Making the Most of Your SummerSýnishorn

My friend Dave went through a long and challenging season with his family and health. A digestive illness required massive changes in his diet and lifestyle. At the same time, he buried his mother and father within six months. Dave was exhausted emotionally and physically. As the Thanksgiving season approached, he shared with me how he wasn't feeling thankful this year and that it would be difficult for him.

We often consider gratitude and thankfulness within the context of feelings and present circumstances. We thank God, and gratitude comes easy when we're happy and our circumstances are ideal. However, we often ignore thanking God and reject gratitude when life is hard.

However, from the perspective of the Bible, Thanksgiving isn't a season of the year and gratitude is not just a product of good circumstances.

In 1 Thessalonians 5, the Apostle Paul answered an age-old question, "What is God's will for my life?" He encouraged the believers in that city to "Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."

Give thanks in all circumstances—not just the easy or happy moments. That's a radical idea!

Before you jump the emotional gun and think, "Scott, you want me to give thanks for the death of my parents or my health issues like your friend experienced?" No, I don't want you to thank God FOR those things, but I do want you to give thanks IN those circumstances.

There is no moment in your life where God has not been on His throne. There has been no place you've stepped into where God has not been present. There has been no time when God abandoned you. There are always reasons to be grateful, such as God's sovereignty, omnipresence, and unconditional love for you.

So, in addition to putting God first and grieving this summer, I encourage you to consider how you can practice gratitude. Don't wait for Thanksgiving to roll around to build your gratitude muscle.

My friend Dave began to ask himself, "What can I give thanks for today in the midst of what I'm not thankful for?" He began to focus on what had not changed—the character of God—and as he focused on God's promises and faithfulness to him in the middle of painful moments, he began to live out the words of 1 Thessalonians 5.

If you've never been intentional about gratitude, I encourage you to take my Gratitude Muscle Challenge. For the next 30 days, identify three things you're grateful to God for each day. Keep your list in a journal, in a note on your phone, or post them to your social media each day. Some days, you'll find those three items in a few seconds. On other days, it might take an hour of intentional thinking. But at the end of 30 days, you'll have a list of 90 items and a completely different mindset.

If you're going to make the most of your summer, you'll need to keep your eyes open to all the ways God is at work around you and within you. Practicing gratitude and thankfulness to God will keep you attentive!

Tomorrow, we will wrap up this plan with a simple practice that our family has used the last two summers to make the most of our time. It's a great tool for getting everyone involved in making a great plan together.