What is the difference between a good day and a bad day?  So many times the circumstances in our lives are similar from day to day, but our outlook on life seems to change.  And why does the same set of circumstances in life negatively affect one person, but don't seem to even hinder another?  While there are many answers to these questions, I can't help but believe that one of the greatest powers we have to change our present perspective on life is gratitude.  God created us and He knows how we work.  Through the Bible, He has asked us to be grateful.  "And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him."(Colossian 3:17)

       This is something that we have been told to do by our pastors and possibly parents growing up, but how many of us actually grasped the importance and power of it to change our lives?  Current secular research in psychology is now discovering the power of gratitude.  The Research Project on Gratitude and Thankfulness out of UC Davis studied the traits of people who kept a gratitude journal, and/or were in a daily gratitude condition and compared them with people who did not.  People in the gratitude group were:

• more likely to have made progress toward important personal goals
• more likely to report having helped someone with a personal problem or having offered emotional support to another
• reported higher levels of the positive states of alertness, enthusiasm, determination, attentiveness and energy
• placed less importance on material goods
• more likely to share their possessions with others
• less envious of  others

       Starting your day off by thanking the Lord for what He has provided for you is the best way to get going on the right track..  Recently I found myself to be in a downcast mood as soon as I woke up.  There was nothing in particular that was affecting me, I just felt a little annoyed at people and I had a bad outlook on the day.  I was reminded about the power of gratitude to change my perspective on the day; so I gave it a shot.  As soon as I started listing the things I was thankful to Lord for, my outlook on life changed.  As Christians we have the greatest reason to be thankful.  Jesus Christ has given us eternal life with Him.  He paid the way for us to have relationship with the Father.  Start there in your thankfulness and then start listing all the things He has given you.  One of the best ways to throw off anxiety and depression is to turn your heart off your problem and onto gratitude to the Lord. 
            As a parent I am also trying to find ways to instill gratitude into my kids’ lives.  Gratitude is not something that comes naturally out of us; it is something that is learned.  It can be learned best by modeling, and then reinforced by practicing.  Take your family along your journey of discovering the power of gratitude.  You can begin by thanking the Lord for the things in your life and then make it a point to thank people in your life for the things that they do.  See the impact you will have on your day, and others as well, as you bless them with a word of gratitude.

OTHER VERSES ON GRATITUDE

Psalm 136:1 ESV

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever.

Hebrews 12:28 ESV

Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe,

Psalm 118:24 ESV

This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.

Psalm 92:1 ESV

A Psalm. A Song for the Sabbath. It is good to give thanks to the Lord, to sing praises to your name, O Most High;

Hebrews 13:15 ESV

Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name.