What are you paying attention too?

16 Be joyful always; 17 pray continually; 18 give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. Thess 5:16-18Some times I can be thankful with great ease other times not so much. I feel guilty about it and work at it but the truth is that our circumstances and the conditions of our live do have a great impact on how we feel. And how we feel has a great impact on whether or not we are thankful.I know some of you are going well I thought this guy was a pastor and pastors should always just be singing and happy and living in the spirit of thanksgiving. Well I'm human and thanksgiving is truly a fruit of maybe even a gift of the spirit.If we are honest with ourselves they are moments in lives when rejection and betrayal make it difficult to praise God. Sometimes past experiences or current disappointmenst make it nearly impossible to function let alone dance in thanksgiving.Thanksgiving will never be recovered as long as we have a 'polly anna' or 'that's an easy' thing to do mentality. Thanksgiving required both "attention and intention." What we focus on will drive our emotions and thus our behaviour. What we pay attention too will lead us to the "intentions" of our lives.How many times have you done or said something that you did not intend too? But you did it! Why? Because you and I allow our focus our attention to get drawn into the negative, dreadful things of life rather than those things that are good, beautiful and true.Whatever we pay "attention too will give us our intentions." Change what you pay attention to and your attitude will change. One attitude change. One change in what we are talking about, thinking about will alter what comes out your mouth. Thanksgiving and Praise begins with what we pay attention too.So today lets pay more attention to Him than to circumstances and conditions. Or I could say lets pay more attention to Him that them. Or to Him than to ourselves.Be thankful for Him. It will change your life.