Thankfulness opens the door to My Presence. Though I am always with you. I have gone to great measures to preserve your freedom of choice. I have placed a door between you and Me, and I have empowered you to open it , but a grateful attitude is one of the most effective.
Thankfulness is built on a substructure of trust. When thankful words stick in your throat, you need to check up on your foundation of trust. When thankfulness flows freely from your heart and lips, let your gratitude draw you closer to Me. I want you to learn the art of giving thanks in all circumstances. See how many times you can thank me daily; this will awaken your awareness to a multitude of blessings. It will also cushion the impact of trails when they come against you. Practice My Presence by practicing the discipline of thankfulness. ~~~~Psalm 100:4 Thessalonians 5:18~~~~
~~(excerpt from Jesus Calling by Sarah Young)~~
Tapestry ~ Treasures 
Thanks for praying for my brother, Jim. Blessings!
I found this picture online (not sure where, maybe from a WP post)…it captured my heart. What a comforting expression of acceptance by our Lord and show of His love for us above anything or everything! He is standing at the door of our heart, like a perfect gentleman…with arms wide open! I send this out today for everyone who might need a hug from Jesus…blessings…Zoey
I add to this….Lord, teach me how to be grateful. On my own, my gratefulness can feel forced and insincere? But I trust you to teach me how to be grateful.
As I was writing this comment, I realized I used the word grateful for thankful. I wondered what the difference was. A quick search brought this up. A thankful heart is one that expresses outward signs for things already done. A grateful heart is one that carries an attitude of joyful reception for all things whether received or not. Dictionary.com shows that grateful comes from the Latin word for grace.
I think thankfulness is a vocal thing for me that comes from a heart attitude of gratefulness(the reception of God’s grace in my life) that He is teaching me.
Thanks for sharing this so that I may increase in both. 🙂