“Having an attitude of gratitude”

Have you ever had one of those days that seems like the walls are caving in on you? Or perhaps it's just a hormonal shifting of the month that leaves you feeling depressed, overworked, and faced with a sense of emotional toxicity. In today's THV This Morning segment we are talking about a secret sauce to overcoming sadness, anxiety, fear, and even depression that might surprise you.

Today's secret sauce is the power of having an attitude of gratitude. I learned this from my husband, who came home one day over 8 years ago, to tell me that he lost his job due to cutbacks. For two days, I watched him become more and more emotional, feeling a sense of anxiety, panic, and was being quite hard on himself through the process.

Finally, that night, as we were headed to a church function, I sensed a total turn-around. I asked him what happened and he said, "I decided to stop thinking about the situation and begin to reflect on the many blessings in my life. I DECIDED to replace an attitude of grief, loss, and desperation, with an attitude of gratitude."

What an amazing turn-around he experienced. His attitude and positive outlook eventually landed him a MUCH better job and the whole situation turned out to work in his favor. "Al things work together for good to them that love God and are called according to His purpose."

So how can you have an attitude of gratitude. Stop today and reflect on the joys of life that you may have forgotten about due to today's stresses. Here are a few ideas to help you document the many things in life you have to be grateful for.

3 Tips For Documenting Grateful Moments

1. Scrapbooking This can be a wonderful de-stresser and eventually a great place to turn to look at pictures that bring you joy, peace, and a sense of fulfillment.
2. Journaling Being able to write out your thoughts, even your sorrows are a great way of documentation. By looking back, you will see that, whether the storm you faced was trivial or tragic, God enabled you to survive, which tells you, "He can do it again, so don't give up!"
3. Save Your To-Do Lists Sometimes reflecting with an attitude of gratitude can be as simple as looking over your calender of events from years gone by in order to remember things God has brought you through. All memories don't have to be happy memories. It's just up to you to see the blessing of where you are today and how God's mercies are new every morning.

A few years ago, I came home from the grocery store to see my house on fire. Once I realized that my baby, husband and dog were out and safe, I sat amazed that our home and our posessions were in flames. At first, I felt panic, but then an amazing peace came over me as if to say that everything would be fine and that somehow this would be a "good" thing.

As four fire trucks worked for hours trying to put out the flames, I sat on the curb and began to sing this little song that I wrote that day:

Thanks for the joy that You've given to me
Thanks for your love unconditionally
Thanks for peace in the midst of the storm, Lord I thank you.

You've been faithful, faithful to me
Lord, You're faithful, Your mercies I see
And when I look back on my life, the message is clear
Lord, You're faithful.
And I thank you.

Sure enough, God did turn that fire around to become a monumental blessing in our lives. Though it took 9 months to rebuild our home, it became a home so much better, bigger, and more able to help us launch a church that would touch many lives today. When I look at the pictures of that day, I can't help but sense an attitude of gratitude rise up inside of me, knowing that God REALLY is faithful.

No matter what you are going through today, look back over your life and the many times you have been saved from harm or the beautiful blessings along the way and just take time to say, "Thanks"!


Be sure and get your ticket to the EMERGE Conference and Expo (September 26th) by visiting: www.staciwallace.com

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