When was the last time you said “Thank You.”

Gratitude is becoming a feeling of the past. Our sense of relative deprivation continues to cloud our perception of what we have; instead we sit around and complain about what we don’t have, when in reality, most of us have quite a bit to be thankful for at this moment in our lives.

My pastor, Pete Wilson, delivered his last installment of the Better Days series at Crosspoint Community Church. Here are 3 nuggets about gratitude:

1. Gratitude is never invisible or silent.
2. Gratitude begins where you sense of entitlement ends.
3. Grateful people find a blessing or create a blessing in almost any situation.

Are you more of a complainer or do you lean towards giving thanks?

Since Thanksgiving is just around the corner I’m going to suggest that you start engaging in some gratitude exercises.

• Start a gratitude jar. Take a Mason Jar and a pile of colorful paper. Every day write something you are grateful for on one of the sheets of paper and place it in the jar. You could put, “The grace of God.” or “Lady Antebellum’s new album” Whatever you are feeling thankful for on that day is eligible for the jar. 
• Write a thank you note to someone who has done something nice for you. Maybe a friend hosted you at his/her home for a weekend getaway or maybe your roommate unexpectedly did your laundry. Send this person a cute little note and tell them how much you appreciate them and their kind gesture. 
• Take the #betterdayschallenge with Crosspoint Community Church and Tweet 3 things you are grateful for—1. “Moves Like Jagger” for getting me through traffic 2. my car for getting me where I need to go 3. Scoring tickets to The Civil Wars at Ryman in January—see, it is just that easy.