Gratitude.

Being thankful is something I've always struggled with. I'm trying so hard to get to the point where I thank people, truly thank them and truly appreciate them, whenever anything is done for me. Sometimes I feel like I just don't appreciate the little things. If it's something someone gave me that they thought I would like and I don't, I should sincerely be thanking them anyway for thinking of me! Sometimes I'm just not content in my life and don't realize how many great things go on around me and I don't notice, or I do but I don't say anything. I started this blog a few years ago to write about "Finding joy in everyday living", thinking it would help me appreciate life. It definitely has, but I just know it's possible to feel more thankful.

Thanking my parents for offering fresh fruits and vegetables from their garden with no thought of getting anything in return, thanking Tim's mom for scrubbing our kitchen sink and getting it cleaner than I ever could (I just texted her!), thanking my sister for letting me spend time with her and the kids on my day off, thanking her husband for thinking of organizing a family camping trip, thanking Tim for getting me water while I lazily don't move on the couch (actually, I just thanked him :D). Just little things. 

I just feel like I need to be more grateful, more thankful, and more aware. 

These things were partly done with the hope of my happiness as the result! Why is is so hard to be grateful?

How do you get to that point where thanking someone and being truly grateful just comes naturally? And a little off topic, but how do you get to the point where you ask someone how their day is and truly care? I know there's a couple of people in my life that talk about the same issues every time we're together, and it gets old. How do I stay interested in their current problems? I think I need to start praying.

"Cultivating a thankful heart is a safeguard against becoming bitter, prickly, and sour. A grateful child of God can't help but be a joyful, peaceful, radiant person." -Nancy Leigh DeMoss

I want to be that person. I want people, if they're talking about me behind my back, to have absolutely nothing bad to say about me, but that I am a joyful, peaceful, and radiant person. Caring too. That's the kind of person I'd like to be around, so what a great type of person to strive to become.