Raising your G.P.A.

Who remembers what your GPA was?
Nope, not Grade Point Average.

Your "Gratitude Projection Average."

Yes, I know, I am the corniest pastor ever.
But this is so corny that you will actually remember it.
Then you'll actually apply it.
And then you'll thank me for it!


But first, why do we want to increase our GPA?

• Because we are most fully alive when we are most thankful to God.
• We discover that we were created to praise and give thanks to our God and Savior.
• We discover that there is more blessing in being thankful, than just giving thanks when we feel blessed. 

Just like it's a three letter acronym, there are only three points to remember. 
Do these three things and you will dramatically increase your GPA.

ONE: Begin each and end every day with thanksgiving.
Psalm 92:1-2, TLB. "It is good to say thank you to the Lord, to sing praises to the God who is above all gods. Every morning tell him, 'Thank you for Your kindness,' and every evening rejoice in all His faithfulness."

There are two sides of the bed. One is the side of thankfulness. The other is the side of just about everything else. Wake up on the side of thankfulness. No matter what lies ahead that day. No matter how you feel at that moment. No matter what you must face. No matter what happened the day before. Wake up on the side of thankfulness, and your day will be off on the right side of the bed.

At the end of the day, get into bed on the side of thankfulness.  Rehearse and remember all you are thankful for that day.

Second: Give gratitude instead of gripping.
The moment when you are least inclined to give thanks, stop, and give thanks. Give thanks in every situation. It's in the Bible, I Thessalonians 5:18, NIV. "Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."

It’s in those moments that we don’t feel thankful that we must become thankful. This it about you and God gaining control, power, position, over your circumstances. This is saying I will not let my situation or circumstances dictate my attitude of thankfulness.

Third: Write a Thank-You card
Don't forget from where our blessings come. It's in the Bible, Psalms 103: 2, NIV. "Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits."

You write thank you notes for gifts. You write thank you notes after Christmas. So write God a thank you note.  Keep a journal. Keep a blog. Write a song.  Paint a picture. Take a picture, put it in a scrap book. Once you stop forgetting, you’ll start remembering. Once you start remembering, you’ll remember more and more and more. It’s awesome how this begins to gain momentum in your life.

When you start writing thanks to God, it will go like this: You’ll go over all the easy and obvious stuff. Then you’ll get stuck. But if you stay stuck for a while, and really begin to ponder all that you have to be thankful for, you’ll start to uncover an attitude of gratitude, and you’ll start to project that gratitude, on to God. You’ll start to realize how good God really is, and how much gratitude you should express.

Soon, you’ll come to the place, where you will realize, I really should take nothing at all for granted. I really should praise and thank God for everything. And even when I think things are so bad... we’ll just stop and say thank you God. Thank you God. Thank you God.