Isn't it strange that we need to be reminded to be grateful- we who live in the most privileged of circumstances? Most of us are wealthy by the world's standards. Do you make $35,000 a year? Then you are in the top 4 percent of wealth in the world. Fifty thousand? Top 1 percent.

In the words of Jen Hatmaker, “Excess has impaired perspective in America; we are the richest people on earth, praying to get richer. We're tangled in unmanageable debt while feeding the machine, because we feel entitled to more. What does it communicate when half the global population lives on less than $2 a day, and we can't manage a fulfilling life on twenty-five thousand times that amount? Fifty thousand time that amount? It says we have too much, and it is ruining us.”(1)

The month of November invites us to change our perspective- to focus on what we already have, and express our gratitude for it. November asks to be remembered as its own month, and to stop letting December creep in and switch the focus to Christmas and all the shopping and planning it entails. Don't get me wrong, no one loves Christmas more than I do, but let's give November its moment in the sunshine.

The most impactful place for us to practice gratitude is in our relationship with God. Thanking God for what He gives us is really important, but true praise means thanking God for WHO HE IS. This lifts our focus to a higher plane, and reminds us that it's not all about what we have and what's going on here on earth. There is an eternal perspective that we need in our daily living, one centered on God- His goodness, His mercy, His steadfast love, His holiness, His unchanging nature, His faithfulness, and so much more.

What might change if we began our days by breathing in the fresh air and just thanking God for sustaining us, for the fact that we are ALIVE? What if we followed that act of gratitude with the remembrance that with our generous God, “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning?” (Lamentations 3:22-23)

He is a good, good Father to us, providing for our needs. Take a moment to reflect on the way He cares for us by watching the video below and entering into a heart posture of worship. It was filmed at our last WWP Leaders Gathering, and was a truly anointed moment of Eucharistic adoration and praise. (It's especially dear to my heart because one of the singers is my son, Jonny.)

Praying that our hearts would swell with gratitude to the One who calls us THE BELOVED and has proven His love time and again…

Blessings,
Lisa

Lisa Brenninkmeyer
Founder and Chief Purpose Officer
Walking with Purpose