Quotes about Gratitude

G. K. Chesterton said that his goal in life was to take nothing for granted—not a sunrise, not a smile, not a flower, nothing. That is a truly wonderful approach to life. Don't take anything for granted. Truly appreciate every minute that you have to live. My near-death experience has helped me be better at that. If I hadn't almost died, I wouldn't have figured out how to live.

It's no coincidence that being watchful and prayerful are coupled by the apostle Paul in his letter to the Colossians: "Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful." The word watchful is a throwback to the ancient watchmen whose job it was to sit on the city walls and scan the horizon for attacking armies or trading caravans. They saw sooner and further than anyone else. Prayer opens our spiritual eyes so we see sooner and further.

If you woke up this morning with more health than illness—you are more blessed than the million who will not survive this week ... If you have food in the refrigerator, clothes on your back, a roof overhead and a place to sleep—you are richer than 75 percent of this world ... So count your blessings and remind everyone else how blessed we all are!

When God blesses you financially, don't raise your standard of living. Raise your standard of giving.

Potential is God's gift to you. What you do with it is your gift back to God.

A. W. Tozer once said, "Eternity won't be long enough to discover all that God is or praise him for all that he's done."6

I discovered that being thankful and experiencing the power and presence of Jesus Christ are tightly entwined. As we practice thankfulness, we experience more of God's transforming grace, God's thereness.

If we truly believe that God appreciates our service, we can stop boasting and start encouraging. When we boast, we use people for appreciation. When our appreciation comes from God, we can start loving people, sharing the ways both God and we appreciate them. Paul demonstrated this by encouraging others, •

A baby is an inestimable blessing and bother

One can enjoy a rainbow without necessarily forgetting the forces that made it

I feast on wine and bread, and feasts they are.

But I also happen to be someone who believes in tithing--the giving of a tenth .