The Overlooked and Underpraised

I was recently reading an interview with actress Jennifer Garner. Er, no, Jen and I weren’t reading it together. The article was about her. Anyway, she was discussing motherhood. She mentioned that one day her young daughter became transfixed by the light reflecting in the room and how this had really made her think. When was the last time she had just stopped and observed something as simple as the light in a room?

This got me to thinking about the simple things. I give God thanks for all the biggies—my house, my family, my friends, my health. But our God is a God of details. How many opportunities pass me by in which I’m not in the moment and not in a state of thankfulness for everything, even the way something catches the light?

There are SO many verses in the Bible that deal with gratitude and thankfulness. I liked this one:

Psalms 116:17 I will sacrifice a thank offering to you and call on the name of the LORD.

I like that verse because it reminds us that telling God thank you is an offering to him. That’s how important it is for Him to hear it. What are some thank offerings you can give God today? What have you not thanked him for in a long time—if ever? What are some simple things that you can praise him for?

I’m grateful to you, Father, for:
a. Friends to make a bad movie fun
b. My electric blanket.
c. A friend visiting my church yesterday after two years of saying, “I’d rather
not.”
d. My nose no longer dripping faster than a coffee percolator
e. My mom’s smile
f. The little thrill of a new magazine in the mail this week.
g. My cat doing belly flops and knowing it makes me laugh every time.
h. The two minutes of snow we had this weekend.
i. My six year old nephew reminding ME for once that goodbye meant a hug
and a kiss.

Get the idea? Creative, simple, mostly unproclaimed statements of gratefulness. We’d love to hear yours.