What a lovely day!

Today the sun is shining and it's really warm out! What a treat! It's on days like this that we feel thankful to be alive, isn't it? Yet really, we should feel thankful to be alive whatever the weather is. No matter whether it's cold or hot, wet or dry, we have so much to thank God for every single day, starting the moment that we get out of bed in the morning --- Yes, even on a so-called 'miserable Monday' morning!

Being the creatures we are, it often seems to me that people are far better at complaining than they are at saying 'Thank you', and the problem with that is that they could then hardly be described as having a sunny disposition.

A few years ago I made my living by working on an indoor market, and there was one older lady who used to greet everyone as they came in to set up their stalls for the day. That's a task that is usually undertaken quite early in the morning, and many of the market traders had to travel quite a distance to get there, --- in my own case I travelled about 45 miles. Needless to say, many of the traders were feeling far from 'sunny' at the start of the day, and so this lady's cheery greeting often went unheeded, or even got a miserable reply.

One particular day she saw me coming in and started to greet me, but then stopped. "What's the point with you", she said, "Whatever the time or the weather you're always cheerful!"

"That's because I've always met with the Lord before I get here, and then travel through the day with Jesus by my side," I replied. You see,when you do that it's pretty difficult to be miserable isn't it?

I love the song Count Your Blessings, because when I hum it or sing the words it makes me thankful for everything that I've been blessed with. If I had to stop and count my blessings 'one by one' as the song urges then I'd be hard pushed to find enough time in the day to do anything at all.

Don't we have a wonderful God. He blesses us constantly, giving us not only what we need but far more beside. This is not just for our direct benefit but in order that we can bless others by sharing what we have been given, so that they are rich with blessings as well.

Whatever today brings be thankful for it, no matter what it may be. Even the things that seem to be bad give us the means whereby we can learn valuable lessons from the experiences.