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Ephesians 5:4 (the message)

"...Thanksgiving is our dialect."

I am thankful for my toothbrush. I am thankful for my 'L' mug. I am thankful for my boot collection. I am thankful for the few people I have who make me feel like I'm needed by someone and on the planet for a reason. Life is a bit funny/weird: some days are filled with tangible goodness and blessings and we are overwhelmed with how undeserving we feel for all the stuff that is good in our lives. Other days we have to start with the small things (toothbrushes, mugs, socks etc.) and work our way up to remembering what exactly we are thankful for in this life.

But we must always be thankful, and we must always realize there is a continual flow of goodness (from Jesus to us) to be overwhelmed about. Paul wrote that those of us who love Jesus and know Him in our hearts have no place for gossip or negativity, but rather we must speak in the universal language of thankfulness. Actually, if thankfulness is truly our "dialect" it should pretty much be a natural thing that flows out of our mouths when we speak - thankfulness and praise.

Think of ten things (trivial or not) you're thankful for. Acknowledge that they are from Him (because every good and perfect thing comes from Him - James 1:17), thank Him for them, and be happy today because your life is rich. Start with your toothbrush if you must, but be thankful.
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