Gratitude

My sister and I attended a taping of Oprah's Lifeclass with special guest Bishop TD Jakes in St Louis recently and we were able to watch it on the OWN Network last night.  The theme was "Are you living your life on purpose?" This morning I took out the notes I took then and compared them to my thoughts from watching the show back last night. One message seemed to resonate with me both times...

"Gratitude is a hate changer"- Bishop TD Jakes

Recently I found myself feeling angry because I don't have my Army FRG (Family Readiness Group) friends to meet with every month like the last deployment. (My husband was Army Guard for 6 years and has now been Air Guard for 7 years.) We don't have an FRG in the Air National Guard. I kept thinking to myself, "I am so mad I don't have my old FRG."

After hearing "Gratitude is a hate changer" and watching the Lifeclass and Oprah's Next Chapter with Bishop Jakes, I had my a-ha moment with all of this. It dawned on me... "be grateful for the support you have and take a look at the support you have girl!"

Bishop TD Jakes talks about the miracle of Jesus feeding thousands with 2 fish and 5 loaves of bread from Mark 6:41. Jesus took the bread and gave thanks. He then broke the bread and fed the thousands. Bishop Jakes highlights the fact the Jesus says a prayer of thanks and blessing for the food which was not enough to feed the thousands. Bishop Jakes makes the next statement which really hit home with me, "Until you can be thankful for something that is not enough, then what you have cannot be multiplied into what is more than enough."

So with that... I want to encourage you to use Gratitude in your journey of life. When we turn our hearts to gratitude, we change our outlooks and attitudes, it really is a hate changer.

I have heard some people use a Daily Gratitude Journal. The concept is simple, everyday right down one thing in which you are grateful for, no matter how big or small that thing is. I picked up this book, "For this I am Grateful" a few months ago. I like to read it when I am not feeling so great about my life. It is a great reminder of the simple things in life that I have to be grateful for.

What am I thankful for? I am thankful for the support network I have right here in my community. I have my Yellow Ribbon Network, community members, family and friends surrounding us with support, prayer and love. This might sound silly, but I am thankful for technology so I can IM, E-mail and Facebook with new friends and stay connect to old friends for support.