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Key Bible Verse: No matter what happens, always be thankful, for this is God's will for you who belong to Christ Jesus (1 Thessalonians 5:18). Bonus Reading: Psalm 107:8-9

I really tried to be sincere with thank therapy. But on some days things would get desperate and I would find myself thanking God for The Tonight Show or the Endangered Species Act or a good burp. I persevered, though, and after a week or so I did notice that my private whining and complaining outbursts were strangely absent.

After a few weeks of this discipline I was happier about the fact that we were being totally obedient to God with our tithing and debt removal. I was enjoying my sack lunch immensely. I loved hearing how much Chrissy was saving through clipping coupons. I appreciated my old car that had a lot of miles on it. Homemade coffee was just fine and saving me a boatload of cash. Outings with the family cost less and were more creative. We went to the beach a ton that summer for fun. Cheap was chic in south Orange County.

Instead of all that I was being denied, Jim's simple spiritual exercise opened my eyes to all that I had and helped me enjoy those people and things ten times more. But it entailed the risk of going against how I felt at the time (robbed of the little extra indulgences) and doing what 1 Thessalonians 5:18 says.

—Kenny Luck in Risk

My Response: I'll ask God to open my eyes to all I have and help me to enjoy it.

Thought to Apply: The contented man is never poor, the discontented never rich. —GEORGE ELIOT (English novelist)

Adapted from Risk (WaterBrook, 2006) by permission.

Copyright © 2006 by the author or Christianity Today/Men of Integrity magazine. Click here for reprint information on Men of Integrity.

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Prayer for the Week

Lord, keep me from accumulating things just to fill a void in my life that only You can fill.

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