I am, I regret to say, one of the most ungrateful people I know. This should not be true, but in all honesty it is. I am not sure why this should be so. It is certainly no one’s fault but my own that I have such a critical nature. I am never satisfied; neither with myself, for whatever it is that I do, nor with others for whatever it is that they do. Much of the time I get away with it. I am, after all, a teacher, and it is somewhat expected of me, especially in an Asian setting where the students are as driven as I am. But many times I find my hyper-critical nature gets me into trouble. When this happens, the Bible instructs that “a man ought to examine himself.” (1 Cor. 11:28). So I shall.

Birthdays are a time for reflection. Where did I go; what did accomplish this past year? Where am I going; what do I hope to accomplish in the coming year? Given a gentle nudge by the Spirit in conversation with a friend the other day who has been reading The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin, I have decided to spend the coming year working on The Gratitude Project. I want to read what I can about the subject and start applying it to my life. I am taking as my guiding verses Philippians 4: 6-7, “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank Him for what He has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus” (NLT).

I sorely need that peace myself, and I need to be reflecting that peace to others I come into contact with. I will be posting to this site my reflections on this subject from time to time as they come to light. I take it as a given that as long as the Lord in His goodness gives me light and strength, I need to walk in His light and grow in that spiritual strength. This I gladly do.