Comments on Reading to Know: Choosing Gratitude

Bummed that I missed the giveaway, but I am going ...

2009-12-14T16:24:40.833-08:00

Bummed that I missed the giveaway, but I am going to put it on my to-read list. Sounds like something that I need to be reading. As for your questions, one thing that I WANT to be grateful for is my singleness. I had a period of contentment, but I'm back on the other end, wanting what I do not have. Something that I AM grateful for is a church family who loves me.

A. I'd like to totally over come being upset o...

2009-12-13T19:35:39.079-08:00

A. I'd like to totally over come being upset or bitter over Failed Labors. Areas of my life that I devote myself to...be it hours, days, weeks, months, or in some cases years only to see them crumble before me into heart-breaking life changing loss. This year has been full of them...and just when I think I've surrendered it all to the Lord...I find myself in tears all over again.

B. I am truly grateful for my husband, my son, my life and those in it...and the many wonderful providences (like my husband's new job) that have occurred in the past month(s).

May God indeed teach us (ME) to be truly grateful and give Him glory in the times of feasting as well as the times of famine.

Thank you for your post on this book...and the window into your own heart and soul.

Blessings,

J. Claire M.

I love this topic and can certainly use more inspi...

2009-12-13T13:15:38.690-08:00

I love this topic and can certainly use more inspiration in this area!

janemaritz at yahoo dot com

I don't know that I can say I would love to wi...

2009-12-12T21:45:42.385-08:00

I don't know that I can say I would love to win this book, but it sounds like a book I need to read. Thank you for your vulneribilty and openess. Much of what you say I very much identify with (not just this post, a lot of the time) and I know God has used some of your posts and book reviews in my life. So thank you for being a blessing in my life. I am trying to be grateful for God's perfect plan and timing. I want another baby so very much. It is my heart's desire to have a large family, and I would love to adopt and have more babies too. But my DH, who loves the Lord and is a wonderful husband and father, feels we are done. I know God has his hand in our lives, and I know it is a small thing compared to other's stuggles (just tonight, a friend lost their son), but it is hard to trust Him at times and that is my heart's desire.

Your post really resonated with me. This past year...

2009-12-12T12:56:24.465-08:00

Your post really resonated with me. This past year our church saw a huge upheavel. I am determined to put to death this bitter feeling I have about it all...and more specifically the people who are responsible. God allowed it, it is being used for good, and I need to let go of my need to see justice and be thankful. I would read this book in a heart book. One of my favorite things to do is really wrestle through a book...and this sounds like it would be just that.

Please enter me into your contest. Merry Christm...

2009-12-11T09:25:51.343-08:00

Please enter me into your contest.

Merry Christmas

mamat2730(at)charter(dot)net

One thing I'm not very pleased with this past ...

2009-12-11T09:08:35.983-08:00

One thing I'm not very pleased with this past year is my walk with the Lord. On the other hand, I'm very thankful for His wonderful saving grace and open arms to receive me back into fellowship with Him.

i think i'll have to buy this book, based on w...

2009-12-10T20:45:11.950-08:00

i think i'll have to buy this book, based on what you have said.

I have felt like i did not handle well the chaos of these past 3 yrs. Yet, i am seeking to learn the lessons the Lord wants me to learn from all this. At the minimum, I think that while i certainly did pray and sought to trust Him, and also while i knew others were holding me up by prayer, i also feel like i was pretty whiny (and thus probably was.) Not thankful; and fundamentally feeling like i "should" have been able to "handle it all" on my own.

"Lord, what fools these mortals be." (to grossly mis-apply a quotation.)

Also deep sadness, tinged with a touch of self-righteousness and bitterness, over a difficult relationship. Sigh.

i strive to have an attitude of gratitude, but it would be better to do a project of overtly concentrating on it!

Well, wow...part of me connects w/this post all to...

2009-12-10T18:07:11.718-08:00

Well, wow...part of me connects w/this post all too much. Part of me wants to say "NOOOOOO, I don't want to!!!!" Like a little kid on the ground, throwing a fit before obeying. Part of me crosses my arms, lifts my chin, and says, "you are not my favorite person right now. And even though I want to plug my ears to what the Holy Spirit has been saying for weeks, this post really pushed it to the forefront. Now for the goods...the thing I'm not currently grateful for is my long-term unemployment. The thing that I truly am grateful for (even though it is HARD and most days its a choice) is Nathan's cancer, which in and of itself is a whole other post. :-/

You don't have to enter me in the giveaway, bu...

2009-12-10T17:53:11.897-08:00

You don't have to enter me in the giveaway, but I just wanted to let you know how much I appreciate you sharing these thoughts with us. I'm so sorry that 2009 has been so rough on you and Jonathan, yet you are encouraging and inspiring as you write about your new resolve as a result of this book. Thank you.

The reason you don't have to enter me in the giveaway is because I bought a copy a few weeks ago. Yet...I haven't cracked it open. Haven't even read the first page. In part, because I'm afraid of all the conviction and discomfort that are bound to go along with my reading of it! I know it'll be good, but still...sometimes I wallow in my comfort zone a bit too long.

I am grateful for a husband who stands by me throu...

2009-12-10T16:15:03.560-08:00

I am grateful for a husband who stands by me through thick and thin, and all of my ups and downs.

I am not entering the contest, I also own this boo...

2009-12-10T11:56:12.395-08:00

I am not entering the contest, I also own this book. thank you for your honesty. I have been challenged as I have read this book(not done yet). I have been having a year that needs to end, it was refreshing to hear someone else share such feelings. real things have been tough, even wrong, this year. however, God doesn't say "be grateful when you are happy". In everything give thanks...EVERYTHING. So thank you for sharing your journey, I am praying my heart grows in gratefulness as I take the 30 day challenge as well. God Bless!
Jen N

I'm sorry for the difficulties you've had ...

2009-12-10T11:53:22.746-08:00

I'm sorry for the difficulties you've had to endure. Like most people, I've had my own challenging years (the hardest was when I was demoted in a job in a very public and humiliating way and my dad died from cancer. In fact, I find it difficult to stay positive. There are plenty of negatives popping up almost daily. From my own studies of Paul's "secret of being content in any and every situation," I've put together a simple little book of my own called Journey to Joy (http://amzn.com/144218776X). I would enjoy reading Demoss' book, too.

We've had a tough year as well, though not as ...

2009-12-10T10:25:41.252-08:00

We've had a tough year as well, though not as tough as yours. We moved to FL on the promises of some "friends" to help us get established --I'd like to be less bitter about that. Although its not kid friendly so I'm grateful to be home. We also lost a baby and have been struggling financially with my husbands work. An attitude of gratitude would definitely make life easier!re

When I was going through a hard time a friend shar...

2009-12-10T08:44:48.803-08:00

When I was going through a hard time a friend shared this scripture with me, Phillipians 4:11, "Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content." To be content, or in other words happy, in whatever situation I find myself in can be very hard. The key I have found to help me is to find some thing to be grateful for because of the situation. I think of Corrie ten Boom and her sister thanking God for fleas because it kept the guards out of their section.

The start of our farming season was awful. We had our first crop of hay down and it rained off and on for 28 days, in the deserts of Nevada! 1/3 of our yearly income was in that crop that was totally ruined. What kept us going was that we had prayed for rain. God had answered our prayers but on His own timing. We were humbled because of the situation and learned to rely more on God.

This sounds like a book that I could use, Carrie. ...

2009-12-10T07:44:24.573-08:00

This sounds like a book that I could use, Carrie.

Right now, the thing I'm least grateful for are the many, many difficult aspects of pregnancy (for me--I know I'm blessed to BE pregnant--I don't mean that AT ALL, so I hope no one takes it that way!). I want this pregnancy to be better than the last at least in terms of MY ATTITUDE.

This is small beans compared to some things some people (like you!) have experienced, but there it is. :-)

This year a staff member stole from us over a long...

2009-12-10T07:09:19.304-08:00

This year a staff member stole from us over a long period of time--we knew things were going missing but there was no way to find out who was guilty.
She was finally caught but with such a low value item that she was not prosecuted.
Among the things she stole were the only nice pieces of jewelry I'd ever had. We continue to find more things missing that we are fairly sure she took. The final straw for me was finding that she got into our Christmas ornaments and dumped them out into the main trunk, stealing the tin that the delicate ones were carefully packed in. Thankfully, she didn't take the ornaments (most of them homemade by the kids) but the tin was also sentimental.

I would love God to change my heart so that I am no longer bitter.

I listen to Nancy's podcasts and find them to ...

2009-12-10T07:00:14.198-08:00

I listen to Nancy's podcasts and find them to often challenge me and also her devotional books have really convicted me and helped me grow in my time with God. I do intend to read this book and one thing I am not grateful for is my anger with my husband and his work priorities. I am truly grateful this past year for God showing us the change in our childrens schooling and deciding to homeschool it has been the hugest blessing in our lives and very rewarding.