My thoughts....

Deep gratitude comes from loss I think, so I tend to focus on values first. Just from my own experiences. Couple a good stingers tends to bring into focus what's really important and then gratitude kicked in...

But it's a deliberate thing that I practice, seek out something each day to truly be grateful for, turn the TV and depressing world off (haven't watched the tube in decades and I'm better for it). I don't know how to teach it to someone.

Surely this is different for everyone...no?

One of my sons is a big shot manager and the other is a business owner, both of them fathers. My daughter is a straight A student and looking at colleges. Will they ever be grateful for things? I hope so but I'm grateful to be playing a big role in their worlds and figure if I show them that I'm grateful to have them in mine then reciprocating it might not be such a strange concept.

Teaching my kids went pretty easy as I had parents that made sure I understood it.

We have a gentleman that has experienced a childhood I know nothing about. His actions are a kin to puppies sorting things out over the food bowl. Only it appears his parents would also be in that picture as well.

How do you have kids and not sacrifice for them?

Anyway, a little history won’t change much but so you folks know a little more of the situation. His brother and sister attend our youth group. There came a time when they were homeless. The church family came together and made the decision to rent the parsonage, which was not in use, to them for what they could afford. The mother after not paying the rent for a number of months skips out on the kids. Unbelievable. They wake up and she is gone. It wasn’t until a wellness check that it was discovered.

The kids not sure what to do reached out to the older brother so he was there when the discovery happened.

Many other things have happened to lend a positive start, he just doesn’t see them that way.

Other things he has done lead me to believe there is a good heart in him but he just won’t continue the effort.