Gratitude

I woke up knowing I wanted to write and did not know what to write. Opening my Shabbat Prayer book Mishkan T'filah this prayer reminded me to begin with gratitude.

I BEGIN WITH A PRAYER of gratitude

for all that is holy in my life.

God needs no words, no English or Hebrew,

no semantics and no services.

But I need them.

Through prayer, I can sense my inner strength,

my inner purpose,

my inner joy, my capacity. to love.

As I reach upward in prayer,

I sense these qualities in my Creator.

To love God is to love each other,

to work to make our lives better.

To love God is to love the world God created

and to work to perfect it.

To love God is to love dreams of peace and joy

that illumine all of us,

and to bring that vision to life.

pg 126

Psalm 9:1-2

I give thanks to Adonai with all my heart.

I will tell about all your wonderful deeds.

I will be glad and exult in you.

I will sing praise to your name, ‘Elyon.

Today is a day to give thanks. Some days it is easier to make this happen than others. I admit that today I will struggle. For some reason I am tired. I woke up with a headache and I have not had one of those in months. So, giving thanks means searching for the good.

And there is a lot of it. I had a bed to sleep in last night. I have a cup of coffee this morning. The sun is going to shine today. God is always with with me.

Gratitude - today give thanks. I know it becomes so cliche' when heard over and over. And yet... we all know it makes a difference. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul and mind... To love God is to love the world He created. And when we do that, the world is a better place.

So today I choose gratitude... Join me? I love the smiles on the photo I found. They make me smile and I hope they make you smile too.

Love and blessings,

Rose