It’s difficult to have the attitude of gratitude when things are going wrong. More so, when we are faced with bills, mortgage payments, or debt collectors looking at us with poker faces. And then there are other challenges and burdens that come our way, physical ailments, emotional stresses and being burned out mentally and even spiritually.
Our inner system panics, flashing bright red lights. And so we rush about believing that maybe if we do more of this and do more of that, things will get better. But the crazy thing is it still doesn’t work. It just seems to be getting worse. Desperation is a sure way to drive the love and the abundance that we desire to have in our lives.
Here are powerful steps you can do to have the attitude of gratitude.
1. Listen to your thoughts. Observe yourself and how you are responding to the situation. More often than not, we are unaware that we are in a panic mode. Our thoughts are likely running riot and have escalated into mountains of fear, worry and anxiety.
Sample thoughts: “My savings are running low. By next month, I won’t have any money left. And I still have to pay my rent and I’m already two months behind. What am I going to do? I’ve tried so hard but nothing seems to be working. My landlord is going to throw me out into the streets. I’m so sure of that. I’m going to end up begging and people will laugh at me. I’m such a loser. My mom was right. I will never amount to anything.”
2. Accept what is happening to you right now. But do not judge the situation by saying it’s bad or good. Just accept what is. When you take away the judgment, you are able to clearly see the facts.
Sample statements: “I know that I’m financially tight right now.” Or “I know that I owe two months of rent.” Or “I accept that I have this disease.” Or “I am stressed out.”
Whatever it is, just state the facts without putting judgment on yourself or the situation.
3. Shift focus. After stating your situation, start being grateful for what you have instead of what you don’t have. Remember what you focus on expands. So what we want to do is to move from the feelings of negativity towards a more positive one.
Sample statements: “I know that I’m financially tight right now but I am grateful that I am healthy enough to find myself an extra job.” Or “I accept that I have this disease but I am grateful that my family is very supportive of me. In fact, I even have two caring children who are taking their time to help me out.”
4. Surround yourself with inspiration. Feed what you have started. Be around friends, family that sees the beauty in life. Nourish the spirit by counting your blessings. When you wake up in the morning, say thank you for the gift of your life. When you are about to eat, say thank you for the food on the table. When you are about to walk, say thank you for your legs that take you from one place to the other.
5. Set reminders. Choose an object to remind you to be thankful. Have you heard of the gratitude stone? A wise man has decided to use a small stone as his object of reminder. Everywhere he goes, he brings it along and so when he feels it in his pocket, he says a prayer of gratitude for whatever is going on in his life. Or you can do the gratitude dance. See the above link to view a video of the gratitude dance. You can even come up with your own.
Gratitude is acknowledging the perfection of things even amidst the imperfection. When you become grateful, you will draw into your life all the love and abundance that you could ever want. You are able to see beyond the challenges and see the treasures found in it.
Wear the attitude of gratitude daily and it will bring change your life.
By: Michelle Simtoco
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If you’ve been wondering why it seems like the world around us is unraveling, it’s because the last days as foretold in the bible are now upon us. Just as it was 2000 years ago, many were unable to discern the signs of Jesus Christ’s first coming (Mat 16:3), as will many concerning his second coming, which will occur very soon. Yes many have proclaimed a similar sentiment many times in the past, but their errors have no bearing on today other than to lull you into spiritual apathy, and that too was prophesied to occur in the last days.
If you’re not a believer in Jesus Christ because you’re an atheist, consider that the underlying impetus for your disbelief is most likely borne of pride and here’s why:
When we die, if you as an atheist were right, then there is no upside or downside for anyone regarding the afterlife. We will all simply cease to exist
However if we Christians were right about our belief in the afterlife, then we will be given eternal life and you as an atheist will receive eternal damnation
Given the choices, the position held by an atheist is a fools bet any way you look at it because the atheist has everything to lose and nothing to gain. It is tantamount to accepting a “heads I win, tails you lose” coin toss proposition from someone. And that someone by the way is Satan (see Ephesians 6:12).
The only way to explain the attitude held by an atheist is pride, pure and simple. The intellectually dishonest and/or tortured reasoning used by atheists to try and disprove the existence of God is nothing more than attempts to posture themselves as superior (a symptom of pride). And as anyone who has read their bible knows, this is precisely the character flaw that befell Lucifer, God’s formerly most high angel. (Isaiah 14:12-15). Is it any wonder then why the bible is so replete with references to pride as the cause of mankind’s downfall?
Pride permeates our lives and burdens us in ways that most of us seldom recognize. Ironically, pride is the one thing that can blind someone to things even the unsighted can see. And sadly pride will blind many with an otherwise good heart, to accepting the offer of eternal salvation that Christ bought and paid for with his life.
In any event, if you’re an atheist, I wish you only the best for every day of the rest of your life because for you, this life is as close to heaven as you’ll ever get, but for believers in Christ, this life is as close to hell as we’ll ever get.
If you’re not a believer and follower of Jesus Christ because you are of another faith, please take the time to very carefully compare your faith to Christianity and ask yourself, why is the bible the only religious book with both hundreds of proven prophecies already fulfilled as well as those being fulfilled today? No other religion can claim anything remotely close to this fact. Many Christians who are serious students of bible prophecy are already aware of the role and significance of bible prophecy in foretelling end time events. God gave us prophecy as evidence of his divine holiness to know the begining from the end (Isa 46:10). God also believed prophecy to be so important that to those willing to read the most prophetic book in the bible, the Book of Revelation, he promised a special blessing (see Rev 1:3), and this is the only book in the bible that God gives its reader a special blessing for reading. Something to think about.
Don’t risk losing Christ’s offer of eternal life by not accepting him as your savior and by thinking that the bible is nothing more than a compilation of unrelated and scattered stories about people who lived 2,000 plus years ago. If you take the time to study (not just read) the bible, you will literally be shocked to learn things you would have never imagined would be revealed in it. Did you know that like parables, God also uses particular months and days in the Jewish calendar, Jewish Feasts and customs, solar and lunar phases, celestial alignments, gematria (Hebrew numerology) early bible events and more as patterns and models to foretell future events?
Consider the following interesting facts about the bible that testify to its God-inspired authorship:
Did you know that in Gen 12:2, God said he would bless Israel?. How else can you explain the grossly disproportionate level of success achieved by Jewish people as a tiny minority in the world, especially after all they have gone through? And how can you explain the success achieved by the tiny nation of Israel, surrounded by enemies outnumbering them 100 to 1 and yet still they remain victorious in all their wars?
Did you know that as evidence to indicate that Israel is the epicenter of the world from God’s point of view is the fact that languages to the west of Israel are written and read from left to right as if pointing to Israel, and languages from countries to the east of Israel are written and read from right to left, again as though pointing to Israel. Just a coincidence, you say? I think not.
Did you know that the six days of creation and seventh day of rest in Genesis is a model for the six thousand years of this age (ending very soon), that is to be followed by a 1,000 year millennial reign by Christ (see 2 Peter 3:8)? Adam was born sometime prior to 4000 B.C., therefore our 6000 years are almost up.
Did you know that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is hidden in the meaning of the Hebrew names listed in the genealogy of the book of Genesis (Research it online)? To deny this was God-inspired, one has to instead believe that a group of Jewish rabbis conspired to hide the Christian Gospel right inside a genealogy of their venerated Torah, which is not a very plausible explanation.
Did you know that solar eclipses, which the bible describes as the sun being black as sackcloth, and lunar eclipses, which the bible refers to as blood red moons, have prophetic meaning? Research it online. God showed Adam (and us) his plan for man’s redemption through the use of celestial alignments. (research Mazzaroth online)
Did you know that much of the symbolism in the book of revelation refers to planetary alignments that will occur when certain events occur as prophesied? These planetary alignments also explained the birth of Christ, just search out The Bethlehem Star movie on the Internet.
Did you know that the references in Eze 39:4-17 and Rev 19:17-21 in the battle of Gog/Magog and Armageddon respectively, in which birds of prey will eat the flesh of the dead in battle from two enormous wars is based on fact? The largest bird migration in the world consisting of bilions of birds (34 species of raptors and various carrion birds) from several continents converge and fly over Israel every spring and fall. Coincidence? I think not.
Did you know that Hebrew numerology, also known as Gematria, and the numbers with biblical and prophetic significance are hidden in the Star of David? Google the video called “Seal of Jesus Christ”
Did you know that the seven Churches mentioned at the beginning of the Book of Revelation describe the seven stages the Church will go through?
There are literally hundreds of hidden messages in the bible like these that testify to the fact that the bible was God inspired, and statistically speaking, are all exponentially beyond the likelihood of any coincidence. You can find them yourselves if you only take the time to look into it. Remember Proverbs 25:2 “It is the glory of God to conceal a matter; to search out a matter is the glory of kings”.
And finally, if you are Catholic, or one who subscribes to the emergent Church or seeker-friendly Church movement, please compare the doctrine taught, advocated or accepted by your Church, with the actual bible, notwithstanding some new-age version of the bible. And remember that although the bible is often referred to as the living bible, the word “living” was never intended to imply in any way that the bible “evolves” over time to meet, or be consistent with, the standards of man. It’s just the opposite.
Well, am I getting through to you? If not, the answer might be explained in the response given by Jesus Christ in his Olivet discourse when he was asked by his disciples why he spoke the way he did (in parables, etc.) in the book of Matthew 13:10-16. What Jesus said could have easily been paraphrased more clearly as “so that the damned won’t get it”. Why did Christ respond the way he did when asked why he spoke this way? Is there something about pride (the bible says there is) that closes one’s heart to seeing or hearing the messages supernaturally hidden in bible parables, models, typologies, and similes, etc.? That should give you something to think about, but don’t take too long. Time is now very short.
If it sometimes seems like there are powers at work behind the powers we know in this world, or sinful/evil influences in your life, remember what it says in Ephesians 6:12 “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” If you study the bible, it will become clearer.
Did you know that God said to those unwilling to love the words of his truth and be saved, he would send them a strong delusion so that they would believe a lie. See 2 Thesalonians 2:10-11. Have you considered what this strong delusion might be? (i.e., evolution, climate change, or ?)
Have you considered the following. With so many self-professed Christians in the world, how is it possible that the bible can state that so few would find the path to eternal life (See Mat 7:14)? The answer: many Christians who practice Christianity practice an apostate version of it, and will ultimately not be county worthy (Luke 21:36) to escape God’s wrath.
And by the way, if you are a scoffer, this too was prophesied to occur in the last days. See 2 Peter 3:3.
Thank you and God Bless you!
Hi Armageddon thru to you…
I love God and I love Jesus…I think we both agree on that one.
May God and Jesus’ love fill your heart with joy and gratitude and allow it to shine and inspire many people. Take care…
Welcome First time hopped here on your site, founde on Bing.
Nice site! It really looks good. I have a really good friend who I think would enjoy your blog. I’ll definitly pass it on to him.
There are a number of incredibly great points made here. In most cases, I am not really keen on websites. even so, once in a while all of us should take notice. Inspiring, I am grateful to you.
Praise the Lord!
To God be the Glory!
Amen.
With love and Gratitude to the Almighty God,