Change Your Life with 5 Simple Words

Written By Carol McLeod

5 simple words.

I have discovered just 5 words that are able to stabilize my emotions … clear away all discouragement … and even renew my focus.

The 5 words that have changed my life are these:

“For that … I am grateful.”

Over the past several years, I have been reminded that gratitude is not an emotion.  

Gratitude is a choice.

I have learned, once again, that Thanksgiving is not a holiday … but it is a willful determination of the heart.

Gratefulness is not determined by a date on the calendar … but it is a bold resolve and a courageous lifestyle.

“We should just be thankful for being together. I think that’s what they mean by Thanksgiving, Charlie Brown.”

Marcie, A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving

Often, when a storm is brewing on the horizon of my life … when shame or discouragement comes calling … when I am lost in the fog of disappointment or loneliness … I take a pensive look at my life and find something for which I can say, “For that … I am grateful.”

“To speak gratitude is courteous and pleasant, to enact gratitude is generous and noble, but to live gratitude is to touch Heaven.”

Johannes A. Gaertner

Choosing to be utterly grateful and sincerely appreciative should consume more of our lives than a single holiday is able to facilitate.  

“To be grateful is to recognize the Love of God in everything.”

Thomas Merton

Sincere thanksgiving … heartfelt gratitude … authentic appreciation … should be remembered and honored for more than just a month of the calendar year.

“Family … food … a home … for that … I am grateful.”

Thanksgiving should indeed dominate every waking moment of our lives on every day of every year.  Being grateful for the life that we have been given should be our first thought in the morning when we awake from that sleeping stupor.  

Counting our blessings should fill every minute of every hour.

Our “Gratitude Lists” should be enormous and never ending.  When one notebook is filled with the blessings of our lives … then we should start another one … and another one … and another one.

“For a song to sing … and the Bible to read … for that I am grateful.”

Thanksgiving is more fulfilling and delicious than a gourmet meal!

Thanksgiving is more celebratory than a parade marked with colorful balloons and loud marching bands!

Thanksgiving is more victorious than a championship football game!

Thanksgiving is a calling … it is a determination … it is life at its finest.

My friend … you haven’t lived until you have chosen to exhibit extravagant thanksgiving on the worst day of your life!

I don’t know what pain or challenge has marked the days of your calendar in 2023, but let me assure you each one of us can dig deeply down into the experiences of this year and loudly proclaim, “For that … I am grateful!”

“For health … and friendship … and the glory of creation … for that I am grateful!”

Life is hard at times but there is always … always … something for which to be grateful!

Can you discover the good amid the bad? Are you able to see the fingerprint of God in spite of human pain?

“For freedom to worship … and books to read … and grandchildren to hug … for that I am grateful!”

I have traded my sorrows for a song of unending gratitude to the Friend Who made me … Who sustains me … and Who loves me.

“Reflect upon your present blessings, of which every man has plenty; not on your past misfortunes, of which all men have some.”

Charles Dickens

I refuse to be distracted by disappointments … but I choose to be captivated by His power and grace.

There is always … always … something for which to be grateful!  Always!!

“For the hope that tomorrow will be better … for the faithfulness of God … for that… I am grateful!”

I don’t know what pain or what joy has filled the days of this year, 2023, that will soon be history to all of us … but I pray your ability to give thanks and to celebrate your many blessings has roared over the circumstances of your life.

“For the testimonies of others who have trusted God …for His goodness that trumps over evil … and for the resolve of the Pilgrims to give thanks … for that … I am grateful!”

One of my favorite Thanksgiving hymns has always been “We Gather Together”.  

Although this song is sung traditionally only at Thanksgiving, it was actually not written by the pilgrims … nor was it written specifically for this American holiday.

This beloved hymn of the church was written in 1597 after Holland had suffered devastating losses in battle to Spain.  

Dutch citizens had been weakened by the pervasive and cruel exile of thousands. In order to help Holland acknowledge their turbulent past yet look ahead to a promising future the words of this triumphant hymn were penned by a young tax collector, Adrianus Valerius. 

We gather together to ask the Lord’s blessing;

He chastens and hastens His will to make known.

The wicked oppressing now cease from distressing,

Sing praises to His Name, He forgets not his own.

Beside us to guide us our God with us joining,

Ordaining, maintaining His Kingdom divine.

So from the beginning the fight we were winning;

Thou, Lord, was at our side, all glory be Thine!

We all do extol Thee, Thou Leader triumphant,

And pray that Thou still our defender will be.

Let Thy congregation escape tribulation;

Thy Name be ever praised! O Lord, make us free!

What have you gone through this year?  Has your life been devastated by disappointment and by losses?

Have your joy and hope been taken captive?

I have found that when in a battle, it is the most appropriate time to sing and to sing loudly!  

Battles do not have the power to diminish the human song of thanksgiving; battles, instead, should always fan the flames of honest gratitude and cause the melody triumphant to burst forth in spite of tragedy.

I pray that you will discover with the pilgrims of old … with Adrianus Valerius … and with me, 

“So from the beginning, the fight we were winning, Thou, Lord, was at our side, all glory be Thine!”

“For the victories yet to come … for the strength that only He gives … for that … and so much more … I am exceedingly grateful!”

“What if today, we were just grateful for everything?”

Charlie Brown

Happy Thanksgiving, my friends!  


Thanks for listening to my heart this week.  As you know by now, my heart is truly not a perfect heart but it is a heart that is filled to overflowing with gratitude for the life I have been given and for the people who walk with me.  And, it continues to be a heart that is relentlessly chasing after God and all that He is! 

Carol McLeod
Carol says, “I am just a girl who is head over heels in love with Jesus ... passionately addicted to His Word ... and find all of the joy that I need in time spent in His presence." Carol is a Christmas-aholic, loves ACC basketball and the beach! Like all menopausal women, she is overly fond of chocolate and enjoys a good read. She doesn't like cleaning her house and is an expert in carry-out dinners. She hates to shop … loves to jog … and somehow finds time in her busy life to hang out with small children. She is the kind of woman that you could laugh with over lunch, cry with over disappointment and shout with over a victory! But … if you need her official bio … read on! Carol is an author and popular speaker at women's conferences and retreats, where she teaches the Word of God with great joy and enthusiasm. She also hosts highly successful Just Joy! outreaches. Carol encourages and empowers women with passionate and practical biblical messages mixed with her own special brand of hope and humor. Carol has written three books, "Holy Estrogen!", "The Rooms of a Woman's Heart" and "Defiant Joy!" which was released by a subsidiary of Thomas Nelson. Her teaching DVD, "The Rooms of a Woman's Heart", won the Telly Award, a prestigious industry award, for excellence in religious programming. Carol has also been featured on YouVersion (the smart phone Bible app) with several devotionals, including: "For the Journey Set Before Him", "Jolt of Joy", and "Joy to YOUR world", " Carol has a daily radio program, "Defiant Joy! Radio" which is available in several national markets including Youngsville PA, Warren PA, Buffalo NY, Roanoke VA, Norfolk VA, and Nashville TN.  A 1977 graduate of Oral Roberts University with a degree in Music and English, Carol has the distinction of being both the first Women's Chaplain and the first woman to speak at the university's Vespers.  Carol currently serves on the ORU Alumni Board as chaplain.  She is married to her college sweetheart and love of her life, Craig, who serves as senior pastor of Life Church, a church near Buffalo, NY.  Craig and Carol have been happily married for nearly 37 years and are the parents of five children and three delightful daughters-in-law. Craig and Carol are thrilled with the joy of being grandparents to five precious grandchildren! Carol has written three books, "Holy Estrogen!", "The Rooms of a Woman's Heart" and "Defiant Joy!" which was released by a subsidiary of Thomas Nelson. Her teaching DVD, "The Rooms of a Woman's Heart", won the Telly Award, a prestigious industry award, for excellence in religious programming. Carol has also been featured on YouVersion (the smart phone Bible app) with several devotionals, including: "For the Journey Set Before Him", "Jolt of Joy", and "Joy to YOUR world", " Carol has a daily radio program, "Defiant Joy! Radio" which is available in several national markets including Youngsville PA, Warren PA, Buffalo NY, Roanoke VA, Norfolk VA, and Nashville TN.  A 1977 graduate of Oral Roberts University with a degree in Music and English, Carol has the distinction of being both the first Women's Chaplain and the first woman to speak at the university's Vespers.  Carol currently serves on the ORU Alumni Board as chaplain.  She is married to her college sweetheart and love of her life, Craig, who serves as senior pastor of Life Church, a church near Buffalo, NY.  Craig and Carol have been happily married for nearly 37 years and are the parents of five children and three delightful daughters-in-law. Craig and Carol are thrilled with the joy of being grandparents to five precious grandchildren!
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