Living the Good Life: How to Grow a Lifestyle of Gratitude and Generosity
What words come to mind when you think of the word gratitude? I immediately think of giving thanks.
I LOVE Thanksgiving. It’s my favorite holiday. What’s not to love? A whole day of food, family, and football. I can’t wait for some turkey and cornbread dressing and pumpkin pie. Yum. I have a t-shirt that proclaims, “Grateful. Thankful. Blessed.” Yes. Yes, I am.
But, as I write this, it’s hot, humid, and sticky outside. It’s the end of summer in southwest Oklahoma. Leaves are falling because it’s so dry, not because it’s fall yet.
Gratitude Beyond Thanksgiving Day
As we know, thanksgiving and gratitude are not confined to a holiday. It’s a year-round mindset. An ongoing lifestyle. A personal lens on the world.
It’s one of the first words we teach our children. When they are given a gift or a treat or a kind word, we automatically whisper to our child, “What do you say?” Hopefully, they make us proud and return the correct response, “Thank you.” We want our children to be grateful. To live in a way that they understand they receive things they don’t deserve and to live a lifestyle of gratitude. Not just for gifts, but for the basics of life.
Ultimately, we want our children to understand that all goodness comes from God–the Giver of all life and all undeserved gifts.
How to Live a Life of Gratefulness
But what about us? How do we cultivate a life of gratitude when we are tired, or sick or overlooked or in the midst of suffering?
The place to start living a life of gratefulness is every day, in the quiet, when you meet God. For me, I love early mornings, out on my deck when the day is brand new. The birds are waking up, the slight morning breeze ruffles the trees. And my coffee is hot. I open His words to me and find this:
Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.
Psalm 107:1
Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.
Colossians 3:15
I grab my journal and scribble my prayers. “Thank you, Father, for your gift of this new day. Thank you for seeing me, knowing me, loving me. How can I show you to others today?”
Do you like to write in a journal? I have piles of them. Some days, I scribble only three thoughts. “Thank you, God for: my family, a warm, safe home and my work.” That’s it. And some days, that’s enough.
Sometimes, it’s breathing a prayer of gratitude when you see your grandchildren at play. When you share a meal with your spouse. When you have a few quiet minutes alone. Gratitude comes with practice.
The Best Example of a Generous, Grateful Life
In giving of Himself, Jesus gave us the ultimate example of a grateful, generous life. We start with developing a heart of gratitude. This starting point leads us toward a life of generosity. A grateful life is a generous life. When you know what you have and are truly thankful for it, you want to share it with others.
We don’t want to just be thankful in our thoughts, attitudes and written prayers. We need to share gratitude with others. What are some practical ways to do that?
- Write a thank you note to someone who lives a life of generosity. Consider using this scripture in your note: “I always thank my God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus” (1 Corinthians 1:4).
- With your family, discuss ways you have been generously blessed by others. How can you express your gratitude? Decide on at least one way to help someone in need in the coming month. Consider giving anonymously so the praise goes to the Giver of all good gifts and not to you.
What specific ways can you add to the list of developing a lifestyle of gratitude in your life and the lives of your family?
I need to think about that. I think I will put on my Thanksgiving t-shirt, go outside on my deck and have a pumpkin-spiced latte. Even though it’s 90 degrees out, it’s always the right time to express gratitude.
Meet DeAnna Lynn Sanders
DeAnna lives in Duncan, Oklahoma with her husband of 40 years, Johnny, and their two Fox Red Labradors. She loves long walks, relaxing on her deck, sipping flavorful coffee, and savoring one of the several books she enjoys reading at the same time. DeAnna fills her weekly newsletter, A Good Word Wednesday, with bite-sized slices of life from her own experiences and from those she has met around the world. Her book, Unseen People: Sharing Light and Life with Your Neighbors and the Nations, will be published soon by Ambassador International.
Where to find her . . .
Begin Within is a series to inspire a year-round lifestyle of gratitude that will impact not only your own life, but the lives of your neighbors as well. Gratitude is a theme we talk about often around here because it ties so closely into other missional living rhythms. Practicing gratitude reminds to keep our hearts soft and expectant and our eyes open. Therefore, the more we embrace gratitude, the easier it becomes to truly see our neighbors and where we can join what God is already doing in our neighborhoods.
If you would like to contribute to Begin Within, you can find the submission guidelines here.
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Creating Ripples
If you would like to cultivate rhythms in addition to gratitude that will empower you live on mission in your neighborhood, check out Cultivating a Missional Life: A 30-Day Devotional to Gently Help You Open Your Heart, Home, and Life to Your Neighbors. This small book will help you make a big impact in your neighborhood as you learn to let missional living flow from the inside out. Get the 30-day missional living challenge free when you purchase the book.
