EXPRESSING GRATITUDE

My favorite gratitude quotes teach us that expressing gratitude to God is not only necessary but uplifting!

1 Chronicles 16:8
O give thanks unto Jehovah, call upon his name; Make known his doings among the peoples.

Colossians 3:16
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.

A POEM ABOUT GRATITUDE

THE GIFT OF GRATITUDE

Perhaps the best gift that you can give to yourself
Is to have gratitude in your heart
When others complain that life is a strain
Remember a prayer of thanks is a better start

Say a prayer of thanks for the day ahead
The safe night that just has been
Be comforted that no matter what comes next
You will have victory in the end.

This poem about gratitude and hope that was shared with me by one of my visitors. If you have written inspirational or motivational poem, I would be happy to feature it here.

Perhaps since I grew up in a home that provided the bare essentials of life, expressing gratitude comes easily to me. When I see all of the blessings that surround me I am virtually amazed at the richness of my life but I am so thankful that I didn’t get so much early on that I am ungrateful. Today’s kids are being cheated by their parents because they have so much they don’t know how to be thankful.

As an example, a month or two ago I was in a clothing store that doesn’t carry designer clothes but stocks good clothes for an affordable price. I was behind a mother in line with an eight year old (or thereabouts) child. The sour, disgruntled attitude was pouring off the child because his mom had not taken him to a more exclusive store to buy his school uniforms. He was disrespectful, unpleasant and by no means did he have an attitude of gratitude. This child was by no means thankful or appreciative that his mother was spending her hard earned money on his needs rather than her own.

I can well remember getting excited about school starting in the fall because that meant that we would get new clothes and shoes. Once the clothes were bought, we were told which items were for everyday wear and which ones would be saved for church on Sunday and special occasions. I remember one of my sisters conveniently losing her everyday shoes once in hopes that she would be allowed to wear her best shoes to school one day. Mother, merely told her she would stay home from school to search until she found her school shoes. And in those days, staying home meant doing "special" work for mom if you weren’t sick and unable to get out of bed. Amazingly my sister located her missing loafers within the next few minutes.

Some might look at such an upbringing as being deprived and I suppose in some ways they are right. But what I see is a lesson in expressing gratitude. When you have done without and learned to make do you learn to be grateful for things that you might otherwise take for granted.

Take this opportunity to reflect on whether we fully appreciate gifts from our Heavenly Father. Are we grateful for His sacrifice of the greatest gift ever bestowed upon us – the gift of everlasting life? Are we thankful that we woke this morning in good health surrounded by His love? Do we feel the need to express our gratitude to Him who gave us the give of love, peace and grace?

Inspirational Poems of Gratitude

Sundays are an excellent day to feature our friends' inspirational poems of gratitude. The quotes in this simple poetry remind me of how thankful we should be for the basics in life. Our shelter, nourishment and the love of God, family and friends.

A friend of mine who is an inspiring motivational speaker has told me that he starts his day in the spirit of gratitude to God for the beauty and wonder that He shares with us on a regular basis. This information came as no real surprise to me as this person is very spiritual by nature, but I did find it interesting to come to the realization that not only is he given to thoughtful thanks but writes beautiful inspirational poems of gratitude such as the one that you will find below.


GRATITUDE for GOD'S FAITH IN ME

My gratitude to God should come alive automatically
as the alarm clock severs
the threads that held me to dreaming


This is mandatory even on bad days,
even though I’m aware of
what is coming.


Our spiritual leaders teach that
each day we lift up our souls
to God for purposes I can't begin to fathom.


Does he harness them for use in tandem?
Does he borrow them to make music
with his angels?


Lord, I’m grateful that your enduring trust in us hasn’t become worn and unraveled at the seams
like our faith at times
But is renewed again each time we awake
and wipe the sleep from our eyes.
I offer my gratitude to you for the simple fact that I’m alive.


What exactly is the meaning of this inspirational poem? Knowing the author, I believe it is an expression of the wonder at the mysteries of God and how He inspires us to do His works here on earth as well as thankfulness for His love and never ending faith in our possibilities no matter that our faith in Him may ebb and flow.

Return to Motivational Inspirational Posters Poems and Quotes to find more thought provoking poetry submitted by my friends and family members. If you have some inspirational or motivational poetry that you have written, we would love to feature your work on this site if you will leave a comment and your contact information.