A Gift - God's Way

Living a happier, more fulfilled life is possible when you apply the four steps of the GIFT:

The GIFT stands for:

G = Gratitude & Generosity
I = Intention (What do you want)
F = Faith (Fake it 'til you make it!)
T = Train your Brain & the power of your thoughts & tongue

Gratitude - start with what you already have to be grateful for, from small things like enjoying flowers, to larger things like your family, your job, etc. We often begin to take such things for granted, but I've discovered that as soon as you start to feel grateful for what you already have, God blesses you with more good things.

Psalms 118:24, 1 Thessalonians 5:16, Philippians 2:14-16 and Proverbs 15:15 are just a few of the Biblical passages which instruct us to be grateful

Generosity - When you give, you are not only following God's command, but you begin to feel the difference inside you; you become more grateful, generous and as you do, watch how your world view shifts. Often, when I take time to really be grateful, to consciously give more, I weep with appreciation and thankfulness for all God gives and also how He uses me to give.

Intention - When we focus on what we want - 1 Chroniclews 4:10 depicts the life of Jabez who asked not only to be blessed but for his territory to be enlarged. Philippians 4:6, Matthew 7:7-11 and 1 Kings 3:5 all speak to the importance of stating our intention; asking what we want. This, of course, is very different from complaining about what we don't like or don't want and expecting those things to change. I like to divide things into what I want to be, what I want to do and what I want to have. Then be very specific about each of those categories.

F - Faith - Basically acting as if what you want is already true. Focus on progress being made toward intention. Feel what it will feel like to be where you want to go. Attend to problems, but focus on your goal. Matthew, Mark and Luke are all books replete with examples of acting on faith. And of course Hebrews 11, the faith chapter, tells us to step out, begin to expect great things.

T - Train your brain: Since our brain makes neuropathways that become very well defined (like ruts on a country road) we need to retrain our brain. An example might be to make a list of small steps to take; i.e., set aside a time to state out loud these 4 parts. Romans 12:12 tells us to be transformed by the renewing of our minds; Proverbs 23:7 declares that as a man thinks in his heart, so is he. An important scripture to remember is Philippians 4:7, that we focus on the good things in our lives vs. the disturbing reports from our world.

Tongue - When the Bible talks about the power of our tongue, we can see the results every day once we start to pay attention. Make sure you are saying aloud positive things commensurate with what you want.

Thoughts - Surround & immerse yourself in where you're heading, not fears of what may not happen, etc.

Interesting note: A cub reporter was once told that if a dog bites a dog, that's not news. However, if the dog bites the boy, that's news and should be reported! How often do we hear about the small percentage of "news" that keeps us fearful, anxious and defeated.

I encourage you to take a few minutes each day to be grateful, intentional, act in faith and start training your brain to become who God has made you to be.