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My wife, Jenn and I have been doing this since 1997.  And it has been so overwhelming…

December 30, together with our kids, we listed down our top 10 (and more) things we were thankful to God for 2011 – from the most trivial to the bigger ones.

It has been a helpful activity for our family.  It is so easy to list down the things we don’t have rather than those that we do.  It comes naturally to think of the bad things that happened the past year rather than the good ones.  This activity focuses on the goodness of God.

“Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.” (Ps. 34:8)

After listing down the things we were thankful to God, we then started writing down our faith goals.

As Pakii Pierce defines it, “A faith goal is a goal set in hope and based on things unseen.”

In other words, what are some of the things you are believing God for to provide, restore, deliver, fix, reproduce, save in the coming year.

Looking back through the years, God has answer most of our prayer items.
Some of the items He didn’t answer, we were even thankful He didn’t give because He gave something better.
Others, we are still believing God for – like salvation of relatives and friends.

Romans 14:23 says “. . .anything that is not from faith is sin” and Hebrews 11:6 says “Without faith it is impossible to please [God]. . .”

Happy New Year everyone!

In 2012, let’s taste and see that the Lord is indeed good!

Just wanted to see if you guys might be up for the challenge.

List down 24 names of people who you are thankful for – people who have helped you, been an awesome friend to you, coached you, mentored you, prayed for you, or helped you during a very difficult situation in your life.

You can tweet (use hashtag #25daysofgratitude), post on Facebook or text that person. Since there’s probably lots in your list, you can do one a day until December 25.

Twenty four names because on the 25th, the One we are thanking is Jesus. He who came so that we can have life – life eternal and life abundant.

What are you waiting for? Let’s go.

As we end this year, there are so many things to thank God for…

One of the best weapons we have against grumbling and complaining is to actually list down things to praise God for and be thankful for each of them.

Here are my top 10 ‘gratefulness’ quotes…

1. “He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has.” – Epictetus

2. “Life without thankfulness is devoid of love and passion. Hope without thankfulness is lacking in fine perception. Faith without thankfulness lacks strength and fortitude. Every virtue divorced from thankfulness is maimed and limps along the spiritual road.” -John Henry Jowett

3. “Give thanks for a little and you will find a lot.” — Hausa proverb (Nigeria)

4. “The best kind of giving is thanksgiving.” — Chesterton

5. Never take things for granted, because they might not always be there. ~anonymous

6. “The unthankful heart discovers no mercies; but the thankful heart will find, in every hour, some heavenly blessings.” ~Henry Ward Beecher

7. He who is not contented with what he has, would not be contented with what he would like to have. – Socrates

8. “When we were children we were grateful to those who filled our stockings at Christmas time. Why are we not grateful to God for filling our stockings with legs?” G.K. Chesterton

9. “You say, ‘If I had a little more, I should be very satisfied.’ You make a mistake. If you are not content with what you have, you would not be satisfied if it were doubled.” Charles Haddon Spurgeon

10. “Perhaps it takes a purer faith to praise God for unrealized blessings than for those we once enjoyed or those we enjoy now.”- A. W. Tozer

(1 Chr 16:34) Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.