I believe it was Theodore ‘Teddy’ Roosevelt who said  “Comparison is the thief of joy.” That’s a mouthful, don’t you think?

If I am in the midst of comparing my life to another’s, then I’ve no time to realize all of my blessings; soon dissatisfaction will follow.

The only one with whom we should compare ourselves is God.  Am I loving? Am I kind? Am I generous?

Definitely NOT: Is my hair as long as hers? Do I have as much money as he does? Am I as strong as that person?

If we use the wrong ruler for life comparisons, we’ll ALWAYS fall short (no pun intended).

So, today, I give thanks for .. what .. ? How about my laptop? I don’t have to struggle with a typewriter anymore, which also means I don’t have to worry about typos or erasures or rewrites or white out.  Nope! I simply type something here, and if I don’t like it – whoosh! The sweep of my cursor or the back space arrow eliminates a lot of verbiage.

If you’ve ever typed on a typewriter, you understand. So, tonight, Father thank you for the ease of writing on a laptop.

Abba Father, forgive me, please, for all the times that I forget how good my life is and for all you’ve given me.

©2015 Cat Brennan

A little while ago, I read a delightful article in Guidepost™ Magazine’s online newsletter titled, Be still and know that I am God. It was one of those moments. You know, one of those times when I knew that God was speaking to me to change my mind; perhaps my attitude also. Actually, He got my attention quite easily (this time).

While being still, I remembered that one thing that always draws me closer to God; that always instills peace. That list of ONE.

It’s really rather easy, if one has the courage to break an old and very bad habit of complaining or grumbling or griping or, or, or . . .

Are you ready for it? Okay, here goes: G R A T I T U D E!! Being thankful (grateful) in the midst of daily life or messes and finding something for which to be grateful. I talked to my “in-Illinois” daughter recently and we lamented about some people who are negative and constantly complaining. Let’s face it; we all know people who have a problem for every solution or a dilemma for every act. Here in America, we have so much – we are so wealthy – that we overlook the obvious. Let’s see what that looks like.

You have a bed to sleep in.

You woke up this morning.

You had food for breakfast.

Get the idea? Sound too simple?

To get rid of a bad habit, you must create a new one. There are all kinds of statistics that indicate how long and how often one must do x-y-z to accomplish a-b-c, but that’s not important. Just. Do. It.

Put a sticky note or a sign on your bathroom mirror, or on the coffee maker or tea kettle, or on your laptop, or on your phone or on the dashboard of your car to remind you to be grateful. If you can’t think of anything new, it’s okay to repeat the gratitude from yesterday. The point is to change your attitude of goofy grumbling and thinking, to one of joyful gratitude. And it will happen. EVERY time you start to grumble, change it into thanks or gratitude.

Scripture is clear about this. In I Thessalonians 5:18, we read:  In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you (KJV). Look at this lighter interpretation of the same verse from The Message:  Be cheerful no matter what; pray all the time; thank God no matter what happens. This is the way God wants you who belong to Christ Jesus to live.

If you wake up in the morning with a backache, be grateful you can get out of bed.

If that noisy alarm clock woke you up on time, be thankful you have a job to go to.

If the kids were too noisy, be grateful for those little beings.

Remember these bits of wisdom: If life gives you lemons, make lemonade. If life gives you scraps, make a quilt. And, my own: If life throws mud at you, make pottery – better yet, make mud bricks and build a house.

Try it. See if your heart isn’t lighter. Regularly check to see if you need a gratitude adjustment.

Here’s my gratitude list for today:

I’m thankful for this Joyful Christmas season.

I’m grateful for all of my grandchildren.

I’m thankful for my great granddaughter.

I’m grateful for my children.

What are you grateful for?

© 2015 Cat Brennan