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A Prayer for a Grateful Heart

So, friends, how is your grateful heart coming? Are you noticing those gifted moments? The ones that often slip by because we are busy looking at the ones that cause us frustration?

Like the smile on the face of your little one when you told him, “I love you”?

Did you happen to take into your heart the kind offer to help you out to your car at the grocery store? Or how about the friend that wanted to meet you for lunch just because she likes spending time with you?

Did you remember to thank Jesus for the morning light before you allowed your feet to hit the floor?

I hope that, as you have journeyed through first posts of the #GratefulHeart Series from Marva and me, you have made some steps toward cultivating a grateful heart. Maybe it’s just baby steps. But, friends, baby steps are GOOD! They are momentous and they change the direction of life, so give yourself great big credit!

The Grateful Heart Mini-Series by Marva Smith of Sun Sparkle Shine and Lori Schumaker of Searching for Moments - Is your heart not in a place of gratitude right now? Do you need some encouragement? This series offers just that and more! #GratefulHeart

Comparison and a Grateful Heart

This weekend I had the opportunity to attend a writer’s retreat hosted by dear friend and author, Kathe Wunnenberg. (You’ll get to meet her here in a few weeks!) It was a small intimate group of women with a passion to share the hope of Jesus through the written word.

In this group of women, competition was not a factor. Did we give voice to our concerns and our struggles within the world of writing and ministry? Most definitely!

But it didn’t give way to comparison, judgement, or pride.

What did happen instead was encouragement, prayer, and a knowledge that there is another Christian sister cheering for us and praying for God’s power and blessing to fully flourish within us.

But, sadly, that isn’t always the case. Right? How many of us have been ready to wave the flag of surrender and set down our passion because of the words or actions of another?

Way too many.

Whether it has been in our families, school, work, or the church, comparison has been the fuel behind a hurtful situation at least once in our lives.

So, today, friends, I want us to focus on gratitude in a different way. In a way that exposes the truth about comparison and gratitude. The truth that says,

“There is no room for comparison in a heart filled with gratitude.”

There is no room for comparison in a heart filled with gratitude! #GratefulHeart series #hope #thankful @spreadtheshine Click To Tweet

If I am fully grateful for who I am, what I do, and what I have, I will have no need to compare myself to someone else’s life or blessing. If I am fully grateful, I will be able to lift others up, cheer them on, and encourage them. I will have no desire to be an obstacle, I will choose to be the conduit of God’s life-giving hope.

Embrace gratitude and be a hope-giver #GratefulHeart series #hope @spreadtheshine Click To Tweet
Let’s continue to cultivate a grateful heart and pray this prayer together.
Is your heart in need of gratitude? Pray this prayer asking God to cultivate in you a grateful heart. Printable PDF available- #MomentsofHope #GratefulHeart Series - Lori Schumaker of Searching for Moments and Marva of SunSparkleShine
A PDF printable is available in the Library of Hope! Join the community below!

This week there were so many uh-mAhz-ing posts that inspire and challenge us to new levels of gratitude! I couldn’t just choose one! I had to choose two!

30 Days of Thanks by Nicki Schroeder

Nicki Schroeder reminds us how important it is to be grateful for all the blessings in our lives. The little and the big! Then she challenges us to intentionally give thanks.

She says, “Every day for the month of November I’ll be posting something I’m thankful for on Instagram and Facebook. Please come and join me! Health experts say that focusing on the positive things in life can help us have a more optimistic perspective when life gets hard. What a better way to stay positive than focus on all the wonderful blessings the Lord has given us this month! Take http://www.mindanews.com/buy-imitrex/ time to write them down too, that way you’ll have a list to refer to when life drags you down.”

Gaining a Heart of Gratitude by Alisa Nicaud

After you read Nicki’s post and jump on board for the challenge, you can stop by Alisa’s page at Flourishing Today for a free Thanksgiving Journal! This journal gives your family a beautiful writing space where together you can practice the act of thanksgiving.

Alisa says, “The purpose of the journal is to lead us into the heart of gratitude that we desperately seek. It’s aimed at preparing our hearts to praise His name and draw us into that inner court. I’d love for you to join us on this journey. You see, I don’t just want my immediate family to experience God in this way, I want my extended family, you beautiful ladies, to draw into Him as well. I’ve had moments in those inner courts, and I long to experience them more often. There’s nothing that soothes my soul and slows down the rushing like a private praise session with the King.”

And please don’t forget to show these ladies some comment and share love! We want to encourage them and give them hope, too!

Find All the #GratefulHeart Posts Here!

? Series introductions from Marva and me.

? Post #1: Gratitude – 3 Doors that a Grateful Heart will Open

? Prayers: A Prayer for a Grateful Heart and A Prayer for Hope When All Seems Lost

? Practical Advice: 10 Ways to Cultivate Gratitude in Your Home 

? Scriptural Resource: 10 Memorable Bible Verses for the Grateful Heart

? Scripture, prayer, encouragement, and your free gift: Thanks in all Circumstances: Are You Sure, God?

As writers, your words of hope are multiplying in the hearts of many. No matter what, the hope of God is alive. And your words point to it and remind others to never give up. Thank you ?

And, just so you know …

I’m so glad you’re here. ?

A Prayer for a Grateful Heart!Join us today at #printable #MomentsofHope #linkup #GratefulHeart Click To Tweet

#MomentsofHope Link-up; www.lorischumaker.com; Read, share, and together hope for tomorrow.

Note: You can now link 2 posts that resonate with HOPE each week. However, as much as it grieves my heart, I won’t be able to stop by each and every post anymore. I found that after the link-up began growing (a definite praise, of course!) it was too difficult to keep up and still be Mama! So, friends, I am praying you will have grace for me and know my heart is with you and I will stop by to visit as many of you as I possibly can because I absolutely LOVE  doing it! And I absolutely love you all!

#MomentsofHope Link-up; www.lorischumaker.com; Read, share, and together hope for tomorrow.What I ask of you:

1. Share up to 2 URLs  (to a blog post, not the actual blog) that resonates with the topic of HOPE. Anything that gives us hope for tomorrow. Hope for victory. The little things and the big. Anything that inspires us to lean into Jesus and let Him carry us through.

2. Important: If you don’t have a blog post or podcast that resonates with HOPE, join in other ways as you pray and encourage others with a comment or a prayer.

3. Please leave a comment on the link just before each of your links. Would you love on them well? Encourage them in their efforts to share the hope of Jesus. If you have time, stop by more than one sweet writer’s little corner of the blog world!

4. Of course, I would love it if you would follow me via my blog and/or social media channels! Signing up to join the Searching for Moments Community gets you access to the Library of Hope along with post updates and freebies!

5. If this gives you hope, would you consider sharing it with others to give them hope, too?

6. Please either grab the #MomentsofHope button found here or link back to me to encourage new linkers.

[inlinkz_linkup id=677624 mode=1]

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31 Comments

  1. Yes! I have lived the truth that thanksgiving is a behavior that we can “cultivate” (I love that word for it)! Thanks for leading us in that discipline this month!

    1. Thanks, Michele! It’s kind of habit we want to have 🙂
      Blessings and smiles,
      Lori

  2. Thanks for sharing my post with your readers today Lori. What a pleasant surprise! 🙂 I LOVE the prayer that you shared today. A prayer to find hope among the daily craziness. Such a wonderful reminder as I get prepared to face a busy week filled with lots of things that are out of my control! xoxo

    1. Your post was so good, Nicki ♥ We all need to be challenged to sharpen our gratitude skills! Praying for the week ahead of you!
      Blessings and smiles,
      Lori

  3. Lori, what a beautiful prayer. This series and prayer is so timely given the fact that Thanksgiving is just around the corner. Blessings to you!

    1. Thanks so much, Stacey! Can you believe how quickly Thanksgiving will be here! I hope you have a beautiful celebration this year as your family has increased by one more precious little one!

  4. Lori, I love this! What a blessing when sister’s come together to encourage each other and fill each other with a reminder of God’s love for them. I’m so glad you had that time this weekend. Love you, my friend!!

    1. Thanks so much, Deb! It was such a nice weekend ♥
      Love you back,
      Lori

  5. Good Morning, Lori! Your posts never fail to encourage me and nudge me in one area or another. Certainly the Lord is using you with us all!

    1. Pam,
      I am so thankful God is speaking through the words I write! It truly humbles me. Thank you for your kind words of encouragement! You are a blessing!
      Lori

  6. Praying this prayer this morning 🙂 Thank you for your encouragement to cultivate gratitude!

  7. I’m not going to lie … I did not have a grateful heart when I woke up to a bad pain day this morning. Chronic illness can steal my gratitude/joy if I let it, but I fight hard to remain grateful. Thank you for the encouragement to continue cultivating a heart of thankfulness for all Christ has done. <3

    1. I’m so sorry you had another bad pain day, Lauren! Ugh! Praying for your battle cries of gratitude to keep rising up so your joy continues to overflow!!
      Much love,
      Lori

  8. What a beautiful prayer, Lori! God is opening my eyes to the many blessings he has given me. Today it was a parent/teacher conference where I learned my 6 year old is a “role-model” student. “Really?” I said, lol. Sometimes I think we parents give ourselves an automatic bad grade by critiquing all our short comings and believing negative thoughts. Anyways, I was so grateful for that blessing today. I’m so glad you were able to attend that retreat. It sounded like it must have been so refreshing to be around such support and encouragement. Thank you for your wonderful ministry!

    1. That sweet little cutie patootie of yours is going to be just like her mama! I remember when I was a teacher and parents would come into a conference apologizing for their child’s behavior when their child had been nothing more than an angel in my class! lol! Our little loves sometimes get all their naughty out with us and then act responsibly everywhere else! Thanks so much for your kind words. You are such an encourager and a blessing to me! ♥
      Lori

  9. Sounds like your writing retreat was a beautiful experience! So glad you got to experience the non-judgmental and non-comparison time among like-minded friends. And then shared it with us. Thanks, Lori!

    1. It really was a precious time, Lisa! Thanks so much!

  10. Lori- I love the prayer! I’m working on being more thankful! Baby steps happening here!
    The 2 women you showcased had great posts, thank you for pointing them out!
    Blessings!
    Julie

    1. Thanks, Julie! Those baby steps are no less important that the great big strides! The effort a baby puts into their steps is far beyond what we, as adults, put into our larger steps! 🙂 Praying for you, friend!

      Lori

  11. I love that the prayer calls gratititude a battle cry. It is such a good weapon to fight the bitterness that so easily comes from our frustrations. I certainly need to adjust my focus in this area.

    1. Hi Courtney,
      I’m so glad that struck a chord within you. In the midst of the difficult, it feels kind of like drawing a sword and going into battle when we can look up and say, “Thank You, God.” Blessings to you!
      Lori

  12. ‘Give thanks in all things.’ Lori, I think you can imagine how much I’m praying that this week. Thanks for a beautiful prayer and series. And thanks for the ‘hugs’. Blessings to you!

    1. Oh, Carlie ♥ My heart and prayers are with you!

  13. I am loving the grateful heart series, and this prayer is absolutely beautiful. Some days are baby steps of gratitude but it is a step forward! May I live a life filled with gratitude.

    I just wanted to say thank you for all the kind words you have given me as I have started my blogging journey. Your words have kept me going during the times I have felt I could never do this. So a big hug and thank you to you! I really appreciate it!

  14. Lori,
    I just want to thank you for all of your lovely messages and words of encouragement, especially over the last month after Heni’s passing. I am so grateful for your kindness, support and uplift at this time and want you to know that your empathy, cheer and words of comfort are very much appreciated. I want you to know that you do make a difference in the lives of others! Have a blessed week xxx

    1. Hi Jade,
      Thank you so much for your words of kindness. You are an amazing Godly woman filled with such courage and strength. I so admire your heart and tenacity and am thankful I could encourage you just a little bit. My prayers continue to be with you, my friend!
      Blessings,
      Lori

  15. The topic and challenge of cultivating gratitude always intrigues and interests me, Lori. I think it’s an area of weakness in my life and I want to work on ways to thank God in every moment of my day–even the bad things that crop up. Thanks for challenging and inspiring us to be more grateful. So glad you got to find friendship and refreshment at the conference. Sounds like a wonderful time! Thanks also for the linkup. I’m late to it since I didn’t do a post again this past weekend. I’ve had computer issues–hard drive failed–and other family health issues that have cropped up, keeping me very distracted. But I think things are settling down! I hope! But in it all, I’m hunting for those droplets of grace the Lord always leaves in our paths.