Part 2 of previous post.  Something we blogged about earlier and that Apostle Ball repetitively emphasized was the importance of being thankful. When we are in the crux of the battle – rehearsing all the good things and being thankful for all the great people in our lives – brings us “out of the fog” and into a state of faith and hope. We find that our spirit becomes more aligned with His Spirit and once again our resolve is renewed and our confidence boosted. The situations may not immediately change, but our perspective does. We believe that the times we have truly looked deep and chose to be thankful – even in the midst of despair – we have accelerated “through” the circumstances. Remember – situations will come to pass – how long it takes maybe up to us.

We love how Yahweh will so confirm what He is speaking. We saw this interview of a gentlemen named John Kralik – here is an excerpt from his website for his book (http://365thankyounotes.com/book-simple-act-of-gratitude.php):

“A Simple Act of Gratitude is a book that tells the story of an inspiration, the writing of 365 Thank You Notes, and how my life was changed by the people who received them.

In December 2007, I had reached what I viewed as a nadir in my life. While my life seemed full of debts and disasters, I ached for the things and the security I felt I deserved. On January 1, 2008, as this dissatisfaction pervaded my thoughts, I took a walk in the mountains above Pasadena, where I was inspired to write one thank you note a day for the next year.

Although it took more than a year to complete the writing of 365 thank-you notes, I continued writing them until 365 were completed. And then kept on. I learned to be grateful for the life I had, recognizing that the love I had for my children made my life already richer than the many people I envied. I learned to be grateful for my law firm, my practice, and for the love of friends and family that surrounded me. I became thankful for the many people around me who dealt with challenges far greater than the ones facing me, with courage and style. I learned to recognize the many people in my life who had protected and cared for me.

A Simple Act of Gratitude tells the story of how all these things happened, and could be traced to the willingness to be grateful, in fact to the grace I received from writing 365 thank you notes.”

We have not read the book yet, but were so inspired by the lengths he went to find something to be thankful for. He talked of being thankful for the barista at Starbucks who knew his name and prepared his coffee. We know that we all can find something to be thankful for – let’s divert our thoughts and attention in that direction – we many soon find our battles won and no scars on us.