Thanks

I've been really enjoying the sermon series at church. It's titled "What
did Jesus Say."? And discusses Jesus's teaching on subjects such as money,
death, sex and marriage etc. One that really resonated with where I am
right now in life is thankfulness. Last year was incredibly hard. It's
funny because I've gone through hard times before but last year I think was
a different kind of hard. I think I simultaneously was able to experience
disappointment in every area of life. Many of my crutches were taken away
so I had nothing to fall back on.
However through that process God thought me how to trust him more and rely
on him as the only constant in my life.

This year things have been going so much better. I'm still not completely
where I want to be careerwise, ministry wise or relationship wise, but I
have made such giant steps this year. That's made it easier to be thankful,
because last year at this time, there wasn't much hope for me. The
statement that really grabbed my attention from the sermon though was
"gratitude is the opposite of entitlement". The idea is that whenever you
are focused on what you deserve it leaves little room for you to appreciate
your blessings. So this coming year I want to remember to give thanks in
everything, and let go of anger and resentment. Tall order, but I think
I'll be more joyful and happy if I'm diligent in this area.