Today is the first day of November, which means it is day one of the intentional gratitude challenge. Each and every day we are given dozens of reasons to be grateful, giving hearty thanks to God, but most of us forget we are blessed and overlook the very ways God is blessing us. When we overlook or forget God's blessings, it becomes very easy to be weighed down by life's circumstances and even become bitter. A bitter heart doesn't produce fruit. Much like the withered fig tree, as long as our heart's our bitter the heart will not produce fruit. Our heart is not a withered fig tree and this is where we are blessed. Jesus cursed the fig tree because it didn't produce any figs and the tree withered up, removing all possibility of producing fruit, but He didn't curse our hearts, which allows us the opportunity to remove bitterness, through pruning, and go on producing fruit. We can prune bitterness from our hearts when we are intentional about our gratitude and remember our blessings. A few days ago I presented this challenge and I really hope you join me in pruning our hearts for a fruitful harvest. 
Today's blessing came to me in the form of an email. Going into this challenge I had some ideas of what I wanted to write about, areas I knew I should be grateful for, but this morning as I read my email I knew that this (email) was what I needed to be grateful for. A few months ago, through FaithGateway, I joined a 40 Days to Glory memory verse challenge and after completing the challenge I started receiving a Devotionals Daily email as a thank you for participating. The Devotionals Daily emails are today's blessings. Every day I receive them I am given a blessing, an excerpt from a Godly person's book, and insight into my own life. Each devotional has a way of speaking to my present circumstances and encourages me to think about the impact that topic has on my life. One day was about evil and spoke about how our battle wasn't really with others, but with evil (Satan). This was encouraging because we know God already won that battle through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
While today's was about the danger of looking for a savior in anyone other than Jesus and in trying to be a savior to someone else. Today's devotional was surprising. Most people, when asked, would deny seeking a savior in someone other than Jesus or in trying to be a savior themselves, but often times this is exactly what we end up doing. We create a dependence on other people or other people create a dependence on us for their source of happiness and hope in the future. The result is a crushing weight and often the cutting of ropes. Relationships are ended and hearts are devastated. All of this because we had unrealistic expectations in ourselves or others. This harsh truth comes at a time when I need to analyze my own role and actions in relationships and I am grateful for the wisdom of this devotional. I am thankful there is one who still exists to save me and I am blessed by our relationship. With every breath I take I can be grateful that Jesus Christ is my savior.
Today, what are you choosing to be thankful for?
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