We’re not sure how our works will materialize into fuel nor what this fire will look like, but we are left to ponder the “burn-down factor” – what are we doing here and how that will survive the fire? Jesus said we can actually “lay up treasure in heaven” – pass our time, energies, and finances through an unseen membrane out of this life and into heaven.
The overall perspective from which you see and interpret the world is called your worldview. Whether you realize it or not, everything you observe filters through your worldview grid for interpretation. Your beliefs about God, the universe, mankind’s history, science, theology, and moral values will shape and color your impressions of people, possessions, and events.
My View of the Beginning and the End
Hebrews 4:12 describes the Word of God as living, powerful, and sharp. It has the ability to discern thoughts and intents of the heart. Do I even know my own heart’s thoughts and intents? No. Jeremiah said we struggle with clouded and distorted self-perceptions (Jer. 17:9). We need a light, an objective perspective! Psalm 119:105 volunteers God’s Word as a lamp for our feet and a light for our path.
th(i)nkful 