Encouraging Thankfulness

I believe that in order to be closer to God, we must cultivate a thankful heart throughout the day.
As soon as my eyes open in the morning, my first thought is to thank God for another day, for my family and for yesterday's blessings.
When I pull up my shades, I look out at my yard and see my little birds at their feeder or the beautiful sunrise and thank God for these wonderful gifts.
Even a delicious cup of coffee can inspire thankfulness!
In our family, food is never eaten without a blessing first.
When we find something we've been looking for, we thank God.  When the end of the month comes and we're short on money and miraculously a check comes in or I sell something unexpectedly on Ebay, we thank God.
Even something as mundane as finding a good parking space in the pouring rain can be cause for thanking God.
I try to say all these "thank you's" out loud, so my children can hear me.  I point out beautiful skies or flowers and the wonder of nature to my children, too, so that they can join me in rejoicing over God's gifts to us.
A spirit of thankfulness can be a glorious thing to aspire to and more easily attained if we pay attention to all of God's gifts, no matter how small.