Be careful little eyes what you see

Let not desire keep you from being free

A content heart

A grateful heart

Full of thanksgiving

Is what keeps the soul from being captured

Ensures it remains in peace.

On New Year’s Day several years ago, I created a “thankful” jar. For that year, every time something happened for which I was grateful, whether for me or my family, I wrote it on a piece of paper and placed it in that jar.

The following Christmas morning, I gathered my family, and one by one, we retrieved each of those papers and read them aloud. We took the time to recall every memory and verbally gave thanks to Jesus for what He had done in those moments. That was His birthday present from me that year, my intentionality in remembering all the things He had done. It didn’t matter the size of the moment, God still showed Himself big.

Sometimes, we can become so overwhelmed by what we are lacking that we forget to remember and be thankful for what we do have. I encourage you to find something like the thankful jar and begin to cultivate a garden of thankfulness in your heart and mind, a garden that can be harvested from no matter the season, and watch your perspective of everything you encounter each day shift.

I once heard someone say, “You steer where you stare,” and it’s true. If you keep your focus on what you lack, that’s where you will steer your heart, life, and mind, and you’ll find yourself wondering why you cannot see the light of day. Keep your eyes focused on Him and what He has provided, and you’ll find yourself fully surrounded by all of Heaven.

Make no mistake, all of Heaven is around you no matter where you’re staring, but it’s so much harder to glimpse something that’s in your periphery than it is when you’re eyes are locked directly onto it.

When God created Adam, he could have spoken him into existence just like he did everything else, but He didn’t. He formed him with his own hands and then breathed life into him. When Adam first opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was the Father’s face. Why? Because that’s where God wanted our focus from the beginning. He wanted our eyes on Him and nothing else. He knew that if our eyes ever left His face we would fall. And we did. Just ask Peter what can happen if we take our eyes off of the One.

Be careful little eyes what you see

Let not desire keep you from being free

A content heart

A grateful heart

Full of thanksgiving

Is what keeps the soul from being captured

Ensures it remains in peace.