Monday Morning Devotion-August 4, 2025

 How Grateful Are You…Really?

 You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast because he trusts in You.  Isaiah 26:3

*From August 2017

         "One simple concept can get us through the most stressful time in life:  Gratitude."

            Hmmm!  Take a minute to think about that?  What are you grateful for?   I mean really grateful.  Are you thinking?  Got it yet?  Tick…tick…tick.  OK, time's up.

            Now when you zeroed in on a thing or some things that you are truly grateful for didn't you instantly feel better?  Sure, you did.   It probably even brought a smile to your face.  That's the wonder-working power of gratitude.

            I was trying to come up with a devotional topic for the week and was looking through my personal library when I came across this book: "Gratitude:  Affirming the Good Things in Life."

By Melody Beattie.  So, I am grateful that I came across this one again.  I do have a lot of books in my library.

            I opened it and on the first blank page inside I read this message written in ink:

            Jim,

            May everyday bring only good things.

            Love,

           Susette

           Feb. 2002

             How could anyone not be grateful for a message like that?  You see every morning on my prayer walk that is one of the first things that I show my gratitude for.  I thank the Lord for my Lovely Susette.  TLS has been one of God's greatest blessings in my life.  So, it brings me pleasure to revisit that by thanking the Lord.

      I also thank Him for the gift of another day.  For every breath I take; every step I will make that day and finally I give him thanks for every beat of my heart. 

      That last one is something that I recently added.  We get up and our hearts are beating, and we just take that for granted.  We get up and go on our merry way.  I know.  I always did until a few months back.

      I began to have shortness of breath on these walks.  I attributed it to these allergies that plague me.  They cause congestion and I just figured they were the cause of the problem until the breathing problem caused me to stop walking.  No more prayer walks.  I was very sad because when you walk, in the area that I am blessed to walk in, there is a lot of peace and quiet.  I've received some amazing revelations from the Lord during these walks and seen some of those prayers, especially the intercessory ones, answered in a powerful way.

      "OK, TLS.  I'll go to the Doctor and see what he can prescribe for allergies."  He didn't prescribe any medicine for allergies.  He prescribed a stress test, which led to a trip to the Cardiologist.  That lead to the discovery that two arteries were partially blocked.  Those are the vessels that carry blood from your heart to other tissues and organs in your body, like…say…your brain.  So, I guess that's fairly serious, huh?

      The amazing thing is that those wonderful medical folks were able to go all the way to my heart through my wrist, open up the arteries, put a couple of stents in to keep them from reclosing and they were done.

      In the hospital at 7 a.m., out at 3 p.m.  My TLS and son Clint were with me the whole time.  Doctor said take it easy today, and tomorrow (Thursday) then on Friday you can go full bore.

      Say what?  "We want you to lead a normal life," said the cardiologist (Dr.Gredler).

Uh, I guess I had something to be grateful for. You think?

      Yes, Gratitude is a wonderful thing.  It is transforming, life changing and often neglected.

So let me share a few things first about the author, Melody Beattie, and then some ideas about gratitude and what it can do in your life.

            Melody is "one of America's most beloved self-help authors and a household name in addiction and recovery circles.  Millions of readers have trusted Melody's words of wisdom and guidance because she knows firsthand what they're going through.

            In her lifetime, she has survived abandonment, kidnapping, sexual abuse, drug and alcohol addiction, divorce and the death of a child. Beattie understands being overboard, which helps her throw bestselling lifelines to those still adrift."  OK.  I guess we can trust her.

            Melody says that "deprived thinking" can lead to our downfall.  When we start thinking about what we don't have then that turns "good things into less, or worse, into nothing.  Grateful thinking turns things into more."  It's the old idea of looking at the glass as half full instead of half empty.  We all have things to be grateful for.  Turning our focus to those brings even more of them our way.

            Set good, positive goals for yourself.  Maybe they are just small things each day, but these accomplished small things can turn into big ones.  Give thanks for each one along the way.  Melody says: "Goals are gratitude in action."

            In fact, she suggests that you turn everything into a goal. If you have a problem, make solving it your goal.  Boy, does it feel good when you get that problem resolved!

            She suggests that we get rid of the "shoulds" in our lives.  We don't need them in our goal setting.  "I would do this, but I should do that."  She says make it a goal to get rid of 75% of your shoulds."

            And it is important to do what you can, one day at a time.  Within the framework of each twenty-four-hour day, do what seems fitting and appropriate.  Do God's will for that day. 

            Do what comes your way that needs to be done.  Do it in peace and faith.

            Do it with Gratitude. 

            The rest of the story:   Now eight years later I walk every day and show my gratitude for each walk.  Thank you, Lord!

 Prayer:  Lord, your blessings and good works abound.  May our gratitude do the same.  Amen